Anyone would think we’ve got nothing to worry about, time to waste and money to burn in Leicestershire, yet that’s precisely what Leicestershire County Council’s newly formed Reform Cabinet is behaving like.

We have a £90m deficit for the year, and previous good management has meant we could use reserves to ensure that there’s no cut in services. So you’d think there’d be a lot to talk about, especially when this Labour government keep piling on additional operating costs and taxes, from increases to the national living wage, national insurance costs, and now they want us to levy 5% more locally, each year, for policing.

So, what do you imagine our new Reform cabinet discussed today, in an extra-ordinary, urgent cabinet meeting called five days before the one that’s already scheduled? What was so urgent, so necessary to pull Reform cabinet members together? Flags. Yes, that’s right, flags.

The Union Jack, the Cross of St. George and the Leicestershire flag to be precise. These are the only flags that can be flown, in addition to the Lord Lieutenant’s Flag outside County Hall on the three flag poles standing proud outside.

That was the policy before this cabinet.

So, what was all that urgency for? It was essentially to ensure that the pride flag or any flag associated with diversity isn’t flown in the quadrangle behind County Hall, in order to protect Reform councillors from the risk of contagion and/or offending their collective sensitivities.

In a comment post cabinet, one cabinet member wrote on X: “The people have taken back control. Common sense is back on the flagpole at County Hall”.