‘Bigger and better than ever’: how Durham Pride beat Reform’s funding axe with help from the miners

Solidarity between LGBTQ+ people and unions has saved an event denied ‘a single penny’ of council money

As the annual Pride parade weaved its way through Durham, the rainbow flags, trans rights placards and sequined cowboy hats filled the medieval city’s cobbled streets with a huge splash of colour.

But this year, the rainbow flags were almost matched in number by trade union banners, as miners, postal workers, and train drivers swelled the parade’s ranks in solidarity, making it the biggest in Durham Pride’s history.

When Reform UK won control of Durham county council last year, one of the party’s first moves in power was to take down the rainbow flag that flew over its headquarters. Soon after, it announced it was axing funding for the city’s Pride event.

“Durham Pride won’t be getting a single penny from this council next year,” the deputy leader, Darren Grimes, said last summer. “Taxpayers shouldn’t be bankrolling it.”

But in a testament to an enduring relationship forged during the miners’ strikes of the 1980s, this year’s event has returned bigger than ever, thanks to funding from trade unions.

Stephen Guy, the chair of the Durham Miners’ Association (DMA), said that when it became apparent Durham Pride was under threat, he took it upon himself to “encourage the trade union movement to step up and do the right thing, and stand shoulder to shoulder with the LGBT+ community”.

That community “showed their heroism” during the miners’ strikes, he said. “They not only raised funds for us, but came to our communities, uplifted our spirits when they were down, and showed their solidarity.”

He added: “That relationship’s prevailed ever since, [and so] the Durham Miners’ Association have decided to make this a priority in County Durham.”

Mel Metcalf, who founded Durham Pride in 2014, said that while the event had lost about £2,500 in council funding, Reform’s move had brought in “about £25,000 from the unions and people who are supporting us more because of that decision”.

He said the support had been “absolutely amazing”, adding: “I guess it’s a big thanks to Reform that our headliner is Claire Richards [from Steps] this year.”

Metcalf continued: “I can’t stress how much people like CISWO [the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation], the Durham Miners’ Association, the TUC and the trades unions have [come] together and said: ‘Right, that money’s gone, but let’s find it.’ Not only did they find it, they’ve found more.”

One of the single biggest donations came from Equity, the performing arts union. Its president, Lynda Rooke, said: “We are sending a message to Reform and any other group that is planning on attacking the cultural sector, which is: we see you, we will fight you, and we will succeed.”

. The trade union presence at the event was bigger than it had ever seen before. The National Union of Mineworkers, Aslef, Unite, the CWU, and NASUWT the Teachers’ Union were among those who marched alongside the community with banners proudly raised. And in July, the LGBTQ+ community will in turn show its solidarity at the 140th Durham Miners’ Gala.

“It was really important for us as a trade union movement to step in and make sure that Pride went ahead, and could be bigger and better than ever,” said Dave Pike, the regional secretary for TUC North East, Yorkshire & Humber.

“I’m really proud that we managed to raise more money than Reform ever took away. I think it’s a really great example of solidarity in action.

“This is normal for us as a trade union movement, but I think is especially important right now, given what Reform are peddling politically, and the way that they’re attacking LGBT people with their actions.”

Mary Kelly Foy, the Labour MP for the City of Durham, donned a rainbow feather halo and angel wings to join the parade. “I think this is very, very special today,” she said. “We’re just showing that we’re here stronger than ever and we’re not going away.”

“The trade union and Labour movement have been fantastic, we knew they would step up,” she added, dismissing Reform councillors as “silly, silly people in County Hall who just want divisive politics”.

“We believe in rights and dignity and respect for everybody no matter who you are,” she said. “So I had no doubt that the trade union movement would step in and fund this.”

Louise Brown from Gateshead joined the march wearing a rainbow wig, and carrying a sign saying: “Pride 1 Reform 0.”

“When I heard Reform had said they’re not going to give a penny, as a lot of people here I thought well I’m definitely going to come,” she said. “You can’t just cut money for pride, I’m going to come and show solidarity.”

“I think it’s disgraceful,” another marcher, Lisa V Hesling, said, adding: “I think an event like this that brings everybody together is exactly what we need, and a Reform council is not what we need.”

“I’m from London originally so coming up here and learning the history, because I was very young with the miners’ strikes, so learning about how the gay community helped the miners, it’s brilliant.”

The relationship between LGBTQ+ people and mining communities was immortalised in the film Pride, which showcased the work of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM), which offered fundraising and practical support to the National Union of Mineworkers during the year-long strike in 1984 and 1985.

Mike Jackson, a founder member of LGSM who was played by This is England’s Joe Gilgun in the 2014 film, said local Pride events such as Durham’s were even more important than huge marches in bigger cities.

“People like me left home because you couldn’t be gay really in a little isolated town up north,” he said. “Now people are actually having Prides in little isolated towns up north, and that makes all the difference.

“It’s beyond our wildest dreams that we would ever find an organisation like the Durham Miners’ Association absolutely and unconditionally standing up in support of LGBT rights in the face of a council that’s basically turning its back on the LGBT community.

“That’s wonderful. That’s real good grassroots stuff, and it’s a reflection of that unity that was struck between the large section of the LGBT community and the mining communities.”

A Reform spokesperson said: “Durham county council took the decision to withdraw taxpayer funding because residents expect their money to be spent on core local services.

“If trade unions and private supporters now wish to fund the event themselves, that is a matter for them. This demonstrates that the event can go ahead without relying on council tax payers to foot the bill.”