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

A councillor faces criticism for a series of tweets concerning transgender and religious issues.

The social media posts by Virginia Moran, an Independent South Kesteven district councillor for Market and West Deeping ward, include personal views on school trips to mosques and responses to controversial accounts.

An official complaint resulted in a council investigation, and while this found Coun Moran’s tweets do not reflect its values of equality and community inclusivity, it also found the council’s code of conduct has not been breached.

The tweets by Coun Moran include:

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, described the comments as inappropriate for a serving district councillor and made the official complaint to South Kesteven District Council’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 – Grantham), 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.”

He called on council leader Richard Cleaver (Ind – Stamford St John’s), to condemn the remarks.

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

“Our aim at Stamford Diversity Group 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.”

Coun Ashley Baxter (Ind – Market and West Deeping), deputy leader of the district council, 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.”

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

“While a formal complaint has been received, the tweets are from a private account. The individual was not acting in an official capacity and within the posts there was no reference to her role as a councillor or any link to the council.

“In accordance with Local Government Association guidance, the council’s code of conduct was not engaged during this activity. Therefore, no breach of the council’s code of conduct has occurred.

“South Kesteven District Council is a very active promoter of equality, diversity, and inclusivity across all areas of its work, both internally and externally.”

Before the complaints, Coun Moran’s Twitter bio said she was an ‘Independent District Councillor’ but after the concerns were raised this was removed.

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

Coun Moran has yet to comment.