Shameful treatment
By Cllr Vilnis Vesma
I'd like to express my support for Labour councillor Di Martin who has resigned her Cabinet position at the Forest of Dean District Council in the wake of a disgraceful campaign against her for attending the Black Lives Matter event in Lydney on 20 June. People should be at liberty to express their support for causes they believe in but Di (pictured) came under attack not just on social media but from conservative councillors who shamelessly used the incident as an opportunity to try and destabilise the Cabinet. Our tory MP inflamed the situation by claiming (wrongly) that the event she attended was illegal.
Some press reports have mistakenly said that she has resigned as a councillor; she has not, but the leadership has lost a very able and energetic lead member for housing and it is a matter of great regret that she has been hounded out in this manner.