Former Cornwall Council leader quits Conservatives over 'racist' remarks

Pauline Giles apologises

The former chair of Cornwall Council has resigned from the Conservative party after she was condemned by two of the Duchy’s MPs over a Facebook post they deemed to be racist. Cllr Pauline Giles, who is the Cornwall councillor for St Blazey, issued a statement last night apologising for her post and saying she will now represent her division as an independent non-aligned councillor.

Cllr Giles, who was one of only seven Conservative councillors still left on Cornwall Council and was the authority’s chair until the May election, backed a petition for “mass deportations” on Wednesday by former Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe. Sharing the petition on Facebook, she wrote: “If you want mass deportation of illegals in dinghies sign this petition! We cannot sustain the volume of young black males flooding our country. It jeopardises the security of our country and is slowly bankrupting us!”

Noah Law, Labour MP for St Austell and Newquay, responded to her post by saying: “In the 1960s a young black male came to this country. He spent the next 40 years dedicating his life to our RAF and NHS. His children became teachers, nurturing the next generation on to a better life. His grandson is now your MP for St Austell and Newquay.

“I have written to Kemi Badenoch to ask her to consider whether Ms Giles should have any place in the Conservative Party given and whether she should be sent packing to Reform UK where she belongs and, in 2029, sent packing from Cornwall Council, by which time I hope we have put this dark, disgusting period of old-fashioned racism behind us.”

Liberal Democrat MP for North Cornwall Ben Maguire added: “This is vile and blatant racism from a sitting Conservative councillor. Racism has absolutely no place in our country or in Cornish politics. Giles should resign immediately. If the Conservatives want to prove they are serious about tackling racism, they must remove the whip from her if she doesn’t.”

Tom Scott, co-ordinator of Cornwall Green Party, also condemned her post: “The comments posted on Facebook by Cllr Pauline Giles, in support of a petition by Reform reject MP Rupert Lowe, are utterly shameful. Her hateful comments are incredibly hurtful to our black and migrant communities and those seeking asylum, and we unequivocally condemn them.

“For our political discourse to have descended so far as for these kinds of comments to be normalised, and for elected officials to feel so safe to say such heinous things, shows we are in a moment of crisis. Shame on those in positions of power who have used that power to bring us to this point.”

Following media reports, Cllr Giles took to Facebook last night to say: “I understand that I singularly mentioned one race and colour in my personal Facebook post, which was wrong, I should have said those illegally entering or country. I sincerely apologise to anyone who I have offended.

“In order to put blue water between myself and my fellow Conservative councillors, who had no input in my post, I have resigned from the Conservative party with immediate effect. I shall now be an independent non-aligned councillor and continue to do my best for the residents of St Blazey.”

Mr Law responded to her resignation on social media: “I would like to thank Cllr Pauline Giles for her heartfelt apology for her recent remarks and the example this sets to others to take care in what they say and treat people as individuals, not as a product of the colour of their skin. I am sure residents – including those for whom her comments were deeply personal and can eat away at one’s very being – will share my gratitude for her reconsidering her position on this matter.”

However, Mr Scott of the Green Party thinks she should stand down from Cornwall Council despite her apology: “We’ve now been informed that Cllr Pauline Giles has apologised ‘to anyone I might have offended’ and resigned from the Conservative Party, to ‘put clear blue water between myself and my fellow Conservative Councillors’ (whatever that might mean).

“We would suggest that Cllr Giles needs to put clear water not just between herself and her former Tory colleagues but between herself and Cornwall Council, and that the best way to do this would be to stand down as a councillor. Her continued presence there is a stain on the council’s reputation.”

Cllr Giles will sit as an independent non-aligned councillor and not as part of the new Cornish Independent Non-aligned Group, which was set up by former Reform UK councillors last week. It means the political make-up of Cornwall Council now looks like this:

Liberal Democrats – 26 seats
Reform UK – 23 seats
Independents – 16 seats
Conservatives – 6 seats
Cornish Independent Non-aligned Group – 4 seats
Labour – 4 seats
Mebyon Kernow – 3 seats
Green Party – 3 seats
Independent Non-aligned – 1 seat