Derbyshire town appalled as council removes Pride flag after complaint from Christian bookshop
Matlock residents have been left shocked and upset after their town council removed a Pride flag from a public space following an objection from a Christian bookshop.
At the start of the month, Matlock Town Council refreshed its display of flags which hang above town centre pavements, using a mix of Union Jacks, St George’s Crosses, Derbyshire county designs and, for the first time, a small number of rainbow flags commonly associated with the LGBTQ+ pride movement.
While June is national Pride month, Matlock’s flags will remain throughout the summer, adding colour to the street scene and signifying the community’s celebratory and welcoming approach to diversity – flying in contrast to Derbyshire County Council’s recent directive that only UK and English national flags should be displayed on its properties.
Minutes for the town council in September 2024 note that £500 was set aside to purchase and maintain a variety of flags, including the rainbow design, to represent “diversity and inclusion – it’s not ‘gay’ specific.”
So when one of the rainbow flags disappeared within 24 hours, from outside the Cornerstone Bookshop on Dale Road, people began asking why.
The council told the Derbyshire Times that it would not make any statement until members had debated the matter at their next meeting on July 23.
However, in response to residents’ queries, a council representative wrote: “It was felt that the flag may have been removed without our consent and that could have been dangerous for someone who is untrained to do so and in the litigious climate we live in we reluctantly removed it ourselves.
“It was a decision based on the safety of the public and on the potential financial loss to the council and in turn, the taxpayers of Matlock.
“The town council prides itself on inclusivity and we have ignored calls from the new regime at the county council to remove all flags that are not union flags.”
The charitable trust which runs the bookshop confirmed to the Derbyshire Times that they had asked for the flag to be taken down, but denied making any threat to remove it themselves and rejected accusations of homophobia.
In a joint statement, the trustees said: “Cornerstone Christian Bookshop is an inclusive organisation that wants to share the Christian faith with everyone. All are welcome to our bookshop, regardless of their sexuality.
“We are grateful to live in a country where speech, even in the form of flag-flying, is not compelled.
“We would be delighted to fly the Derbyshire flag, the flag of St George or the Union Flag. However, we would decline to fly any flag representing specific political causes, as our aim is solely to promote the Christian faith.
“We note that there are many other places where the pride flag can be flown. As you will no doubt be aware, many other faith communities would also decline to fly this flag.”
Derbyshire Dales MP John Whitby has also addressed the situation, after the town council told residents that a complaint had been received separately via his office, again leading them to believe the flag posed a health and safety risk.
Mr Whitby said: “I am completely supportive of the display of pride flags in Matlock, and indeed across the whole of Derbyshire Dales, especially during Pride Month.
“I was deeply concerned to hear that a pride flag was removed in Matlock. LGBTQ+ people continue to experience discrimination and unequal treatment, and pride flags are an important way for all of us to demonstrate solidarity and challenge prejudice.
“It is the decision of Matlock Town Council as to which flags are displayed, where they are displayed, and how long they are displayed for. However, I will always support the display of Pride flags, and I encourage constituents to contact the council to express their support for these flags.
“Comments on social media have suggested that I was involved in the decision by the town council to remove the flag. For the record, I had no personal involvement in the decision by the town council to remove the flag.”
He added: “I fully support the display of pride flags, and if the flag on Dale Road was taken down as a result of complaints that the flag and its representation of the LGBTQ+ community was offensive, then I believe it should be reinstated.
“I will always champion LGBTQ+ campaigns, and just this week, I questioned the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and asked him what steps he is taking to make IVF more accessible for same-sex couples.
“At a time when so many in our LGBTQ+ community face rising threats and discrimination, I believe it is my duty as the elected representative for Derbyshire Dales to stand firmly against all forms of hate.”
The decision to remove the flag has shocked and upset many people in the community.
Kate Bond, who donated money to the council last year to pay for its new Derbyshire county flags, said: “Some people in Matlock seem to have the power to determine whose rights we do and don't support in our town – and worse, they are doing this behind closed doors.
“If the council is going to put the pride flag up, they should be prepared to stand by it in the face of bullies. The pride flags show what a friendly, welcoming and brilliantly diverse town Matlock is, and we should not let hate triumph over love.”
Sam Smith, who runs the Deception Escape Rooms on Firs Parade with her partner Tina Rogers, said: “We were disgusted when we heard. We know the town council well and often work with them, and this felt like a kick in the teeth to the whole gay community.
“The flag is a sign of support for people who are gay, and says that you’re safe in your own town and don’t have to fear any homophobia. If you’re a young person struggling to come out, that’s especially important.
“We’ve spent money in the bookshop, and never encountered homophobia anywhere in town. It is a difficult one for the council, they don’t want anyone suing them, but I don’t think they should have bowed and taken it down.”
The dispute has also revealed a schism among local Christians, with Reverend Stephen Monk of St Helen’s Church in Darley Dale – a member of the Inclusive Church network – writing a letter of concern to the Mayor of Matlock Jason Knighton, citing several Bible verses to illustrate his point.
In it, he writes: “Our gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and non-binary siblings bear the image of God just as fully and beautifully as anyone else. Their lives, their loves, their stories, and their faith are sacred.
“In the online world some think to be pro-LGBTQ+ is being anti the scripture, it is not. It is being faithful to scripture. Because scripture, at its heart, is about liberation, love, and the breaking down of barriers that separate us.
“When Jesus saw something as sinful or harmful to an individual or society He would call it out ... Jesus never said a word condemning gay or transgender people. But he said plenty about hypocrisy. He said plenty about those who use religion to shame and exclude.”
Rev Monk, who also ministers in South Darley, Winster, Matlock Bath and Cromford, added: “Taking a rainbow flag down in Matlock may seem a petty little comment, an act of bigotry, but for other people who live and have made their home in Matlock and the area it says, ‘You’re a sinner; you’re an outcast, you’re sick, God doesn’t love you.’
“In ‘civil’ England it’s ‘let’s remove a flag’; in America a pastor in a Sunday sermon said – to paraphrase it, because his words turn my stomach – gay people should be ‘shot’.
“I respect peoples different views. We live in a free society, but it is unchristian to speak or act in a way which is against the way Jesus would. He calls us today to love and we need love more today than ever before. The world has so much hatred and violence – can’t we be an example of love, inclusion and unity?”
“We need to be united in love. The sign of the rainbow has always been a sign of biblical hope in God’s love and trust in God’s invitation to be together – one diverse family.”
The flag from the bookshop has now been relocated to the Garden Room café on Causeway Lane, and the council is understood to have ordered several more rainbow designs to meet demand from other businesses who want to display them.