Mark Arnull, the leader of the council at West Northamptonshire Council, said the authority will no longer contribute officer time to Northampton Pride. He made the announcement at a full council meeting after the event drew hundreds of people to Northampton’s Market Square on Saturday 11 July.
The change affects how the council takes part in the event, not just how it describes it. Arnull said no council officer time would be spent on Pride events going forward and said the authority had not issued any funding for the event this year.
Mark Arnull at West Northamptonshire Council
Arnull said officer time would instead be spent on “contributing to every resident's welfare in this county”. He also said, “We will only do what's right for every resident in West Northamptonshire and not a small minority of people that want to turn something into a political funfair.”
He told the meeting that “certain events were politicised” and that “hateful things were shown on garments” around the Market Square. In the same remarks, he said, “We have a duty as stakeholders here to manage place and environment and do the best we can, so some of those scenes were quite disappointing.”
Charlie Hastie and Northampton Pride
Before the event, Charlie Hastie said Northampton Pride is “a valued event for our community” and “provides an opportunity for residents and visitors to come together to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community.” He also said, “We are pleased to support this event alongside partners and look forward to another successful day.”
That earlier position sat alongside the council’s later line that it would not contribute “in any way” to Pride, including officers’ time. Arnull also said the council had not issued anything financially in the last year, which leaves the practical shift focused on staff involvement rather than a grant decision.
Northampton Pride and July in Northampton
Northampton Pride is in its ninth year, and this year’s gathering took place in Northampton’s Market Square during July in Northampton. The event still went ahead with the crowd and activity around it, but the council’s stated role has now moved from support alongside partners to no officer-time contribution.
For people involved in future Pride planning, the immediate change is administrative: council staff time is no longer part of the arrangement. Arnull’s statement leaves the event without that form of local authority support as the council moves on from this year’s celebration.
