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Conservatives and Pendle Council

(123 Posts)
trisher Sun 06-May-18 09:53:26

I think it is disgusting that the Conservatives reinstated a councillor previously suspended over a racist joke in order to take control of Pendle council. The joke was disgusting and her assertion that she shared it by mistake unacceptable. That someone would even dare to send her such a joke says so much about her. You can read about it here. Just one warning the joke is completely foul and you may prefer not to read it www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tories-win-pendle-reinstating-councillor-12481278

trisher Mon 07-May-18 15:51:03

The point is that many posters on another thread expected Jeremy Corbyn to speak out publicly about racist comments by Labour supporters, but no-one has posted anything asking why Theresa May has not condemned this councillor and her 'joke". This isn't a supporter, but a member of the party an elected councillor and a key member of Pendle council, shouldn't TM have said something about her?

nigglynellie Mon 07-May-18 15:53:24

No condemnation of Lord Adonis then?!!
Grandad, Bully for you to be so dedicated, but it may come as a surprise for you to learn that some of us on here are not labour party supporters and not trade union members, so don't take kindly to being lectured about what we should or should not be doing or thinking on a bank holiday or any other time come to that.

trisher Mon 07-May-18 16:07:11

This thread is about a Conservative councillor. There is another thread where Lord Adonis is being discussed. It really isn't fair to expect him to have 2.

trisher Mon 07-May-18 16:08:42

But I will say he deleted the joke. She shared hers and then lied about it..

nigglynellie Mon 07-May-18 16:09:11

Fair enough!

Grandad1943 Mon 07-May-18 16:09:39

nigglynellie, I was referring to those who so offten state on this forum that they are Labour party supporters or even members of the party.

Those who have not claimed the above I am not refurring to, but I still would have thought they would have wished to have "strongly stateded" their utter and total disgust of this incident occuring in Tory party in more than a one line and few words post.

Oldwoman70 Mon 07-May-18 16:12:47

trisher the only condemnation of Lord Adonis on the other thread has come from nigglynellie and myself.

nigglynellie Mon 07-May-18 16:13:21

You're right he did; but why do it in the first place?! being sorry doesn't make it alright which as an educated intelligent man, LA well knows!!

nigglynellie Mon 07-May-18 16:14:15

Grandad, I think we all have!

mostlyharmless Mon 07-May-18 16:42:29

grandad several Labour voters or left leaning posters on here (as well as right leaning posters) have already “strongly” expressed their shock and dismay at the behaviour of this Tory councillor.
Brandon Lewis congratulated the Tory council for winning. And he later defended her saying she’d made a mistake!
A Conservative Party spokesman said it was a local matter that was dealt with locally BBC online.
“Mistakes” like this indicate an ingrained habit of casual racism.

Oldwoman70 Mon 07-May-18 17:46:36

Grandad as a Tory voter I have expressed my disgust and disapproval of this councillor, it seems you don't wish to acknowledge the fact that everyone who has posted, whether Tory or Labour, has expressed their disapproval of the actions of this councillor and the local Conservative group.

trisher Mon 07-May-18 18:42:06

The point is not the expressions of disgust on GN- which are great, but the lack of expressions of disgust, indeed the lack of any real action or comment from the Conservative party. She was suspended-good. Was there an investigation? If there had been the fact that she lied would surely have come up. She has had some "diversity training" what sort of training. She was welcomed back to the Tory fold. I hope someone has exmined her facebook account and removed any of her racist friends. And still TM says nothing!

Iam64 Mon 07-May-18 19:20:32

trisher, I agree with your post at 18.42 today. Of course she should have remained suspended pending a thorough investigation. That would have ensured the fact she lied was identified. "diversity training" - hah! Not good enough. No one should need diversity training to help them understand racist 'jokes' like the one she shared.
I'm not surprised TM hasn't said anything. She'll be keeping her head down and hoping it all goes away. That's the likely outcome sadly. The issue with allegations of anti semitism in the LP is that it's been a drip drip drip feed of horrible comments, fb posts and concerns from the wider Jewish community. Plus of course the DM is so good at publicising any concerns about JC's leadership.

Oldwoman70 Mon 07-May-18 19:23:44

Grandad said "I was referring to those who so offten state on this forum that they are Labour party supporters or even members of the party "

He doesn't seem to acknowledge that people from all sides of the political spectrum are condemning the action of the local Conservative party. As a Tory I feel it strange that I am the one defending the Labour supporters on GN

Iam64 Mon 07-May-18 19:26:27

T'hanks Oldwoman70 smile.

lemongrove Mon 07-May-18 20:12:04

So, Grandad you are on holiday but still posting on here
What do you want, applause?
A Bank Holiday for most women ( you are not one obviously) means visiting family, or visitors to your own home and less time for sitting looking at comments on social media...... and a good thing too!
I did pop on here earlier and just had time for a quick comment on a couple of threads, this being one of them.
I can’t imagine any GN members thinking well of this woman for re posting a horrible message, if she represented any political party as a councillor it would be equally wrong.
She should never have been reinstated in my view.
As the matter was dealt with last year, it could well be that it has to be upheld, (I am not a member of any political party, nor do I know how these things are managed at local council level) or even if the PM has the power to say that ‘she has to go’.
It cannot be compared to the antisemitism within the LP and particularly within the LP activists, simply because there are many instances of that, and this vile joke by a Conservative councillor was a one off. I hope that particular council will be watching her in the future for any lapses.

