A Southwark councillor has apologised after the Lib Dem leader claims he was ‘attacked for being gay’ at a recent council meeting.
Southwark Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Victor Chamberlain first made the claims on X, formerly Twitter, yesterday (22 February) – specifically referring to comments made by Labour’s Cllr Chloe Tomlinson.
At the budget meeting, Cllr Tomlinson stood up to say: “I do want to say that I find it incredibly shameful from the Liberal Dem leader that once again, he’s using his LGBT identity for political point-scoring – in this case, deflection.”
The comments – which Cllr Chamberlain took as ‘a personal attack’ against his identity – were made during a debate about the budget, which had included discussion about diversity representation in political leadership. This included discussion about the Pride Fund, which was proposed in a Labour amendment to the budget on the night.
Personal attacks should never be accepted in politics, but to use my identity as a proud gay man as an attack is unthinkable. It’s a sad reflection of how low our politics has sunk. I hope we learn from last night, lift our political discourse out of the mud and get better! https://t.co/h17UBtMyXx pic.twitter.com/BRlmyfoU78
— Cllr Victor ChamberlaIN (he/him) (@VMMChamberlain) February 22, 2024
She went on to say that if he thinks being a ‘white gay man’ means the Lib Dem group is ‘sufficiently diverse’ then ‘he needs a better understanding of equalities.’
Commenting to the News after the event, Cllr Chamberlain said: “Personal attacks should never be accepted in politics, but to use my identity as a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community as an attack is unthinkable. It’s a sad reflection of how low our politics has sunk.
“I hope we learn from last night, lift our political discourse out of the mud and move towards constructive, democratic debates that genuinely celebrate diversity.”
After going to Cllr Chloe Tomlinson for comment, she said: “As a queer woman, in the course of a Council debate, I sought to make a point about the importance of diversity in all its forms including class, gender and ethnicity.
“But I recognise that point could have been made differently. I’m sorry for any hurt or offence caused to Cllr Chamberlain and have reached out to him personally.
“As a queer person myself, I don’t take these matters lightly. I have lost count of the number of times my partner and I have been abused in the street simply for being who we are.
“As an LGBTQ+ Councillor, I want to focus on improving the lives of all queer people in Southwark, from making public spaces more trans-inclusive to ensuring all of Southwark’s diverse LGBTQ+ community can access the new Pride Fund.”