28/05/2026
Green councillors at Suffolk County Council, who form the official opposition, have criticised the council’s sudden decision to take down the Ukraine flag at Endeavour House in Ipswich without a vote or wider agreement.
Employees of the council arriving for work on Tuesday morning would have noticed that the building is now only flying the Suffolk flag and the St George cross. Prior to this, the council was flying the Ukrainian flag to show solidarity with the country facing an illegal war with Russia.
Suffolk County Council administers the UK government’s Homes for Ukraine programme, which houses Ukrainians displaced by the conflict since 2022 into local homes, supported by Suffolk residents.
The Green group suggests that this might be a result of Reform UK’s apparent pro-Russia leanings, with Group Leader Andrew Stringer expressing disappointment, but little surprise.
He explained:
"It is deeply concerning that so soon after taking power at Suffolk County Council, Reform UK have unilaterally removed the Ukrainian flag from outside Endeavour House, the council’s headquarters without discussion.
The UK has really got behind the Ukrainians in their struggle against illegal Russian occupation in the last few years, and Suffolk residents have welcomed them, into our community and literally into their homes. Anyone with any imagination can empathise with how it might feel to have to flee your home when it becomes a war zone, and you and your family are no longer safe.
I’m proud of the generosity Suffolk has shown.
If the leadership at Suffolk County Council can fly the flag of a saint born in Anatolia, why can we not also continue to fly the flag showing our solidarity with Ukraine?”
Cllr James Patchett, a newly elected councillor at Suffolk County Council who is the Armed Forces Champion at Mid Suffolk Council, said:
"Flags of all colours, including our own, remain a contentious issue in modern Britain. So, whilst I am not surprised to see the flag of another nation removed from local authority buildings, I am disappointed.
Suffolk has stood in solidarity with Ukraine since the start of the invasion by Russia, this has been seen in our towns and villages across the county accepting over 1,700 refugees, of which 1,100 still remain under the Homes for Ukraine scheme. I would ask the administration in SCC to spare a thought for those Ukrainians in our county who may now feel unsupported. With the war in Ukraine intensifying, support from our local leaders is required more now than ever."
Promoted by David Plowman on behalf of Ipswich Green Party, Flat 5, Beecholme, 129a Woodbridge Road, Ipswich, IP4 2NR.
