Reform slams 'bonkers NHS waste' after taxpayers fork out £650k for public sector pride celebrations

Among the expenses are rainbow badges, painted pedestrian crossings, and drag bingo events.

The figures were compiled by the TaxPayers Alliance (TPA) through Freedom of Information requests sent to 786 public sector organisations.

Greater London Authority, Southwark Council, and Newcastle upon Tyne Council were identified as some of the biggest spenders.

Specific examples of spending include Humber Health NHS Partnership's £770 outlay on rainbow badges and North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust's £950 expenditure on painting LGBT rainbow colours alongside zebra stripes on pedestrian crossings.

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust also organised drag bingo, while Hartlepool Borough Council hosted a drag queen storytime event.

Caerphilly County Borough Council spent £619.94 on a large deckchair, and Croydon Council allocated £3,313 for Croydon Carnival puppets.

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Gloucestershire County Council, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde East, and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust were found to have organised the most Pride-related events.

Reform UK has slammed the spending as a "bonkers NHS waste".

Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield, took to social media to vent: "Our Underfunded NHS. As I post this a constituent has just contacted me from our local hospital telling me of the problems in A&E (overcrowding & long waits).

"Yet our trusts are doing this with your money. Taxpayers have paid hundreds of thousands of pounds for drag bingo, rainbow fudge and pronoun badges as part of public sector Pride Month celebrations.

"Just a thought - maybe spend this money on Sepsis Awareness?"

Richard Tice, MP for Boston and Skegness, echoed his sentiments, simply replying to Anderson with "bonkers NHS waste".

The TPA has also criticised the spending on Pride celebrations.

Joanna Marchong, the TPA's investigations campaign manager, said: "Taxpayers will be shocked by the growing cost of Pride celebrations. Public sector bodies from councils to the NHS constantly complain of financial pressures putting strain on frontline services, yet are prioritising extravagant events and paying for pointless gimmicks."

She added that the public sector needs to "dial down celebrations until it gets a grip on its finances".

This criticism comes as six councils have declared bankruptcy in England since 2020, with others warning of increasing financial pressures.

The Local Government Association defended councils' decisions, stating: "It is for individual councils to make decisions about how best to invest their resources on behalf of their residents."

The Government has recently launched initiatives to curb wasteful spending in both councils and the NHS.

In March, then-chancellor Jeremy Hunt ordered town halls to abandon diversity schemes as part of efforts to reduce unnecessary expenditure.

This week, a major crackdown on NHS waste was announced, aiming to save millions annually.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting stated: "The NHS is broken. It is the mission of this Government to get it back on its feet, and we can't afford a single penny going to waste."

He added: "Because the NHS deals in the billions, too often it doesn't think about the millions. That has to change."

An NHS spokesman responded: "Every pound of public money is precious, that's why the NHS is determined to spend taxpayers' money wisely, and it is important our LGBT+ patients know they can come forward for the care they need."