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20
Feb 2024
Pat Marsh refuses to resign as councillor following antisemitism row
A defiant Pat Marsh has said she will not resign as a councillor following comments on X about Jews that have been widely condemned as antisemitic.
In a series of posts made over the past month related to the conflict in Gaza, Cllr Marsh described Jews as “vile”, “evil” and “a disgrace to the world”.
It led the Liberal Democrats to suspend her from the party yesterday but she denied the comments were antisemitic and said they were made to highlight her opposition to the ongoing war and the deaths of thousands of children.
Despite senior councillors on North Yorkshire Council calling on her to quit, Cllr Marsh told the Local Democracy Reporting Service this morning that she intends to sit as an independent for the remainder of her term of office, which is another three years.
She claimed she had received emails of support from residents urging her to carry on serving them in her Stray, Woodlands and Hookstone division.
Cllr Marsh said:
However, Cllr Marsh’s comments about Jewish people may find her in breach of the council’s code of conduct which all councillors sign up to.
This includes ensuring councillors do not discriminate against any person, treat others with respect and must not bring the council into disrepute.
The Local Government Association says a councillor can be removed from their role by the local authority should they be found to have committed a serious breach of the code.
Council leader Carl Les said a complaint has been made to the council’s monitoring officer which could lead to a referral to North Yorkshire Police.
Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough Andrew Jones raised Cllr Marsh’s comments in the House of Commons yesterday evening during a debate about antisemitism.
He said:
A Liberal Democrats spokesperson said there was “literally no evidence” to back up Mr Jones’ “unsubstantiated” claims.
They added:
Campaign Against Antisemitism said the party had acted in a “swift and decisive” manner following the Tweets.
Read more:
- Lib Dems axe Harrogate and Knaresborough leader over anti-semitism row
- Andrew Jones MP says Lib Dems 'must have known' about local leader's anti-semitic tweets
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