Rutland Councillor Suspended by Libdems Following Year-Long Campaign Over ‘Offensive and Racist’ Social Media Posts
A local councillor has been removed from his party following a protracted dispute regarding a series of controversial social media posts. Councillor Mark Chatfield, who represents the Oakham North East ward, has had his membership of the Liberal Democrats suspended, leaving him to serve as an independent councillor on Rutland County Council.
The suspension follows a year-long campaign led by Alicia Kearns, the MP for Rutland and Stamford, who formally reported Cllr Mark Chatfield over what she described as a pattern of offensive and racist behaviour online. The situation eventually reached the floor of the House of Commons on 18th June, where Alicia Kearns publicly challenged the Liberal Democrats for failing to address her complaints for nearly a year.
During the parliamentary session, the MP detailed several instances of misconduct, most notably a post in which Cllr Mark Chatfield allegedly compared the former Prime Minister and current MP for Richmond and Northallerton, Rishi Sunak, to "different shades of toast." Alicia Kearns also highlighted the councillor’s history of hostility toward local journalists, including calls for them to be "named and shamed," as well as his use of inflammatory language such as "beet-faced Tory expletive."
Furthermore, Alicia Kearns raised concerns regarding Cllr Mark Chatfield's treatment of fellow public servants, alleging that he had used offensive expletives and swore at a female councillor while she was speaking an incident for which she noted no formal action had been taken by the local authority.
The MP expressed deep frustration with the party's disciplinary process, pointing out that while the system is designed to provide responses within six weeks, her report had languished for almost a year. She argued that the party’s inaction in the face of such conduct effectively allowed its representatives to bring the party into disrepute without consequence.
The parliamentary intervention appeared to break the deadlock. Just three days after Alicia Kearns spoke in the House of Commons, she confirmed that the Liberal Democrat Standards Office had been in touch to report that her complaint had been upheld. The party agreed that the councillor’s online comments had indeed brought the organisation into disrepute, leading to the local party branch moving to suspend his membership.
As of this week, the official Rutland County Council website has been updated to reflect the change, listing Cllr Chatfield as an independent councillor.
https://rutlandcounty.moderngov.co.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=1059
Current Political Makeup of Rutland County Council
There are 27 seats in total. The breakdown is:
Liberal Democrats 10 seats
Independent 9 seats
Conservative 6 seats
Labour 2 seats
Total 27
Key Observations
Independent Growth: The number of Independent councillors has risen to 9. This shift is primarily due to Councillor Mark Chatfield’s move from the Liberal Democrats to "Independent (Non-aligned)"
Liberal Democrat Status: Following the shift, the Liberal Democrats hold 10 seats. While they remain the largest individual group, they do not hold an overall majority (which would require 14 seats).
No Overall Control: The council remains a "hung council" or under "no overall control." Because no single party holds 14 seats, the council relies on cross-party cooperation to pass budgets and major policy decisions.
This structure means that the administration must continue to build consensus across the chamber to function, as the balance of power between the Liberal Democrats, the expanded Independent group, and the Conservative/Labour blocks is very tight.
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