South Kesteven district councillor Virginia Moran criticised over tweets on transgender and religious issues

A district councillor is facing criticism for a series of tweets concerning transgender and religious issues.

The tweets by South Kesteven district councillor Virginia Moran (Ind), which include responses to controversial accounts and personal views on school trips to mosques, have been deemed potentially discriminatory and not promoting equality.

The controversy has escalated beyond a mere Twitter spat, with an official complaint lodged with South Kesteven District Council’s monitoring officer.

However, while SKDC stated that the tweets by Coun Moran, who represents Market and West Deeping, do not reflect the council’s values of equality and community inclusivity, it also clarified that no breach of the council’s code of conduct has occurred.

The tweets in question include:

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A response to Britain First’s Paul Golding in which Coun Moran admits refusing to allow her son to go on school trips to mosques, claiming a lack of bible studies;

Retweets and responding to tweets by the Gays Against Groomers (GAG) account which accuses the trans community of “preying upon vulnerable youth” and of being “predators”. Responses include accusing an ad campaign by NorthFace, which includes a drag queen, of being “revolting” and another which asks “How can ANYONE think this is right?” on a tweet about a trans individual;

Retweeting and responding to another account called ‘Suffragents’ which says it is “Men Against The Gender Transitioning Of Children And The Invasion Of Men In Women’s Single Sex Space”.

Aidan Forman, a Labour candidate for South Holland, took to social media to describe the comments as inappropriate for a serving district councillor and has made the official complaint to SKDC’s monitoring officer.

He said: “Coun Moran is supposed to be representing her constituents, and yet she is openly posting this kind of hate on social media.

“For someone who is going to be representing a wide community, this is not a particularly inclusive view.”

Coun Graham Jeal (Con), leader of the South Kesteven Coalition Group, said: “Our residents rightly expect and deserve nothing short of the highest standards of respect.

“The Conservatives at South Kesteven express profound concern regarding Coun Moran’s recent social media statements, which appear to be incompatible with the Members’ Code of Conduct.”

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He called on council leader Coun Richard Cleaver (Ind), to publicly condemn the remarks.

Yvette Diaz-Munoz, chair of the Stamford Diversity Group, said there needed to be more support for the trans community.

“Our aim at Stamford Diversity Group CIC is to make Stamford and the surrounding area as welcoming and inclusive a place as possible for all,” she said.

“There is no place for discrimination in South Kesteven, least of all at district council level.”

However, Coun Ashley Baxter (Ind), deputy leader of SKDC, defended Coun Moran’s right to express her opinions, suggesting that the complaints were “politically motivated”.

He said: “I am Virginia’s group leader, fellow ward councillor and friend, but I do not seek to regulate her thoughts or opinions.

“The posts concerned were not relevant to her role as a councillor and, from what I’ve seen, are merely observations.

“Two of the complainants appear to be politically motivated. I would politely suggest some people should spend their time monitoring the social media of their party colleagues and in their own backyards, rather than trying to intimidate women expressing legitimate opinions.”

In response to the controversy, a spokesperson for SKDC said: “The tweets and the comments included within them are not reflective of the values of equality and community inclusivity associated with South Kesteven District Council.”

However, the local authority – which tweeted on Tuesday that it was “proud to be flying the Pride Flag at SK House in Grantham, as a symbol of our support and celebration of the LGBTQ+ community – said that no breach of the council’s code of conduct has occurred, as the tweets were from a private account and did not reference her role as a councillor.

Prior to the complaints, Coun Moran’s Twitter bio highlighted that she was an ‘Independent District Councillor’, however, after the concerns were raised this was removed from the entry.

Several of the tweets have also been deleted and Mr Forman has been blocked by Coun Moran.

Coun Moran has yet to comment on the matter.