A Welsh Liberal Democrat county council candidate has been suspended from the party over an anti-Semitic video posted on TikTok. Little Brighouse, a candidate for Disserth and Trecoed with Newbridge-on-Wye in Powys was suspended after the party was made aware of a video shared online last year, which featured a burning Israeli flag.
Brighouse was elected to Powys County Council and Disserth & Trecoed Community Council on Friday, after winning 290 of the 663 votes cast in their ward. For the latest election results and updates from across Wales, click here.
However, following their election as a Liberal Democrat, Brighouse will now serve as an independent for the foreseeable future. The party confirmed on Friday that their candidate had been suspended from the party while the complaint was full investigated.
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The video, which was shared on Brighouse's TikTok account in May 2021, shows the new councillor posing in front of the camera while another clip showing a burning Israeli flag and what appears to be attacks on Palestinian cities plays alongside them. The captions on the video read: "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" and "We stand for Palestine".
A "message for Israel" also plays out on the screen. It reads: "You can torture us and bomb us and burn our cities. But do you see that? Fire is catching and if we burn, you burn with us."
A spokesperson from the Welsh Liberal Democrats said: "We have received a complaint regarding this candidate which has been reviewed under our independent complaints process. As a result they have been suspended from the Party while the complaint is fully investigated.
"Liberal Democrats have a long and proud record of standing up against antisemitism and continue to champion a liberal, tolerant and inclusive society for all." The spokesperson added: "We were not able to remove the candidate from the ballot before their election, but they will now serve as an independent while they are suspended."
Last month, the Welsh Liberal Democrats were forced to apologise to Conservative MP Fay Jones after Brighouse tweeted that the MP had "revealed yourself as racist" and required professional help. In response to the tweet, Ms Jones said the comment "crosses a line" and called on party leader Jane Dodds to take the issue up with the candidate.
Speaking to BBC Wales at the time, Ms Dodds said: "We are looking at ensuring that there is an apology, a full apology to Fay Jones from the candidate and I've issued an apology myself straightaway on behalf of the party. My understanding is that the candidate is now on the ballot paper but we are looking at what the options are."
Brighouse was elected to Powys County Council on Friday, beating fellow candidates Dilys Price of the Welsh Conservatives, Dorienne Robinson of the Green Party and independent Ray Johnson-Wood. 663 votes were cast in the ward, which recorded a turnout of 43 per cent.
Little Brighouse has been approached for comment.
