Reform cut funding for Durham Pride
The TUC and Durham Miners' Association are showing solidarity with Durham Pride - to help them raise money to put on the event
The leaders of Durham Pride, along with the Durham Miners' Association and the TUC, are condemning the council's decision to refuse any support funding Pride celebrations.
Thousands of people attended this year’s event on May 24-25 this year in Durham City to celebrate the region’s LGBT+ community.
Up to £10,000 was invested by the council for this year’s event, as part of work to support the wider cultural offer in the region following its unsuccessful City of Culture bid.
However, the Reform administration has signalled its intent to withdraw its support ahead of 2026.
“Durham Pride won’t be getting a single penny from this council next year,” Deputy Council Leader Darren Grimes said.
Dave Pike, Regional Secretary for the TUC North East, Yorkshire & Humber, said:
“While the Reform party is promoting division, I am proud to stand alongside the LGBT+ community in Durham, and the Miners Association, for unity and for a society that respects people regardless of our differences.
“Pride is an important celebration for LGBT+ people, a chance to look back at the gains that have been made. For the council to withdraw their support shows the lack of care they have for the people of Durham.
“A strong and visible pride matters, it matters for the thousands of LGBT+ people who experience hate crimes each year, it matters to the young kid deciding if it is safe to come out, and it matters to those vulnerable LGBT+ people who are four times more likely to attempt suicide.
"The TUC stands for the rights of LGBT+ people, and we stand shoulder to shoulder as a community for Pride.”
This year, the region’s LGBT+ personnel, past and present in the British Armed Forces, were celebrated before a community parade and celebration of love and diversity over the Bank Holiday Weekend.
County councillors have historically supported the event financially through their budgets, but it is understood this was not possible this year due to the timing of the elections.
Durham Pride are now teaming up with the TUC and Miners association, to put on a special fundraising night - so they can keep Pride alive in the city.
Durham Pride, the Durham Miners Association, and the TUC are proud to stand up for the rights of all LGBT+ people across the North East, and their right to celebrate who they are.
In defiance of the decision, Durham Pride had announced a significant fundraising drive being launched at Redhill’s, Durham Miners’ Hall, on 5 September 2025, from 6.30 pm.
The fundraiser will feature a special screening of the award-winning film Pride – the story of solidarity between striking miners and LGBT+ activists in 1984.
The evening will host representatives from former miners, politicians, and special guest Mike Jackson, a key figure and one of the founders of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, for a panel discussion.
Mel Metcalf, Chair of Durham Pride, said:
“The film is about standing united in the face of prejudice – capturing what many thought was Thatcher’s assault on mining communities to the injustice of Section 28.
“Today, as a new and growing prejudice threatens our trans siblings, it is again the Durham Miners and the trade union movement that stands with us.
“The film captures 1980s Britain perfectly, and we are honoured to have Mike Jackson with us to discuss the film and his experiences during the strike and its impact, decades later.”
Stephen Guy, Chair of the Durham Miners’ Association (DMA), added:
“Pride events, since the first march in 1970, have had at their core protests to secure rights. The similarities of the challenges faced by the LGBT+ communities and the mining communities over the years are quite remarkable. Politicians who deem groups of people as unworthy of recognition or troublesome are often targets.
“That was why LGSM reached out to mining communities to offer their solidarity in 1984/85. The time has come for the Durham Miners Association, the NUM, and others in the trade union movement to ramp up support for Durham Pride, which has been a target for closure since the Reform was elected in County Durham.
“Reform councillors across County Durham have underestimated the resolve of the LGBT+ community and the support of allies across the trade union movement.”
Reform leaders sparked a backlash in May after taking down an LGBT+ Pride flag at Durham County Hall shortly after taking control of the local authority.
You can find out how to get tickets for the fundraising event via the Durham Redhills website and Durham Pride UK website.