Councillor ‘asked women to stand up and be ogled’
A COUNCIL leader has been suspended amid sexism claims after asking women at a glitzy awards ceremony to stand up and announcing: ‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen a sight like that.’
Tory Leigh Higgins – making a speech about the impact of the pandemic before presenting a prize – was branded a ‘sexist, chauvinistic tool’.
Debbie Longley, collecting a prize on a friend’s behalf, posted later: ‘Lovely evening at Best of Melton Awards.
‘However, if you want confirmation that some people still live in the Dark Ages, Cllr Leigh Higgins just asked all the ladies to stand up so we could be seen as it’s been a long time since we’ve been able to “enjoy” those kinds of sights!
‘Needless to say I didn’t stand up. It’s a business and community event you absolute sexist, chauvinistic tool. Plus, I am not there to be ogled by anyone!’
Another wrote: ‘I was absolutely gobsmacked. What an awful speech. Shame, as it was such a lovely evening.’
One said: ‘I assumed he was going to ask the men to stand up after the women, which would still have been strange, but no! I couldn’t believe it!’ And another added: ‘What he said was so surreal that we wondered if we’d got the wrong end of the stick!’
Council leader Joe Orson later confirmed: ‘Cllr Higgins has been suspended from the Conservative group for 21 days pending an investigation.’
A spokeswoman for Melton council, in Leicestershire, said it was unable to comment.
Cllr Higgins, deputy leader of the council and its portfolio holder for growth and prosperity, could not be contacted for comment.