Staffordshire County Council remains without a permanent leader following a heated meeting where members accused one another of “hurtful comments” on social media and racism.
Thursday’s full council meeting was due to be the first with Chris Large at the helm of the Reform UK administration – but he stepped down earlier this month, just days after his appointment as leader, due to a family bereavement.
Several fellow Reform UK members expressed their condolences to Councillor Large and his family at Thursday’s meeting (12 February). But there was also condemnation by acting council leader Martin Murray for comments made on social media.
Councillor Murray said:
“I’m still acting leader of this council. Let me make it very clear, plan and simple for you to understand – losing a loved one is hard and we wish all to be allowed the time, space and respect to mourn.
“What we should never have to accept is visceral, hurtful, social media texts being sent out by serving and ex-councillors. This must stop.
“While we may not always share the same views, it’s imperative we both listen and share those views. Everyone stop this visceral name-calling – it’s not just offensive, it’s dangerous to all serving politicians and recent history has shown that.”
Councillor Large previously hit the headlines following allegations that a TikTok account bearing his name made or endorsed racist comments. Following the allegations, Councillor Large said that he had not been personally responsible for the activity, which he condemned, and that a large number of people had access to the account.
Ian Cooper resigned as council leader last year, just days after being expelled from Reform UK after he failed to disclose a social media account. He has faced allegations over racist social media posts, and he currently sits as an independent member on the county council.
Reform UK cabinet member Peter Mason has been involved in a social media row too. He has since apologised for his ‘choice of words’ in tweets about black women and the police, which were made before he was elected to the county council.
Councillors Cooper, Large and Mason were not present at Thursday’s meeting, being among the members who gave apologies for absence. But protesters were present outside County Buildings on Thursday, holding banners saying “Large out! Mason out! Cooper out!”
Conservative opposition group leader Philip White, addressing Councillor Murray at the meeting, said:
“I agree councillors that have allegations against them should be dealt with by due process. The difficulties you are describing are due to the fact you had a cabinet member in this council who has admitted to making deeply racist, misogynistic remarks.
“In terms of leadership of this council, we need a permanent leader of this council. Whether that’s yourself or someone else, we need that leadership and direction, then we can move on.”
Councillor Murray said the person mentioned had apologised and that his party had accepted the apology.
With no permanent leader currently in place, attention is likely to remain on how quickly the council can establish longer term stability.
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