Southport and the Orange Lodge parades

Plus: £10m memorial gardens decision delayed by 'abusive' protesters and Southport Inquiry latest

Jamie Lopez

and

The Southport Lead

Jul 12, 2025

∙ Paid

Hello and welcome to the 52 edition of The Southport Lead.

We’re sending this newsletter a day early as the focus of our main story is the Orange Lodge parades which take place today. With July 12 falling on a Saturday for the first time in 11 years and sunny weather forecast, a big turnout is expected. Today’s edition explores the history of the parade and its relationship with Southport.

Today’s edition also focuses on unsavoury scenes at Thursday’s full Sefton Council meeting, when anti-5G protesters saw proceedings ground to a halt and there’s a round up of what’s been heard so far at The Southport Inquiry. Paying subscribers can also access Andrew Brown’s events guide to the week ahead.

Before that though, some good news courtesy of PressGazette's Future of Media Awards where The Lead North has been nominated for the specialist/regional category of Best Journalism-based Newsletters of 2025.

The Lead North is a collection of newsletters including this one and titles covering Lancashire, Blackpool, Teesside and Calderdale and we were all delighted to see recognition of the work done so far. Our ad-free model can only work with the support of our readers so if you’d enjoyed our output so far, please consider taking a paid subscription so we can keep bringing the news which you won’t find anywhere else.

Southport prepares for a bumper Orange Lodge parade

The Orange Lodge parades return today. Pic: Andrew Brown

By Jamie Lopez

A huge parade involving bands, banners and costumes will pass through Southport today prompting reactions including intrigue, support, indifference and disgust.

The July 12 parades are the most significant in the Orange Lodge calendar, marking the anniversary of Battle of the Boyne, when King William III’s army defeated that of the deposed King James II.

This year, for the first time since 2014, the date falls on a Saturday and with sunny weather forecast, the attendance is expected to be the biggest seen in many years.

Participants are travelling in from all over the country, with some having come from as far as Portsmouth to join in the celebration as the lodges mark the anniversary of a battle which led to an unbroken run of a Protestant Monarchy.

For many years, the parades have gained a reputation of being involved with disorder and anti-social behaviour, something those involved are keen to dispute. Opponents of the parade raise terms such as drunkenness, intimidation and sectarianism but Lodge members offer a very different viewpoint and argue this perception is deeply unfair.

So what is the purpose of the parades and what are their impacts in today’s society?

Fear and disorder

Sam, who grew up in the town and asked to only be referred to by his first name, is among many who are aware of the tradition but have never fully understood it. He told The Southport Lead: “Growing up, it was always the case that when the parade was on we’d avoid going to town.

“If you forgot it was on, you’d see the coaches parked up and turn away. I can remember shops locking up to avoid trouble and there’d always be lots of mess left behind.

“I kind of knew it as this thing to be avoided and that there’d be lots of people drinking but other than that, I didn’t know much about this thing that happens in my home town every year.”

Those attitudes appear to have reduced in recent years and Provincial Grand Master Steve Kingston argues they are largely based on misconceptions. Previous years which have seen multiple arrests have not involved those officially involved in the parades but instead those watching and in some cases figures included anyone arrested in the town that day.

Speaking to The Southport Lead, he said: “But I think what people forget is it's not just a case of turning up and walking on the parade. You know, these people are active members of an organisation in which they have to attend meetings and pay subscriptions.

“You know, it's not just sort of come along for a walk, if you fancy. So it's not open. I mean, it's open to people, obviously, to just spectate, but taking part, you've got to be actually a member.”

Religious tensions

Critics of the parades describe them as anti-Catholic and celebrating bloody violence. While those involved here insist they are rooted in being respectful, across the country that has not always been the case.

After The Southport Lead spoke with Steve, another lodge sparked outrage with how it celebrated the date. In County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, an effigy of refugees in a boat was placed on top of a bonfire and set alight.

Church of Ireland Archbishop John McDowell told the BBC it was "racist, threatening and offensive... it certainly has nothing whatsoever to do with Christianity or with Protestant culture and is in fact inhuman and deeply sub-Christian."

Organisers Moygashel Bonfire Committee has said that the bonfire "topper" should not be seen as "racist, threatening or offensive" and it is "expressing our disgust at the ongoing crisis that is illegal immigration".

