Tory suspended over immigration comment
WALSALL council leader Mike Bird has launched a staunch defence of a Tory colleague who has been suspended over comments regarding African immigration.
Councillor Vera Waters is one of 25 Conservative members currently being investigated by national party chiefs following the claims made in The Guardian, based on a dossier handed to the newspaper.
Councillor Waters is believed to have endorsed a Facebook post in 2017 – a year before she was elected to the authority – which called for an end of all aid to Africa and immigration from the continent.
She allegedly replied: “I totally agree with you. It’s nature’s way of depopulation.”
But Councillor Bird said that while the comment was “naive”, it had been blown out of proportion.
He said: “Vera Waters is certainly not a racist or an Islamaphobe. She is someone who adopts
“The comments attributed to her were made before she was a member of the council. She is an exceptionally good ward councillor who really cares about her role.
“While her comments are a bit naive, they have been blown out of proportion. But it just goes to show the dangers of social media.
“This is a matter for Conservative central office now.”
Councillor Waters, who previously worked for Walsall Housing Group, was not available for comment when contacted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
She is currently chair of Walsall Council’s standards committee and sits on other committees
all the Conservative values. as well as on the West Midlands Combined Authority.
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “All those found to be party members have been suspended immediately, pending investigation.
“The swift action we take on not just anti-Muslim discrimination, but discrimination of any kind is testament to the seriousness with which we take such issues.
“The Conservative Party will never stand by when it comes to prejudice and discrimination of any kind.
“That’s why we are already establishing the terms of an investigation to make sure that such instances are isolated and robust processes are in place to stamp them out as and when they occur.”