A motion aimed at strengthening Staffordshire County Council’s response to racism has been blocked by Reform UK councillors.
The motion was put forward by Councillor Philip White, leader of the Conservative group, following controversy over comments made on social media by Councillor Peter Mason before he was elected to the county council.
Cllr Mason, who represents Burton South and is cabinet member for strategic highways, previously made posts which referred to black women in derogatory terms while discussing a statue. He also criticised police, calling them “politically indoctrinated British hating scum.”
He has since apologised for the comments.
A number of complaints were made to the council’s standards panel, but no action was taken because the posts were made before Cllr Mason was elected. Horninglow and Eton Parish Council has since said he is no longer welcome at its meetings.
At last week’s county council meeting, Cllr White put forward a motion which could have resulted in Cllr Mason being removed from his cabinet role.
The motion would have condemned racism and committed councillors to treating all people equally. It would also have given party leaders the power to remove councillors from all roles within the council if they were proven to have behaved in a racist manner.
Cllr White said
“When I look back to a year ago when the new Reform administration came into office there were a lot of things I thought we might spend time talking about in this chamber. I did not expect we would spend so much time talking about racism and the behaviour of colleagues.
“It is not something I have ever wanted to talk about but it’s been necessary to do so and I hope that today gives us an opportunity to perhaps stop talking about it as often as we have had to by finding some common ground on policy as to how we approach these issues going forward.”
Cllr Mason told the meeting that his previous comments were “that of a working man” and not words he would use today, but said he would not apologise for beliefs he said had been mischaracterised and weaponised.
He said
“I made comments on social media long before I stood for election, as a private citizen, responding to other people’s posts through a particular period of frustration. I did not threaten anyone, I did not call for violence or anyone to be silenced. I spoke against ideologies and institutions and not individuals.
“I have and will always support individual choice. My words were that of a working man from a council estate, a man who has watched his country change beyond recognition, just like millions of ordinary Brits.
“My words were subsequently mischaracterised and weaponised for political gain. Are they the words I would choose to use today in this chamber? No. I cannot and will not apologise for the beliefs I was trying to express. Beliefs that are not racist or hateful. They are the beliefs of normal people countrywide and until recently were not considered anything but mainstream.”
Since Reform UK took control of Staffordshire County Council last year, the authority has faced a series of racism controversies.
Former leader Ian Cooper resigned as county council leader in December following a probe into racism allegations linked to social media activity. His successor, Chris Large, later quit as leader of the Reform group on the council following a bereavement, although it later emerged that he was the subject of an inquiry into allegedly racist posts on TikTok.
Staffordshire County Council leader Martin Murray said Reform councillors would not support the motion. He said existing laws and council processes were already in place and argued that giving group leaders the proposed powers would be undemocratic.
Cllr Murray said
“I do have concerns on this motion and I really do because we already have systems in place, we have the complaints process, we have procedures, we have laws. That’s where our concerns are, the opposition has spent the last year chasing this one – it makes you wonder if this is truly about racism or politicisation for a political gain only.
“I do have concerns of where this motion comes in and it plays only in that realm – to carry it on further. Instead of using that due process that exists, the laws that already exist. We get a motion instead that cannot find purchase through proper argument or debate, seeks to create a wholly undemocratic mechanism, one where a group leader’s belief substitutes that of evidence.”
The council’s current processes were criticised by Green councillor Jack Rose, who said he had submitted complaints in October and was still waiting for a hearing.
Independent councillor Jill Hood said there was no defence for Cllr Mason’s comments, which she described as “pure hatred and racism”.
Related Posts:
