Brexit-mad Bolton council has triumphantly announced that it will be officially celebrating leaving the EU in a dazzling fashion.
Bolton’s Town Hall will be lit up in the red, white and blue colours of the Union Jack while the flag of Great Britain will be proudly flying on every single civic building and civic flagpole across the borough.
The council’s decision for this celebration was finalised last Wednesday night after UKIP councillor Sean Hornby raised the question with leader David Greenhalgh at a council meeting.
Sean Hornby told the MM: “In negotiation with the leader of the council we’ve decided that we’re not only going to make it chime, we might as well fly [the Union Jack] on all civic buildings.
I imagine there will be quite a lot of people around the town centre witnessing it, I will be in my own ward that night celebrating Brexit at a pub I own.”
In the EU referendum in 2016, 58% of residents in Bolton voted to leave the EU.
While Bolton council appears to be having no trouble with preparing for its Brexit celebrations, down in London it couldn’t be more opposite. (Big Ben will not bong proudly for Brexit)
Boris Johnson encouraged the public to invest £500,000 through a crowdfund so that Big Ben could bong on the 31st January when we will officially have left the EU.
The MM asked Hornby if there should be any concerns over how much the celebration will cost and if any more money will be coming out of the taxpayers’ pocket.
He replied: “The cost will be minimal; we already have the things to light up the town hall.
“It’s just a matter of a few switches, I think getting our clock to chime differently will be tricky. We’re not talking about thousands of pounds here it’s not an expensive exercise to do whatsoever.
“The only expense will be really putting up the flags in the borough.”
Councillor Greenhalgh said: “In regards to bells, we will ring a bell. We are in negotiations about what that actually means with the current structural issues we have at the front of the town hall and the limited array of bells we have on offer.
“We are in talks to absolutely make sure this historic moment is marked.
“Not in any form that’s seen as gloating but to celebrate a historic moment for this country and a moment of optimism, pride in our nation, and pride in our flag as we move forward into a new historic era.”
