Sign calling on Gorton and Denton MP to quit posted on office door
The former health minister is at the centre of a scandal about a WhatsApp group containing racist and misogynistic messages
A sign on Andrew Gwynne’s constituency office urged him and ward colleagues to ‘resign now’ amid the Labour WhatsApp scandal.
The Gorton and Denton MP was sacked as a junior health minister and suspended from the party after messages from the ‘Trigger Me Timbers’ group leaked last weekend. Mr Gwynne is alleged to have made anti-Semitic slights and joked about a pensioner dying before an election after she raised concerns about bin collections.
It has led to uproar locally, with many calling for him to resign as an MP. Last night (February 11), a sign was stuck to the door of Mr Gwynne’s constituency office in Denton calling on him ‘to do the right thing and resign’.
The message read: “OUT OUT OUT. Andrew Gwynne and team Denton South, resign now. We the public will not forgive or forget your actions. Do the right thing, resign with dignity. OUT OUT OUT.”
Denton South councillors Claire Reid, Jack Naylor and George Newton stepped down from their cabinet positions at Tameside council in the wake of the headlines. They are among 11 Greater Manchester councillors to have now been suspended by Labour, with action taken also taken against colleagues over the border in Stockport.
Burnley MP Oliver Ryan – a former Tameside councillor who was a member of the group – has also been suspended by the party.
In a statement shared on X after the claims, Mr Gwynne said: “I deeply regret my badly misjudged comments and apologise for any offense I’ve caused.”
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “As part of our WhatsApp group investigation, a group of councillors have been administratively suspended from the Labour Party. As soon as this group was brought to our attention, a thorough investigation was launched in line with the Labour Party’s rules and procedures and this process is ongoing.
“Swift action will always be taken where individuals are found to have breached the high standards expected of them as Labour Party members.”