Portsmouth political party leaders condemn ‘unacceptable’ comments from Ukip candidate

With the future of Portsmouth’s political landscape set to be decided on Thursday heads of parties have condemned posts made by candidate and former councillor Stuart Potter against the Labour Party.

In a comment to Conservative leader Councillor Donna Jones on Facebook on Sunday Mr Potter stated: ‘[The] Conservative Party are nothing but a mouth-piece for all that is wrong in this country, with all their friends in Labour the terrorist, paedophile and anti-semitic sympathisers.’

For city councillor and Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan the comments distracted from the importance of local democracy. ‘Local elections are an opportunity for people to exercise their democratic right and make improvements to their local community,’ he said.

‘They are not about vile language and the dissemination of lies.

 ‘All those who are in, or seek, the privilege of being in public office should be respectful of others no matter what their political perspectives.

‘I want Portsmouth to be a place for hope and compassion for others, not a place for hate. These comments are completely unacceptable. It is all our responsibility to rise above such vitriolic behaviour and commit to the principles of unity and community that this great city is built upon.’

When approached by The News, Mr Potter – who is standing for Ukip in Paulsgrove – stood by his comments.

He said: ‘I don’t care what Stephen Morgan says at all. His party, the Labour Party, sympathise with terrorists, paedophiles and are anti-semitic. This news is already in the public domain as reported by many media outlets.

‘Labour councils around the country ignored and covered up child abuse, yet the Labour Party do nothing. The Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn openly welcomes Hezbollah and IRA and this idiot wants to be prime minister.’

This was condemned by both the heads of the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives in Portsmouth.

Council leader Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson said: ‘Running the council is about getting the basics for people right. It’s about making sure bins are collected on time, fixing pot holes in the road, building classrooms for children and our social services.

‘Getting these things right is more important and party politics are much less important.’

Cllr Jones added: ‘Whilst I believe in free speech and that everyone’s entitled to an opinion it is for the public to decide who they want to represent them based on merit and what they want their councillor to do for their area.

‘Don’t they want someone who can treat others with respect? It is important that on May 2 that the focus is on local issues. It’s about who runs the council, who cleans your streets, who empties your rubbish, how many libraries there are and about funding for public services.’