Councillors offer introductions for new Reform UK members to Muslim community after social media posts
The three Labour councillors representing Doncaster’s most ethnically diverse ward have offered to introduce new Reform UK councillors to leaders of the city’s Muslim community.
Town ward councillors Rob Dennis, Gemma Cobby and Majid Khan extended the offer after the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) published details of a Facebook post from Reform UK Hatfield councillor Mark Broadhurst.
Cllr Broadhurst has previously posted an image to the platform which compared Islamic dress to bin bags.
A now-deleted post on his page included an image of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler saying he would have been a “legend” if he had targeted Muslims.
In a statement released last week, the town ward councillors said: “We firmly express that Islamophobia, as well as all other forms of racism and prejudice, has no place in Doncaster.
“We represent all communities in the ward, not just those who vote for us, and we act in the confidence of our residents, both advocating and representing in their best interests.
“We are committed to our ward, but also to our city when shaping decisions and providing recommendations at a Council level, through Committees, such as Overview and Scrutiny and at Full Council.”
Cllrs Dennis, Cobby and Khan said their roles have involved regular visits to local mosques and supporting a new Kurdish centre in the city.
They also said they had “helped at the Muslim led homeless food kitchen and regularly worked alongside with the Doncaster Community Development group” – a “Muslim charity which predominantly helps non-Muslim residents of Doncaster”.
“We treasure and embrace the diverse nature of our ward and work with all ethnic and religious groups, therefore, we would be more than happy to introduce any Councillor, including the new set of Reform Councillors, to the local Muslim community within Doncaster,” the statement concluded.
Reform UK previously declined to answer any questions from the LDRS about Cllr Broadhurst’s controversial social media posts.
The party again declined to make any comment when approached regarding the statement from Labour’s town ward councillors.
Cllr Broadhurst did not respond to a request for comment.