A newly elected Reform UK councillor in Kirklees faces backlash over alleged social media posts targeting LGBTQ+ and Muslim communities. The councillor, Tracy Clayton, is linked to an X account that allegedly shared memes aimed at transgender women, AI-generated political imagery, and posts about Muslim communities. A resurfaced image from March added “pedosexual” to the LGBTQ+ acronym, echoing a false trope associating queer people with child abuse. The account also questioned climate change and reposted content critics described as racist and discriminatory. Clayton declined to comment publicly, responding “no comment” at a council meeting. Kirklees Council said the unverified screenshots appear to predate her election and therefore fall outside the formal code of conduct for elected officials.
"A newly elected Reform UK councillor in Kirklees is facing mounting backlash over alleged social media posts that target LGBTQ+ people and Muslim people, including one post that appeared to add "pedosexual" to the LGBTQ+ acronym. As reported by Yorkshire Live, Tracy Clayton, who won a seat representing Colne Valley West earlier this month, has been linked to an X account that allegedly shared memes targeting transgender women, AI-generated political imagery, and posts about Muslim communities."
"One resurfaced image posted in March, just weeks before the local election, featured the slur-like addition of "pedosexual" to the LGBTQ+ acronym, echoing a long-running false trope used to associate queer people with child abuse. The account, reportedly operating under the name "Tracy Clayton Reform UK," also shared posts questioning climate change and reposted content critics described as racist and discriminatory."
"Clayton has so far declined to comment publicly, responding "no comment" when approached at a council meeting. A post from the same account published on 11 May, after the backlash began, said: "All the people that have attacked me, your narrative is boring.""
"Kirklees Council noted that the posts attributed to Clayton appear to predate her election and therefore fall outside the council's formal code of conduct for elected officials. "Councillors are required to comply with the Council's Code of Conduct when acting in their capacity as elected members. The unverified screenshots in question appear to be from posts made prior to the individual being elected as a councillor and befor""
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