A former leader of Blaenau Gwent Council did not leave the Labour party of his own accord it has emerged this week, but was instead thrown out of the group following a disciplinary action. Councillor Hedley McCarthy of Llanhilleth said he had left the Labour Party after 46 years and wouldn’t be standing at the forthcoming council election in May, due to his negative opinion of the leader of the party, Sir Keir Starmer MP, and the treatment of former leader Jeremy Corbyn.
However, this version of events was later called into question and a number of people on social media claimed he was under investigation by Labour due to his "activity" on social media. The Local Democracy Reporting Service has seen evidence that in August 2021, several complaints were made against Cllr McCarthy’s conduct on social media, with some claiming his activity could be perceived as anti-semitic.
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The complaints claimed Cllr McCarthy had "liked" allegedly anti-semitic comments posted on a Facebook group page, though Cllr McCarthy vehemently denied the claims, saying he has "a proven track record of opposing racism of all forms, including anti-semitism." A Labour party spokesman said: "Hedley McCarthy was expelled from the Labour Party in January 2022 following the conclusion of an internal disciplinary investigation into antisemitic social media activity. It is therefore incorrect for Hedley McCarthy to claim that he resigned from membership of the Labour Party."
Blaenau Gwent Constituency Labour Party (CLP) has said that Cllr McCarthy "informed them" that he had left the party on November 30, 2021. However problems with the party’s database from October last year meant the branch couldn’t check members' information.
Blaenau Gwent CLP said: "We accepted Hedley’s information at face value and his details were immediately removed from all CLP meeting circulation lists and the council Labour Group. He has not attended any meetings or taken the Labour whip since his announcement.
"New candidates were selected for the Llanhilleth ward. To date, we have not received any information about Hedley’s expulsion from the party and we are seeking clarification urgently on this matter. To be clear, Blaenau Gwent Labour is vehemently against all forms of racism, including antisemitism, which is unacceptable both in our party and in wider society."
Cllr McCarthy said: "I have a proven track record of opposing racism of all forms, including anti-semitism. If my support for a two-state solution to the Palestinian problem has been misinterpreted and offended anyone, I apologise profusely. I will reiterate that criticism of the Israeli Government is not a criticism of the nation, people or faith and shouldn’t be construed as such."
He pointed out that he established the first Holocaust Memorial event in Blaenau Gwent in 2014, and had been trying to organise another such event at a school in Tredegar, but this was stopped due to the Omicron wave of Covid-19. Cllr McCarthy believes he is a victim of a ‘witch hunt’ due to his support for Jeremy Corbyn and “open disdain” for Keir Starmer. He also went on to say that the need for confidentiality during the complaints process had been stressed to him, and any breaches could result in further disciplinary action.
He added: "I want to apologise to my former colleagues in the Labour group and the CLP for not informing them of the suspension or the eviction letter. In any case, I left the group in November and didn’t see that the letter was relevant to them by then, I am sorry now that I didn’t speak out about these ridiculous accusations." You can follow more news from Blaenau Gwent by subscribing to our weekly newsletter here.
