Thurrock Council is set to decide next week whether to replace the Ukrainian flag outside its civic offices with the Thurrock coat of arms, the Essex flag and the Union Jack.
The proposal from Reform councillors comes days after the Ukrainian flag was removed from outside Essex County Council’s offices in Chelmsford by the newly elected Reform administration there, turning a local row over public symbols into a wider political test across Essex.
Richard Bingley, who is leading the change in Thurrock, said the three flags would reflect the borough’s local, regional and national identity. “We will be ensuring that the three flags flown on the Thurrock Borough Council building will reflect our local, regional and national geography and heritage,” he said.
He added: “We live in Thurrock. We are a part of Essex. And we are proud to be British.”
The council has said it cannot confirm whether the changes will go ahead until the formal administration meeting next week. Officers are checking guidance as of 22nd May 2026, leaving the fate of the flag outside the Grays offices unresolved for now.
The dispute matters because the Ukrainian flag has flown most days outside Thurrock’s town hall and civic offices since Russia’s invasion, though it has occasionally been swapped for symbolic flags marking the Commonwealth, the Armed Forces or events such as the remembrance of the Srebrenica massacre. The proposed switch would not just remove one flag but redraw which causes the council says belong on public buildings at all.
Bingley said he did not want councils to endorse what he called selective displays. “We will not support the flying of selective and sectionalist flags, no matter how emotive or compelling the cause might be. Public flags should unite. They shouldn’t divide,” he said.
He also said Nigel Farage’s backing for the Essex County Council decision “mirrors and underpins” Thurrock’s approach, and said: “I’ve already asked the Thurrock Council MD to instigate this change.”
At County Hall in Chelmsford, a Union Jack was put up instead after Reform won 45 seats out of 49 and took control of Essex County Council for the first time. Council leader Peter Harris called it “a proud moment”, while opposition Conservative leader Lee Scott warned the move could encourage “pro-Kremlin politics” locally. Two of the 45 Reform councillors there have since resigned.
The direction of travel in Essex now looks clear. Thurrock’s decision next week will show whether the county’s new Reform administrations are treating the flag question as a one-off gesture, or as a common rule for council buildings across the area.
