Pride Flags Removed from House of Lords Canteen After Peer’s Complaint

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Pride Flags Removed from House of Lords Canteen After Peer’s Complaint

 

The House of Lords has removed a set of Pride flags from its River Restaurant following a complaint from Baroness Emma Nicholson, a Conservative peer known for her gender-critical stance. The flags, which included the modern “Progress Pride” design, were put up at the start of June to mark the beginning of Pride Month. However, their presence quickly sparked controversy among members of the Lords.

 

 

The Progress Pride flag includes the traditional rainbow colours along with a chevron featuring pink, blue, and white stripes representing the transgender community, as well as a yellow triangle with a purple circle symbolising intersex individuals. For some, this flag has become a flashpoint in debates over gender identity and the merging of trans rights with broader LGBTQ+ rights. Critics often argue for a separation of issues, referring to the slogan “LGB without the T.”

 

Baroness Nicholson took to social media platform X to share photos of the flags on display above breakfast offerings at the restaurant. After receiving support online, she submitted a complaint to the Lord Speaker’s Office. By Friday afternoon, the decorations had been removed. "The superb River Restaurant in the House of Lords has had the decorations that I pictured removed," she tweeted. "The food remains as stunning as before. I am most grateful to the Lord Speaker for his swift and thoughtful response to my request. I respect all people in all walks of life always.”

 

Baroness Nicholson, who has a history of voting against LGBTQ+ rights – including her support for Section 28 and opposition to gay marriage – originally served as a Conservative MP before defecting to the Liberal Democrats in the 1990s. She later returned to the Conservative Party in 2016.

 

Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at the campaign group Sex Matters, supported the removal, saying, “The baby blue and pink of trans activism, which features in the flag, signals support for a harmful fringe ideology that justifies a wide range of human rights abuses, including puberty blockers for minors, surgeries that leave people sterile, the placement of rapists in women’s prisons, and the destruction of single-sex services and spaces.” Joyce added that the decision to display the flag was “provocative and inappropriate” and called its removal “reassuring.”

 

Notably, the House of Commons canteen did not display similar flags. A spokesperson for the House of Lords clarified the removal by stating, “Informal decorations were put up locally to mark the beginning of Pride month. These were taken down at an appropriate point due to their unofficial nature.” They also specified that the Lord Speaker, Lord McFall, did not personally intervene in the matter.

 

The incident sparked debate on social media, with many expressing discomfort over the flag’s placement. User Sean Ako, identifying as a gay man, commented, “Can’t I have my breakfast in peace without having a flag waved in my face? I don’t need to be celebrated first thing in the morning. I need to be caffeinated.” Another user, Clean City Bird, added, “Honestly, what has the progress flag or same-sex attraction got to do with having breakfast?

 

Do you get a bigger portion if you state your pronouns while they plate your beans?” Margaret Kearney echoed similar sentiments, writing, “Think about the flags as you eat breakfast or have tea and toast. For some it could be a turn-off to eat anything.”

 

While the removal of the Pride flags satisfied some, it has also highlighted the deep divisions within public institutions over how, and whether, to display symbols of LGBTQ+ solidarity.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Telegraph  2025-06-10

 

 

[GanDoonToonPet]

I agree wholeheartedly. The original gay pride flag signified the inclusion of everyone i.e. all the colours of the rainbow.

 

The (progressive or racial) pride flag, like the one shown in the picture, is far from inclusive. It is in fact the opposite...exclusive. It includes transgender, non-binary, intersex, black-skinned, and brown-skinned people but excludes cisgender, straight, male-identifying, female-identifying and white-skinned people and, ironically, gay, bisexual and lesbian people.

 

We call this progress 🤔

[Harrisfan]

West is obsessed with labels

Just live and let live

[blaze master]

15 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

West is obsessed with labels

Just live and let live

 

Someone will be along soon to thumbs down your rational comment. 

[Harrisfan]

Just now, blaze master said:

 

Someone will be along soon to thumbs down your rational comment. 

In the west people all get labelled - snob, bogan, moron, gay, fw etc

 

It is so ridiculous.

 

 

[blaze master]

1 minute ago, Harrisfan said:

In the west people all get labelled - snob, bogan, moron, gay, fw etc

 

It is so ridiculous.

 

 

 

Old mindsets.

[Jim Blue]

Believe some of the Lords weren't so Lordly in the past .Lord Boothby comes to mind  .......

⁴

[quake]

Well done.

The tide is turning. keep up the good work. 

[Packer]

The whole pride thing is very odd. 

