Unionists launch emergency High Court action against Belfast City Council over Palestinian flag vote

Belfast City Hall

Unionist councillors are to take Belfast City Council to the High Court after a dramatic late-night vote approved flying the Palestinian flag over City Hall from midnight, triggering one of the most contentious political rows at City Hall in recent years.

In a tense special meeting on Monday (1 December), councillors voted 32 to 28 to erect the flag for 24 hours from 12am on Tuesday – a decision made after weeks of legal wrangling, a successful Unionist call-in, and deeply bitter exchanges across the political chamber.

All 60 councillors were in attendance, underscoring the political gravity surrounding the decision.

TUV Councillor: “Belfast City Council has disgraced itself”

TUV Councillor Ron McDowell announced that urgent legal proceedings were being prepared immediately after the meeting, accusing the council of acting unlawfully and attempting to “outrun the courts”.

He said:

“Tonight, as a matter of urgency, Belfast City Council has disgraced itself. It has trampled on the rights of the minority and shown total disregard for due process.”

Cllr McDowell argued the council had rushed the vote after last week’s attempt to fly the flag on 29 November was halted due to a Unionist call-in.

“Having been frustrated by the law last week in their attempt to fly the Palestinian flag from City Hall, this evening they sought to prevent any legal challenge by voting to raise it from midnight. They know they are acting outside the rules, and they are attempting to outrun the courts.”

He confirmed an emergency High Court application was being submitted immediately:

“Unsurprisingly, emergency High Court proceedings will be lodged tonight, with an urgent hearing sought before midnight to put a stop to this.”

He added that Unionists would no longer “quietly accept” what he described as disregard for their rights or the concerns of Belfast’s Jewish community:

“The days of Unionists quietly accepting such cavalier disregard for their rights — or watching the small Jewish community in our city being trampled upon — are over.”

Cllr McDowell also criticised what he said was inconsistency among Nationalist and Republican parties:

“Everyone can see the hypocrisy. It is nauseating and it must — and will — be called out. Every means at our disposal will be deployed to oppose this.”

He further warned that legal advice underpinning the council’s position was “plainly wrong”:

“We put it no higher than expressing significant concern at the legal advice which underpinned tonight’s decision making… If our analysis should be correct on the law, then at that juncture questions will have to be raised about the advice which has been given in recent times to the council.”

A divided council and a clash over legal procedure

The vote was supported by Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the Greens and People Before Profit.

Opposition came from the DUP, Alliance, the UUP and the TUV, with Alliance changing its previous stance after supporting the move in November.

Unionist councillors raised numerous legal objections, insisting the vote required a qualified majority due to alleged adverse community impact. However, counsel for the council, Denise Kiley KC, determined that there was no evidence of a disproportionate adverse effect on the Jewish community, stating:

“I do not consider that the decision has an adverse impact on the Jewish community as asserted.”

She also wrote:

“I do not conclude that the flying of the flag constitutes the Council ‘taking a side’… The evidence does not support a conclusion that the decision will ‘send a message which is overtly hostile to the Jewish community’.”

On Monday evening, councillors voted 44 to 17 that the move would not have a discriminatory community impact – clearing the way for a simple majority vote on the final decision.

Rows, acrimony and legal threats in the chamber

The meeting was characterised by sharp exchanges, repeated procedural interventions from DUP Lord Mayor Tracy Kelly, and even threats of legal action between councillors.

Alliance’s Michael Long warned he was prepared to pursue legal advice after objecting to accusations from Cllr McDowell which he described as suggesting Alliance were “siding with Hamas”.

Alliance ultimately voted against flying the flag a second time, arguing the move risked reigniting divisive disputes over symbols at City Hall. Instead, Cllr Long proposed lighting City Hall in the colours of Palestine early in the New Year – a proposal that was voted down 49 to 11.

Green Party councillor Anthony Flynn criticised Alliance’s position, arguing:

“You cannot take the decision to sit on the fence on this issue during a genocide, I think it is abhorrent.”

Unionist frustration over legal advice

Senior DUP representatives claimed their confidence in City Hall’s legal advice had been severely damaged.

DUP Alderman James Lawlor said:

“This proposal has shredded public confidence… It is understandable that our confidence in the advice we are being given has been severely damaged.”

Alderman Dean McCullough accused Nationalist and left-wing councillors of using their majority to marginalise Unionists:

“Every meeting, every debate, every divisive decision… giving one impression, this is our city now. Well on November 29th, they learned a harsh lesson, it is not.”

City Solicitor defends professional advice

City Solicitor Nora Largey robustly defended her position and that of external counsel:

“It is disappointing to have my legal advice criticised in the manner of which it has been. It is also disappointing that there has been criticism of a very well respected KC in this jurisdiction.”

She reiterated that the decision concerns a short-term, single-day display:

“It will result in the flying of a flag for a single day, and it will not result in any long-term policy change or position on the part of the council.”

What happens next

As Unionists initiate emergency High Court action, the situation remains fluid. A judge could intervene before midnight, preventing the flag from being raised. If not, the Palestinian flag is set to fly over City Hall for 24 hours from 12.00am until 11.59pm on Tuesday 2 December.

The dispute marks one of the most legally complex and emotionally charged debates in recent memory within Belfast City Council, with political, legal and community tensions now set to play out in the courts.