The city’s three Green councillors have issued a joint statement calling for higher standards from politicians in the wake of the ‘Trigger Me Timbers’ scandal, which has led to two MPs and 12 Greater Manchester councillors being suspended from the Labour Party at the time of writing.

The councillors issuing the statement are Cllr Anastasia Wiest, Cllr Astrid Johnson, and Cllr Rob Nunney.

The statement reads as follows:

“We strongly condemn the hateful language allegedly used by certain Labour MPs and councillors in the ‘Trigger Me Timbers’ WhatsApp group, which has no place at all in politics. We welcome a thorough investigation into what took place in the group.

“We understand that Greater Manchester Police have recorded a ‘non-crime hate incident’ as part of their initial enquiries into the WhatsApp group. It is shocking that elected politicians would be involved in a hate incident, which has shown their contempt for members of the public.

“As elected politicians, we are privileged to represent our communities, and it is our duty to treat all of our residents with respect, regardless of whether they voted for us or not. This grubby affair has shown that certain Labour MPs and councillors apparently take their residents for granted and hold them in contempt.

“Residents across Manchester rightly expect better from their politicians than this, and they can rest assured that we do our utmost to live up to those expectations as Green Party councillors. We urge all our colleagues across the political spectrum in Manchester to do the same.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors: 

The Green Party is an opposition party on Manchester City Council with three councillors. The leader of the Green group on the council is Cllr Anastasia Wiest. The deputy leader is Cllr Astrid Johnson.

The three Green councillors on the council are Cllr Anastasia Wiest, Cllr Astrid Johnson, and Cllr Rob Nunney. All three represent the ward of Woodhouse Park.

Manchester City Council is formed of 87 Labour members, three Greens, four Liberal Democrats, one Worker’s Party member, and one independent.

Cllrs Wiest and Johnson can be available for interview upon request. 

For further information, please contact Chris Ogden at press@manchester.greenparty.org.uk.

The post Manchester Green councillors condemn ‘hateful’ WhatsApp group scandal appeared first on Manchester Green Party.