Demand to deselect Labour candidate who made Nazi slur

Cllr Rod Bluh, the Conservative leader of Swindon Borough Council, has called for the deselection a Labour council candidate, Geoff Reid, after he compared Cllr Russell Holland, a Conservative councillor and the Cabinet Member for Housing, to a Nazi.

The accusation by Geoff Reid, who is Labour's candidate for the Freshbrook Ward, was over a proposal for housing stock to be transfered from the council to a housing association. 

Mr Reid said:

“An awful irony to even consider, but the way Cllr Holland and Co have chosen to 'move the debate forwards' reminds me of the way that Germany's National Socialist Party lined up the Jews to take the blame for many of Germany economic and social ills.”

Cllr Bluh responds:

“This is outrageously offensive. The people of Swindon deserve better than this. The Swindon Labour Group needs to take decisive action to deal with this matter.

“As someone whose relatives were victims of the Holocaust, I have had to put up with vile Nazi slurs like this from this person on previous occasions.”

The Labour Party conced that Mr Reid's choice of words was "very unfortunate" but add that he will remain a candidate.