Newly elected district councillor Skeena Rathor speaks out about being called a P*** in front of her children in Stroud

Skeena Rathor, Labour councillor for Central, told councillors at Ebley Mill how she was called a P*** the day before the local council elections in May.

Her comments came as she spoke in a meeting last Tuesday in which Stroud District Council members overwhelmingly passed a motion to challenge abuse and xenophobia across its services.

After an emotional speech in which she called on her colleagues to pass the motion, Cllr Rathor received a round of applause from members of all political parties.

“On the day before the local council elections I was racially abused in Stroud,” she said.

“I was called a P*** in front of my young children.

“But whilst I’m saddened that racial intolerance is increasing, I want to remind everybody that it’s always been there.

“This happened before Brexit and this country has forgotten that discrimination and racism goes on every single day.”

Cllr Rathor, (pictured, centre) who organises a weekly meetings which encourage a kinder and more respectful kind of politics, asked her colleagues to do all they could in their wards to stop this happening to others.

“I urge all councillors to go back to their communities and encourage all those campaigns which are educating people and increasing tolerance,” she said.

“We really cannot accept discrimination. But this is the society we live in and it is up to us to change it.”

Other victims of racial abuse looked on from a packed public gallery as SDC passed the motion by 40 votes to zero – becoming one of the first authorities in the country to take such action.

The motion, proposed by Labour councillor Doina Cornell, comes after a surge in reports of racial abuse and attacks in the wake of the historic Brexit vote last month.

It read: "We are proud to live in a diverse and tolerant society. Racism, xenophobia and hate crimes have no place in our country.

“We will work to ensure that local bodies and programmes have the support and resources they need to fight and prevent racism and xenophobia.

"We reassure all people living in this area that they are valued members of our community.”

(Councillors from Labour and the Greens gathered to celebrate the passing of the motion)

Cllr Cornell, deputy leader of the council, said police had recorded eight separate incidents of hate crime and verbal abuse in Stroud district last month.

“As councillors and community leaders we need to make a stand,” she said.

“We’ve had a very divisive debate over Brexit. With this motion I hope we can start to bring some unity back to our community. It’s important we take a lead on this issue.

“I also know what it’s like to personally experience intolerance and hatred. Eight reports doesn’t seem like that much, but each incident can be devastating for an individual.

“Through this motion we are sending a powerful message to our local communities that everyone is welcome regardless of where they were born or the colour of their skin.

“I think it’s really important we send this message of tolerance to everyone in this district.”

Cllr John Marjoram, who seconded the motion, added: “This motion proves we will fight for decency and the diversity which enriches our society.”

The public gallery was packed with members of Mid-Gloucestershire Amnesty group, faith groups and people who had been victims of racism themselves.

Karen McKeown, chair of the amnesty group, described the result as an important act of solidarity.

“I was delighted with the result and the fact that so many local people were prepared to sit through a long council agenda on a hot evening to show their support for this important issue,” she said.

“It was good to see overwhelming support for this motion from councillors of all parties.

“But we were a little disappointed that three councillors didn’t feel this issue was important enough to vote on.”

Tory leader Nigel Cooper (pictured) was among the three councillors who chose to abstain from the vote, arguing the motion was an “inappropriate” issue for the council to discuss.

He said: “We live in a tolerant and diverse society. Hate crimes have no place in our country and certainly not in this district. I fully agree with that.

“The issue I do have though is that I think it is inappropriate to bring it to this council to debate. Although I totally agree, I will not vote in favour of the motion.”

The abstention comes after he added his name to a joint statement from each of the party leaders on SDC condemning the rise of xenophobic and racism earlier this month.

Since the Brexit vote, SDC has already stressed it has a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards racist crimes.

It comes after Gloucestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner reported a rise of hate crimes in Stroud from one in March, to eight in June.

The whole of Gloucestershire saw a rise from 19 to 39 over the same period.

The debate followed an appeal from Amnesty International for local councils to stand up against the increase in hate crime in the UK.

Amnesty International UK campaign manager, Laura Trevelyan said: "We've been delighted by the huge level of commitment and support taken by councils across the country.

“To date, we know of at least 35 councils have already passed, or are proposing this motion, making it clear that hate crimes, racism and xenophobia will not be tolerated on our streets.

“It’s great to see that Stroud District Council has also supported the motion. We look forward to seeing how they will put their commitment into action.”

Members of the public are urged to report any incidents to 0800 077 8460 or visit www.gloshate.org