trisher Mon 07-May-18 21:35:16

But party activists do not stand for the party necessarily lemongrove so their views may be abhorrent but they hold no positions and no authority. This woman is an elected councillor, the public face of a party and she has been reinstated. Either those that reinstated her did so because they care more for power than for the good name of the party or they consider her joke to be of little consequence and therefore dismiss racism within the party. Either way this particular branch of the Conservative party is flawed and needs to be dealt with. But none of you who have mae such fuss about the Labour Party seem willing to accept this.

maryeliza54 Mon 07-May-18 22:42:43

lemon are you seriously suggesting that this example of racist behaviour is a one off in the Tory party? There have been numerous examples of racism and I for one also remember Zac ‘non dom ‘ Goldsmith and his filthy racist campaign against SK.

winterwhite Tue 08-May-18 07:29:30

Certainly not a one-off, if on the extreme end of nastiness. It’s prolonged use of rose-coloured spectacles to think otherwise

trisher Tue 08-May-18 08:46:55

I've just noticed the comments about it being a year ago- how long did people go back into Jeremy Corbyn's Facebook account to find a group and comment about a work of art to back up assertions of anti-semitism? And this joke isn't mildly racist, or the sort of racist someone might misunderstand, it is vile. It is so openly racist it is difficult to understand that anyone could find it funny. Trying to imagine the sort of person the joke might have come from is horrific.

MaizieD Tue 08-May-18 08:55:34

It cannot be compared to the antisemitism within the LP and particularly within the LP activists, simply because there are many instances of that, and this vile joke by a Conservative councillor was a one off

Sorry to disabuse you of this comfortable notion,*lemon*, but racism appears to be endemic among tory councillors

This is a list of tory councillors who have been suspended in the last 30 days. Kudos to the local party for suspending them but one can't help suspecting, in the light of the current row, that had it meant losing control of a council the suspensions might not have happened

nyebevannews.co.uk/here-is-a-full-list-of-the-18-tory-councillors-and-candidates-who-have-been-suspended-for-racism-and-abuse-in-the-last-30-days-alone/

Anniebach Tue 08-May-18 09:19:41

granddad, some find one word sums up theirs thoughts and have no need to write an epistle.

I do not believe the entire Labour Party is anti Semitic and I do not believe the entire Conservative party is racist.

mostlyharmless Tue 08-May-18 09:50:57

maizie and these are things that Tory councillors have said in public or online. It makes you wonder what they say in the privacy of their own home!

nigglynellie Tue 08-May-18 09:53:12

Of course they're not! There are extremely objectionable people in ALL walks of life including all political parties, but this doesn't mean that the everyone is, and to claim this is clearly absurd!

Grandad1943 Tue 08-May-18 12:34:20

Quote lemon grove [So,Grandadyou are on holiday but still posting on here
What do you want, applause?
A Bank Holiday for most women (you are not one obviously) Means visiting family, or visitors to your own home and less time for sitting looking at comments on social media...... and a good thing too! ~snip] End Quote

Lemongrove, I see you love to share your folksy wisdom. Yesterday, you first informed us it was a Bank holiday (07/05/18) When some of us may just have the intelligence to notice that outside yourself. You then went on to inform us of the role of "most" women (in your view) During those Bank holidays which I find entirely outdated in regard to "most" women having to "Shoulder all the extra burdens" on such occasions.

In case you have not noticed Lemon, in these times equality is very much to the fore and to the benefit of the British economy. In the home workloads are very much shared and equalized between the sexes as both partners are very often working equal hours outside that environment. In the workplace, there is still some way to go, but huge strides been made in recent years to the benefit of all.

However, as with the case of this now conservative woman councillor, there are those that cannot accept or do not wish to see the changes that have come about in Britain in recent decades. We are a multi-cultural society and yet this person still sees fit to spread jokes that would have been viewed as disgusting even in the 1970s.

In the above the Tory party believes that it is "alright" for this individual to be re-admitted to the Conservative party as one of their councillors which demonstrates the depths to which the modern conservative party has fallen in its never ending quest for power at any cost and in that linked personal monetary gain.

As Trisher and others have stated on this thread, why has Theresa May not spoken out condemning this matter. I have no doubts that should this incident have occurred in the Labour party, media such as the Daily Mail and the Sun would have headlined that Jeremy Corbyn was condoning such action by his silence.

Also without doubt the "Labour party members and supporters" on this forum would have been condemning that silence time and time again on any thread given over to the topic. For evidence of that, anyone can look through the Jeremy Corbyn thread in regard to anti-Semitism to witness those Labour supporters condemning him at great length day after day in that matter

With supporters such as the above, Labour does not need opposition (LOL)