A Preston resident has claimed that he was blocked from asking a question about antisemitism during a city council meeting, due to an ongoing Labour Party investigation into a councillor accused of making antisemitic comments.
Councillor Carol Henshaw was suspended from Labour following a JC exposé revealing a councillors’ WhatsApp chat in which she allegedly made comments to fellow Labour councillors criticising Jewish residents in the city for participating in a vigil calling for the release of Israeli hostages.
Harry Spillman, a 77-year-old retired teacher and member of Preston’s local Labour Party, alerted the JC to the group in March.
Ahead of a full council meeting last week, he submitted a question for discussion – but it was barred from being asked. In his question, Spillman highlighted the “deep hurt and distress” caused to the Jewish community by the remarks in the group chat and called on the council leader to “express full support and solidarity” with local vigils for Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza.
He also urged the council to make a “renewed commitment to tackle antisemitism wherever it may appear, in the City of Preston or in your own Labour Group”.
It was the second time Spillman had been prevented from raising the issue at council meetings. His initial question, submitted last month, was accepted and published online but later removed before the meeting.
“My question last week was simply asking the council leader to reaffirm his position within Labour policy,” Spillman said. “I wasn’t asking anything that isn’t already council policy.”
A spokesperson for Preston City Council said: “A live investigation is ongoing by the national Labour Party and so we are unable to comment at this time.”
However, a similar investigation elsewhere has not stopped local debate. In nearby Burnley, the council allowed discussion of a motion calling for Labour MP Oliver Ryan to resign after he was accused of making inappropriate comments in another WhatsApp group.
“Because there is an investigation into Councillor Henshaw, does that mean we cannot address the general issue of antisemitism in the Labour group?” Spillman asked.
“We do not know how long the investigation will take – two weeks or two months – so during that time, I am not going to accept that we cannot raise matters within the Labour group on bigotry or prejudice.” “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” he added. “It would be an injustice for people who are racist and antisemitic to get away with it.”
The WhatsApp group in question included roughly half of the Labour councillors on Preston City Council. Only Henshaw has been suspended.
But Spillman claimed that the Labour administration is acting as if nothing has happened, saying: “The Labour group has an antisemitism problem, that’s why I came up with the second question and gave them a chance to say where they stand.”
Ahead of last Thursday’s meeting, Spillman and several members of Preston’s small Jewish community staged a protest outside the council chambers.
They handed out printed copies of his question to councillors, spoke to Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors as they headed into the meeting, and held placards that read “let Harry speak.” Spillman wore a t-shirt depicting anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela.
He also performed a song that he had written for council leader Matthew Brown, with the lyrics: “Don’t you know Matty there are racists in your Labour WhatsApp group? You must root them out and boot them out from inside.
“Will you please do what’s right and with all of your might. Support our vigils, ending our distress.” Councillor Brown has been approached for comment. The Labour Party said it does not comment on ongoing investigations.
