‘Bombastic dinosaur’ under fire for apartheid comparison
TORY USED PHRASE WHEN DESCRIBING TRAFFIC LANES
THE leader of Hounslow Conservatives has been criticised after he compared new traffic lanes in Chiswick to apartheid measures in South Africa.
Tory leader Gerald McGregor wrote in a column for ChiswickW4 that new traffic orders in his ward are like a “creeping apartheid” and Chiswick residents are being hit with restrictions similar to separation tactics used in South Africa.
The politician also defended his colleague David Giles for labelling Labour councillors “the Brentford Taliban”.
Cllr McGregor claimed David Giles was simply quoting a resident when he used the shocking phrase.
The chair of the Chiswick Riverside Ward Conservatives was suspended immediately after the comments were made and has since claimed to have been smeared.
Now Cllr McGregor has been labelled as an out of touch “bombastic dinosaur” for his inflammatory language.
Speaking about Cllr McGregor’s comments, Labour councillor Salman Shaneen said: “He is a bombastic dinosaur.
“He really is from another era. He uses very colourful language.
“It’s shocking for a modern-day politician to compare apartheid to the traffic challenges of Chiswick.
“It’s so out of touch. They are using language that is disgracing themselves.”
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr McGregor defended the language of his party, citing the severity of traffic measures in Chiswick.
The outspoken politician also compared traffic measures between Ealing and Hounslow to the Berlin Wall – where at least 140 people were killed in crossing attempts.
He said: “We are in a very bad situation. The language and temperature have gone up. I used the word apartheid as Hounslow seems to be preventing people from using their vehicles.
“What I meant were the pass laws. That’s actually what is happening in Chiswick right now. The council has no desire to hear what we have to say.”
In 2020, Cllr McGregor warned Hounslow could end up like “Venezuela-on-Thames” if it spent too much money on coronavirus measures.
Cllr McGregor told the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme he does not plan to change his language and plans to submit a vote of no confidence against the council soon.