A leading Newcastle councillor continued campaigning for re-election after she was suspended by the Labour Party for alleging a “Muslim plot” to remove the city’s council leader.
Joyce McCarty, one of the most senior figures in Newcastle Labour, has been accused of Islamophobia after asserting in a text message that Muslim councillors in the West End conspired to have Nick Forbes deselected earlier this year. The Labour Party has confirmed that she was suspended on March 31, pending an investigation, and that it is no longer endorsing her candidacy in the Wingrove ward ahead of the May 5 local elections.
But an image circulated on social media shows that she was still canvassing in the area last Sunday, April 3, with the support of the party locally. Newcastle Labour tweeted an image, since deleted, of her on the campaign trail with two fellow city councillors that day with the caption "Sunday afternoon on the #labourdoorstep in Wingrove ward, lots of support for local councillor @joycemccarty #vote4joyce #reelectJoyce #VoteLabour”.
