The ‘Stevie Wonder’ Lancashire by-election row has taken a turn
This by-election campaign for Hyndburn Council in Lancashire is now even stranger after a candidate is suspended.
Labour’s Huncoat by-election candidate has been suspended after dozens of offensive social media posts emerged, days after a Reform councillor was accused of ableism for comparing her to Stevie Wonder.
Cllr Joel Tetlow, who represents Accrington North at Lancashire County Council and the Milnshaw ward at Hyndburn Council, was accused of using ableist language over the weekend when he referred to Labour’s visually impaired by-election candidate and Women’s Officer Jackie Rawstron as a “Stevie Wonder lookalike”.
This comment on a picture of Labour canvassing for the November 12 by-election, which was called following the death of long-serving representative Cllr Dave “Mr Huncoat” Parkins, triggered a wave of criticism from senior party figures about professional conduct among elected officials.
However, on Wednesday, Cllr Tetlow revealed a series of more than 50 offensive X/Twitter posts from Ms Rawstron on a private account. These included describing a trans person as an “escaped inpatient” and joking about a Burnley FC refereeing decision by writing: “Stevie bloody Wonder could see it wasn’t a free kick”.
Many of the social media posts unearthed by Reform are highly critical of people’s weight and of people with varying gender or sexual identities, including a response to a pansexual England fan that reads: “Pansexual.. a love of pans the frying pan being my personal favourite”.
Other posts appeared to ascribe mental illness to people with different gender identities, commenting multiple times beneath pictures of trans people: “Make Asylums Great Again.”
Many of the messages, spanning the last five years, also take a negative view of other people in the Labour Party, with the “Baroness Rawstron” @jackiefromaccy account writing below a video of then-leader Sir Keir Starmer: “He bats for the other side camper than carry on camping”.
Of her local area and party, a post from 2022 about the pay of council chief executives states: “In #Hyndburn he is paid £127,558 the town is a dump full of HMOs, empty shops awash with dodgy dealings over planning permission, Labour Councillors in disarray, assets given away to the chosen few needs a clear out of hangers on start again.”
Responding to queries about Ms Rawstron’s use of social media, a Labour spokesperson said: “The Labour Party does not provide comment on internal party matters or ongoing investigations.”
However, it is understood that Ms Rawstron has been suspended by the party while an internal investigation is carried out, with the local party being unaware of the offensive social media posts until Cllr Tetlow shared them in response to being labelled ableist.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Tetlow said: “I completely reject the allegations of ableism that have been levelled against me.
“It is now apparent that the very people seeking to portray me as prejudiced have remained silent about a substantial history of derogatory and insulting comments made by their own candidate, including remarks directed at people’s appearance, weight, sexuality, gender identity, nationality and even fellow Labour supporters and councillors.”
He went on to say: “If Labour genuinely believes that personal insults and offensive comments have no place in public debate, then those standards should apply equally to everyone, not just to political opponents.
Cllr Tetlow said residents would be concerned that the comments had been made over a prolonged period and questioned whether local Labour figures had been aware of them before they became public.
He said that while some people might disagree with his remark, he rejected attempts to portray him as discriminatory while more extensive comments had escaped similar scrutiny, arguing that voters were entitled to expect consistency, fairness and honesty from those seeking elected office.
These revelations about Labour’s candidate in the Huncoat by-election, and their suspension from the party, have complicated a race that was already seen as a fight to stave off Reform.
Ms Rawstron’s suspension from the party will not change the ballot presented to the electorate on November 12, as nominations closed on October 16 – meaning that she will still appear on the ballot as the Labour Party candidate.
However, Hyndburn’s Labour MP Sarah Smith has issued a stern statement explaining that, if Cllr Tetlow’s “Stevie Wonder” comment deserved scrutiny, then so do the social media posts of her party’s candidate.
She said: “As your Member of Parliament I have always been clear: everyone, regardless of background, condition, religion or race deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and discriminatory conduct should be taken seriously, whoever it comes from.
“I raised the concerns about the ableist comments directed towards our candidate because those concerns matter. That principle does not change when concerns are raised about someone in my own party.
“The same standards of respect, fairness and accountability must apply consistently.“
The Hyndburn MP said that she had raised the candidate’s comments with the regional party and would await the outcome of the internal investigation.
Sarah Smith MP added: “The concerns raised about our candidate deserve to be considered seriously and fairly, just as the original concerns about ableism deserved to be taken seriously.
“I will never apply one standard to others and another to people I work with. These matters should be assessed on the evidence, through the appropriate processes.
“I have shared these concerns with the North West Regional Labour Party for investigation, and I await their verdict.
“My principles are not conditional on whose conduct is being questioned. They will always be upheld consistently.”
Huncoat by-election candidates
The candidates for the Huncoat by-election to Hyndburn Council on November 12 are:
- Labour – Jackie Rawstron
- Reform UK – Anna Stanislawska
- Conservative – Shahed Mahmood
- Restore Britain – Mark Conlon
- Huncoat residents have until October 27 to register to vote, if they haven’t already, for the November 12 by-election.