 

Why should people be proud of their sexual preference? 

 

It doesn't make any sense.

[Zaphod Priest]

2 minutes ago, Packer said:

The whole pride thing is very odd. 

 

Why should people be proud of their sexual preference? 

 

The opposite of pride? Shame.  Gay people in the West had to hide their sexuality for fear of persecution and prosecution.  Even today prejudice and discrimination are rife.  That's enough to make gay men and women feel ashamed of their sexuality.  The "whole pride thing" is an attempt, partially, to address the shame.

[mogandave]

15 minutes ago, Packer said:

The whole pride thing is very odd. 

 

Why should people be proud of their sexual preference? 

 

It doesn't make any sense.

Often, it’s all they have. People participating in pride events are generally childless, sad people with empty lives just starving for attention and affirmation. Same with a lot of leftists.

[blaze master]

29 minutes ago, Zaphod Priest said:

 

The opposite of pride? Shame.  Gay people in the West had to hide their sexuality for fear of persecution and prosecution.  Even today prejudice and discrimination are rife.  That's enough to make gay men and women feel ashamed of their sexuality.  The "whole pride thing" is an attempt, partially, to address the shame.

 

Rubbish. In. Canada you are legally allowed to put x as your gender on your passport. Seems pretty prejudice and discriminatory to me. 

[JonnyF]

2 hours ago, Harrisfan said:

In the west people all get labelled - snob, bogan, moron, gay, fw etc

 

It is so ridiculous.

 

 

 

It's the scourge of identity politics.

 

As a gay man...

As a black man...

As a mother...

As a transwoman...

 

People use this at the start of a sentence to make the rubbish they are about to say more credible.  

 

Identity politics is putting equality back decades. Everyone wants to be special, according to (in most cases) immutable characteristics. 

 

Who cares what colour you are or who/what you like to have sex with (as long as it is legal). Just stop being a muppet and everyone will get on fine. 

 

The Lords got something right for once. 

[mogandave]

Is pride not number one of the seven deadly sins?

 

It ranks above: greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth. 

 

 

[Watawattana]

An action taken that addresses the thoughts of the majority.  Not that common I think.  I'm happy the Lords have taken this action, about as happy to see Pride flags flying too.  It doesn't bother or affect me, but I tend to agree with Zaphod about what happened in the past; Alan Turing being one example of far too many.  

 

But it's gone too far when Pride starts splintering into ever more radical factions, such as mentioned in GanDoonToonPet's post.  

 

Also reminds me of the BLM movement; needed as in the past black lives didn't matter and generally a positive and peaceful movement, but even that started to splinter into groups such as Say Her Name as BLM's focus on women was not strong enough, and allegations of using money raised for a $6m house without good justification.

[quake]

We are at the point where, if you say anything what ever against the alphabet people.

You are automatically labeled as a homophobe. ( also some posters on here do it.)

Well done the alphabet people. top marks for that, you shot yourself in the foot.

The push back has arrived in the west and  it's been long overdue.

But the damage the alphabet people have done to the gay community is huge, it has set it back 20 years.

Top marks again.

The alphabet people, should have integrated instead of segregated.

Good luck.

 

[roquefort]

3 hours ago, Jim Blue said:

Believe some of the Lords weren't so Lordly in the past .Lord Boothby comes to mind  .......

⁴

Up to him. No-one else's business, as long as it's legal. Live and let live.

[jesimps]

What happened to "Have a gay day!" ? Now they've bagged a month! Right -

 

Happy Veterans Month!

[ThreeCardMonte]

6 hours ago, Jim Blue said:

Believe some of the Lords weren't so Lordly in the past .Lord Boothby comes to mind  .......

⁴

How about Lord Mountbatten?

 

Wasn’t he famous for his boys?

[ThreeCardMonte]

3 hours ago, quake said:

We are at the point where, if you say anything what ever against the alphabet people.

You are automatically labeled as a homophobe. ( also some posters on here do it.)

Well done the alphabet people. top marks for that, you shot yourself in the foot.

The push back has arrived in the west and  it's been long overdue.

But the damage the alphabet people have done to the gay community is huge, it has set it back 20 years.

Top marks again.

The alphabet people, should have integrated instead of segregated.

Good luck.

 

Happy to see a UK poster with your mindset.

 

Quite refreshing for a change.

[ThreeCardMonte]

7 minutes ago, jesimps said:

What happened to "Have a gay day!" ? Now they've bagged a month! Right -

 

Happy Veterans Month!

It’s spreading!