A Labour councillor branded a member of the public a “Nazi” after tensions flared at a meeting over the decision to postpone upcoming local elections.
Councillor Ian Woodhall made the comment after becoming involved in a row with a member of the public sitting in the packed public gallery at Redditch Borough Council’s extraordinary meeting on Tuesday evening.
The meeting was adjourned for around 40 minutes following the incident but later resumed.
Councillor Woodhall has since apologised, saying “my reaction was an error of judgement and fell short of the standards expected of me as a councillor”.
“I am sorry to the individual concerned and to everyone present,” the councillor for Headless Cross and Oakenshaw told the BBC.
The Mayor of Redditch, Councillor Joanna Kane, had given repeated warnings to members of the public throughout the meeting over disruptions.
A number of protesters had also gathered outside the council building.
It comes after ministers asked 63 councils in England last month if they wanted to delay their elections until 2027 so they could bed in a local government shake-up.
Redditch Borough Council voted in support of proposals to postpone the elections at the meeting
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During the meeting, Councillor Woodhall said the thought of cancelling elections made him “sick to my stomach” but argued it “buys time” for the council to protect its resources, referencing Reform UK which runs Worcestershire County Council.
He said: “It buys us time. It buys us four months…to plan, to put our resources and assets beyond risk.
“Now, why are they at risk? Because there are forces in this country that are prepared to lie through their teeth at general and local elections.”
After being warned by the Councillor Kane not to “make it personal”, Councillor Woodhall added: “I’m not making it personal, I am simply pointing out that if you name Reform UK three times in public, much like Beetlejuice, they send you a cease and a desist letter but I will cary on.
Councillor Woodhall has since issued an apology
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REDDITCH BOROUGH COUNCIL
“This particular group and this party said they were going to lower taxes, they have raised them at county level, they said they were going to protect services, they have slashed them at county levels.
“We have got a chance with these four months to plan to put our services beyond risk because when they say they are not going to cut our services, I’m going to be honest, on their track record I don’t believe them and neither should anybody else.”
The Labour-run council concluded the meeting by rubber-stamping plans to postpone the May elections, which the majority voted in support of.
Under Government plans, Worcestershire County Council and the six district, borough, and city councils will be abolished in 2028 and replaced by two unitary authorities.
Redditch Borough Council elects councillors in thirds, meaning there were nine seats up for re-election in May.
Council leader, Councillor Sharon Harvey, argued the elections would cost around £192,000.
She told the council meeting: “As a council, we are proud of our financial position, we take sensible decisions to protect services and are in a better position than other councils in the area.
“Protecting the public purse is still important, should we hold elections to a council which will cease to exist in two years time, cost of printing, staffing, polling station officer hours is not insignificant.
“Any money saved will instead be spent going back into supporting Redditch when we vote on the upcoming council budget.”
Conservative Councillor Gemma Monaco was among those who voted against the proposals.
She told the council meeting: “You only have to look around you this evening, the organised peaceful protest that took place earlier and the amount of people sitting in this very room this evening and the room at the top, shows you and demonstrates the level of anger there is at the prospect of democracy being potentially stripped from the hands of the people of this town.
“I would like to thank each and every one of the members that have taken time out of their own lives to peacefully protest this evening.
“I have never in my seven years of being an elected representative ever seen this number of people wanting to attend a full council meeting, either in person, or those that said they would be listening online.
“This sends a very clear message to the controlling group opposite.”
