Yahoo News Labour councillor kicked out of election hustings for fascist salute at Ukip candidate
A Labour councillor raised his arm in a fascist salute three times as a protest against the far-right UKIP candidate. The protest at a general election hustings caused uproar.
Cllr Gary Jones, who represents the village of Llangennech on Carmarthenshire County Council, was asked to leave the hustings in Llanelli after arguing with supporters of Ukip candidate Stan Robinson and making the fascist salute at him. Mr Robinson runs the notorious Voice of Wales video blog with convicted fraudster Dan Morgan.
Charlie Evans, the Welsh Conservative candidate for Llanelli, called on Welsh Labour to suspend Cllr Jones after he made the Nazi salute while in the audience at the local hustings. For the latest analysis of the biggest stories, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.
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WalesOnline contacted Cllr Jones and Cllr Deryk Cundy, leader of the Opposition Labour group on Carmarthenshire Council. Both declined to comment but said the original report of the incident on Nation Cymru was accurate.
The hustings meeting was organised by Llanelli Chamber of Trade and Commerce. A private security firm was hired to manage the husting at the town's Diplomat Hotel, in Felinfoel Road, on the evening of June 20.The chamber told WalesOnline previously that organising security was considered sensible due to what had been a "politically-charged" atmosphere in the area.
It said previous hustings had been free to attend but that organising security was considered sensible due to what had been a "politically-charged" atmosphere in the area. The £5 admission has been criticised, however, by Llanelli resident Tom McPhillips, who felt it disenfranchised voters.
Asked for his views on whether far-right candidates should be permitted to take part in election events as if they were normal mainstream candidates, Cllr Jones told Nation Cymru: “I have mixed feelings. It was not the right hustings to hold him to account as you couldn’t directly question the candidates. I feel we must confront them, if they are gagged they will use this as well. They must be held to account.
“I have pancreatic cancer, that’s gone to my liver. I was given 18 months to live, but have gone past that. I am now on a drugs trial at The Royal Marsden Hospital in London. I am OK with this. I have had therapy and I have a slim chance at The Marsden that the trial may slow the process down. I am not looking for sympathy but I have noticed that I have been behaving erratically lately.”
He admitted doing the Nazi salute, saying: “I did, after his admiration for Franco, I shouldn’t have done it .He repeatedly attacked Nia, didn’t listen to the adjudicator etc. I lost it, his fans were heckling all the time.”
The seven candidates for the Llanelli MP seat are Gareth Beer (Reform UK), Rhodri Davies (Plaid Cymru), Charlie Evans (Conservatives), Nia Rhiannon Griffith (Labour), Karen Laurence (Green Party), Chris Passmore (Lib-Dem), and Stan Robinson (UKIP).
