"Just think how much of a difference £75k would make to food banks in Notts, for example."
Reform MP Lee Anderson has been widely mocked after insisting that the Reform-led Nottinghamshire County Council’s £75,000 project to install Union Jack and English flags across the county will not cost taxpayers “a single penny,” claiming the scheme will be funded entirely by local business sponsorship.
In a Facebook post, Anderson said the installation of 164 flags “will not cost the taxpayer a single penny.”
He continued: “We’ve been putting these up all around Nottinghamshire. They’re everywhere.
“Yes, it has cost £75,000 to put these up all throughout Nottinghamshire but the good news is it will not cost the taxpayer a single penny.
“We want to get these sponsored by local businesses. They’re going to pay for the fitting, the upkeep and the maintenance.”
He added that the brackets will also be used for banners marking events such as Remembrance Day and could be used to advertise foster and kinship care.
As the Nottinghamshire Post reports, the banners have now been displayed in 82 locations across every Nottinghamshire borough except those under Nottingham City Council’s jurisdiction.
in October, Nick Barton, Reform UK leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, defended the £75,000 spend to replace old brackets and install the flags. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the scheme was a “long-term” investment, with future plans to display banners for Nottinghamshire Day, the Tour of Britain, and other events.
“If I read [about the cost], if I weren’t in my job, I might think it was a lot of money. But there is a lot more involved than what is in the top-line figure,” he said.
“This is a long-term venture. They will last 10 to 15 years. They are multi-functional, it is not just about the Union Flag. Initially we are going to put the Union flag in these brackets and it is going to go across the county.”
Opposition parties have criticised the move. Nottinghamshire’s Labour group accused Reform of “wasting our money,” while Conservative county councillor Mike Adams said: “As Conservatives we love the Union flag. I have one outside my house, but it should stay as donations.
“People have been doing this out of their own pockets. Why should a struggling family be contributing to this from their council tax?”
But it was Anderson’s claim that the project will not cost taxpayers anything that triggered the most ridicule.
One user wrote: “Each flag should be labelled with the business that has sponsored it. Then the public can choose whether or not to support or boycott that business.”
A Nottinghamshire resident added: “Anderson is hoping against hope that these pointless £75,000 flags will be paid for by private business, meanwhile if you drive down Pasture Road in Stapleford you have to drive on the opposite side of the road to avoid damaging your vehicle on what passes for a surface. If these things do get paid for all we’ll see are adverts from their sponsors.”
Others questioned the priorities behind the scheme.
“If these flags are sponsored by local businesses, I’m very disappointed that the owners don’t have a social conscience. Just think how much of a difference £75k would make to food banks in Notts, for example,” said one user.
“Or instead of some silly flags we could pop that into a new skatepark or a youth club or a community space. Something that will actually improve the community,” said another.
And in a nod to Anderson’s ‘30p Lee’ nickname, another commenter asked:
“Who believes Anderson, yes the same one who claims that a person needs only 30p worth of food for sustenance?”
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