Since Owl received this letter from a correspondent, there are BBC reports that Reform may have reversed ferret on this

Does Reform UK want to hide Devon County’s flag?

Dear Owl,

I am an advocate of the Union Jack and St Georges flags being flown at council offices. Both sides of my family can be traced to living in England for at least two centuries. 

However, I was most concerned to read that the Chair of Reform UK, Zia Yusuf only wants the Union Jack and St George’s flags to be flown on its council’s flag-poles, balconies, reception desks or council-chamber walls.

Reform controlled English councils will move at speed to resolve that the *only* flags permitted to be flown on or in its buildings will be the Union Jack and the St George’s flag.

No other flags will be permitted to be flown on its flag-poles, balconies, reception desks or… pic.twitter.com/UngyJFgCh9

— Zia Yusuf (@ZiaYusufUK) May 5, 2025

“Reform controlled English councils will move at speed to resolve that the *only* flags permitted to be flown on or in its buildings will be the Union Jack and the St George’s flag. No other flags will be permitted to be flown on its flag-poles, balconies, reception desks or council-chamber walls.  “

Does the Chair of Reform UK, Zia Yusuf not understand about the uniqueness of counties? 

The Devon flag may be very recent as a result of a competition but it represents a symbol of pride for those who were born or live in the county.

It might be worth Reform UK councillors and supporters based in Devon reading up about their county and their flag and explaining it to Mr Yusuf. 

This article explains the symbolism within the Devon flag.

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/reason-devons-flag-green-cornwalls-2251207

The former MP for a East Devon, Mr Simon Jupp was a very proud Devonian, and in his maiden speech he stated his family had “lived in the county for generations.” Many constituents and visitors to Exmouth would have seen the Devon flag on the wall in his constituency office which was situated in Mamhead View, along the seafront. 

Here’s a picture of Mr Jupp in his office. And the wall to his left had a very large Devon flag fixed to it.

Are Reform UK out-of-touch or unknowledgeable authoritarians, who want to deprive constituents in Devon of a sense of pride in our county? 

No councils in Devon should ever become Reform led, otherwise we are in danger of losing our unique heritage. 

Yours 

Concerned for Devon’s cultural heritage

Owl thinks that the county democratic services have done well to provide easily assimilated visual guides to the local election outcomes.

The first series in this post show, at a glance, the political colours of each seat won in each division.

Below these is the same information mapped geographically.

Below that are histograms showing the distribution of seats and number of votes cast for the main parties.

Some “off the cuff” observations (to provoke thought)

Exeter’s Labour wipe-out

Perhaps the most surprising result is the way that Exeter voters have turned against Labour.

In 2021 Labour had 7 seats based in and around the City, now they have none, with voters swinging all over the place.

Devon devolution

Although not a major issue in the election, the different councils’ declared approaches to local authority reorganisation are now likely to come under the spotlight.. 

Leader of the labour controlled Exeter City Council, Philip Bialyk has pursued the “go it alone” notion of Exeter and its commuter belt becoming a unitary authority. This has always begged the question as to who picks up the tab for the rural communities. A notion that maybe doesn’t command much voter support.

Likewise, the outgoing Conservative County Council initially claimed it was on the fast-track with its takeover proposal to swallow the districts, until this was rejected for not meeting government guidelines. Then it swung the other way with a smorgasbord of alternatives.

Neither of these ideas meet the current government guidelines.

The districts have other ideas and proposed the 1-4-5 three way split (the 1 is in deference to Exeter) before the election. The districts’ views are now likely to carry greater in the new County Council.

Will the government now double down on its devolution plans described recently as:  The worst local government white paper in living memory? Or reconsider in the light of the overall local election results?

Owl doesn’t expect devolution to happen any time soon.

Distribution of Reform wins.

The Reform wins look to cluster in: Exeter, suggesting a protest vote against the government; and then in Teignbridge, Torrige and West Devon. Here Owl wonders to what extent this might reflect a cry to be heard from voters in a part of “forgotten rural Britain”, forgotten by the Conservatives and simply “not on the radar” of metropolitan Labour.

The case for a proportional voting system

With the general recognition that a “five party” system is now emerging, the case for a proportional voting system is being raised once again. In particular by Reform who did particularly badly in the general election.

The table below shows how each party fared in respect of the proportion of seats they gained compared to their share of the vote (numbers rounded).

In this instance Reform and the Greens both got about the appropriate number of seats. The Lib Dems were the big winners and the Conservatives and Labour were the losers.

Party	% Share of seats	% Share of votes
Conservative Party	12	22
Liberal Democrats	45	28
Labour Party	0	8
Green Party	10	10
Reform UK	30	27
Independent	3	5

The political colour of each Division

The colours mapped

Histograms of numbers of seats and share of the votes (see here for tabulation)