A Staffordshire County Council meeting descended into chaos after anti-racism activists staged a noisy protest against the ruling Reform UK group.
The full council meeting was brought to a halt when the members of the Stafford Campaign Against Racism and Fascism (Scarf) started chanting from the public gallery.
They said they would not leave until Reform councillors accused of making racist comments on social media resigned.
The meeting on Thursday morning was suspended and the police were called to remove the protestors, (writes local democracy reporter Phil Corrigan).
Police officers arrived after 40 minutes and, following a brief conversation, the protestors agreed to leave the chamber, with the meeting finally resuming after lunch.
The meeting came just days after the resignation of council leader County Coun Ian Cooper, following allegations he had made racist posts on X and YouTube, including offensive remarks about Black and Asian public figures.
County Coun Cooper, who did not attend Thursday’s meeting, had his Reform membership revoked following a party investigation into his failure to declare social media accounts during his candidate vetting.
Cabinet member County Coun Peter Mason had previously apologised for making offensive comments about Black women, the police and other groups on X before he was elected a councillor.
Fellow cabinet member County Coun Chris Large has denied being responsible for a TikTok account bearing his name endorsing a racist post.
The Scarf members, who also staged a demonstration outside County Buildings before the meeting, called for all three councillors to resign.
Speaking before the meeting, Scarf convenor Damon Hoppe said: “We are absolutely outraged and disgusted at the racist messages coming from the Reform councillors.
“It’s not just one councillor who has been doing this, there are three of them. They are not fit to be councillors. They should resign and allow the people of Staffordshire to elect new representatives.”
“Racism is such a problem because it denies someone their personhood. People like that cannot represent the people of Staffordshire.
“I believe they deceived people into voting for them six months ago. If voters had known the racist stuff they were saying I don’t think they would have supported Reform.”
Following County Coun Cooper’s resignation, deputy council leader County Coun Martin Murray has become acting council leader in line with the authority’s constitution.
A permanent appointment will be made by the full council in the new year. In a speech at the start of the meeting, County Coun Murray said he condemned “any form of racism and hate”.
But he also criticised “visceral name-calling”, which he said put politicians in danger.
Difficult
He said: “It has certainly been a difficult few days for this council and I recognise the strength of feeling surrounding recent events.
“But please, do not forget all the positive, and frankly ground-breaking, great work we are doing here in this council.
“I want to make it absolutely clear here today, that I condemn any form of racism and hate, on any platform. While we may not always share the same views or beliefs with our friends, our families, it is imperative that we all both listen and respect those views.
“Yes, raise your concerns, but use the proper channels. We must all, and I mean everyone, stop this visceral name-calling, the use of language or tropes that label whole groups. It’s not just offensive, it is dangerous to all serving politicians, our own recent history has shown that.”
Opposition Conservative group leader County Coun Philip White welcomed County Coun Murray’s words but said he had to take action, describing the situation as a “day of shame”.
County Coun White said: “I never thought our county of Staffordshire would be dragged into the dark place that it has been in the last few months.
“I welcome your condemnation of racism, leader, but those words will ring hollow if there is not action on these matters. There should have been action already. I’m astonished that we still have a cabinet member who has admitted to making these remarks.
“Staffordshire is a kind and tolerant place. We should have no place for racism and bigotry in our politics. Today is a day of shame for this council.”
Resign
Green County Coun Jack Rose called for any elected member with “extremist or racially aggravated” views to resign.
He said: “Staffordshire is a beautiful, diverse and historic county. It is steeped in history and has an even brighter future.
“Staffordshire and its residents deserve respectful and strong leadership, grounded in values of community, solidarity and respect.
“Every time we excuse racist views and derogatory language, we take a step in the wrong direction.”
County Coun White raised the issue of County Coun Mason’s position in the cabinet with a formal question to County Coun Murray.
The meeting heard that because County Coun Mason’s offensive social media comments predated his time as an elected member, the authority’s code of conduct did not apply in his case.
County Coun Murray insisted that “due process has to be adhered to”, and noted that County Coun Mason had apologised for his choice of words.
(Photos: Phil Corrigan).