While it is part of the wider celebration in parts of Northern Ireland, the bonfire tradition is generally not carried out in England

Why Southport?

Anyone looking for a deep answer on why Southport is the chosen location may be left a little disappointed. For Steve, it’s largely a case of tradition with Southport having been seen as an attractive location when the parades started nearby decades ago.

He said: “I think if you go back, and it’s been in Southport more than 60 years, I think it's simply because it's a seaside resource at a convenient distance away from where the main centre of Orangism has always been, you know.

“So I think that there's no reason other than that, really. You know, it's a good destination. And it's become one of those traditions, I suppose. It's a tradition, yeah, that's it. I mean, obviously it's a place where there's bars, cafes, funfairs, arcades. “

The reaction from within the town has traditionally been mixed. The attitude described by Sam is a common one and there have often been calls to refuse to host the parade. One petition calling for Sefton Council to block it described the day as “drunken debauchery that has its roots in a violent past that holds no resonance with local people” but attracted just a handful of signatures.

Today, some businesses will close their doors until the parade has passed while others will see it as an opportunity. The Mason’s Arms on Union Street will open late while a town centre newsagent told me he plans to do the same.

On the other hand, Nolls Bar on Bath Street is hosting one of the bands as it spends the day welcoming paraders and other hospitality businesses are set for a busy day of trade.

Steve said: “A few years ago, not that many years ago, there was some opposition, I think, from possibly one of the MPs or local councillors and saying, you know, it causes chaos, blah, blah, blah.

“And then when we left the buses down by the railway extension, hung across the road in Neville Street with banners saying, ‘local businesses welcome you’ or whatever. So I suppose there will be both views on it, you know, some obviously do very well out of the day.

“I've got dinner booked in a hotel for 60 people. It's quite a lot per person. So yeah, they’re obviously happy. Maybe I don't know you know a little retail shop that suffers because they're normal customers think it's gonna be too chaotic but it's like if you've got a football match on or a pop concert tour you know any large event is gonna cause disruption of some description or other.”

He added: “The disruption is just inevitable when you've got, you know, a lot of people who are arriving in a particular location, but I mean, we've got no intention of intimidating anybody because of, you know, who we are or who they are, you know.

“It's just the same as any other, you know, faith or cultural group that has a parade, you know, certainly in Liverpool, you know, there's Carribbean Carnivals and Pride, and, you know, there's a parade every few weeks, and it's just another parade, you know.

The fact, from our point of view, it's a slightly frustrating thing when people do object, out of all the parades and cultures and everything else, we've probably been here the longest before, I mean.

“What we really do is celebrate, and I'm supporting the structures of the country. You know, we're not protesting against anything, you know, we're actually celebrating something which already exists, you know, we would hate to remain the same, you know, so sometimes it's a bit unusual to be criticised when you're actually in support.”

Memorial gardens delayed as protestors turn abusive at council meeting

By Andrew Brown

A decision on approving the £10 million transformation of the Town Hall Gardens in Southport has been delayed after protestors caused the suspension of the full Sefton Council Meeting at Southport Town Hall.

Protestors in the public gallery were protesting about issues including immigration and 5G masts with some female councillors being subjected to appalling personal abuse.

The meeting had to be abandoned before approval could be given to plans to create a new family friendly space in the Town Hall gardens on Lord Street in Southport, after the families of the three young girls who were murdered last summer won £10 million backing from the government.

Other council business also had to be postponed due to the protests, with the next meeting not due to take place until 11th September 2025.

Southport councillor and Sefton Conservative Group Leader Mike Prendergast said: “Thursday night’s Sefton Council meeting descended into farcical and angry scenes.

“Councillors from all political parties, represent their communities and give their time to help others. We may disagree on political issues but fundamentally, we all want the best for our residents.

“Councillors from across all parties were prevented from doing their jobs by people who think that their opinions and concerns are more important than everyone else’s and who stopped a democratic council meeting from proceeding.

“Important issues could not be debated and items on tonight’s agenda, such as funding for the Town Hall Gardens, were not approved.

“Opposition councillors were stopped from holding the ruling party to account, what they were elected to do.

“We can’t allow a small group of people to stop democratic processes, and it’s imperative that the next council meeting is conducted in a more orderly manner.”

What’s On This Week: July 13-20