The leader of Walsall’s Independent party has criticised ‘over the top’ security measures at a council meeting as an impediment to democracy. At the meeting on January 13, security guards and community protection officers were deployed at the council house, the car park was closed, councillors were provided an alternative access, and 70 per cent of the public gallery was cordoned off with black tarpaulin, meaning only 16 people could watch from the two back rows.
Around 40 other members of the public were seated in a separate conference room where the meeting was live streamed. The council put the additional measures in place in response to Notice of Motion which was being brought before members to address the conflict in the Middle East. The motion asked elected council members to express solidarity with the people of the region amid the current unrest.
READ MORE: Hopes for council to ‘stand on right side of history’ as Gaza ceasefire called for at meeting
The last time Gaza was brought before council members was in February 2024. The meeting was abandoned when protesters calling for a ceasefire interrupted the usual proceedings. Leader of the Independent party, councillor Aftab Nawaz, said: “The security is over the top. The security is intimidating and not welcoming.
“The council should allow transparency and it has impeded democracy. The council has an inherent problem with talking about minority issues. But if you look around, this isn’t a minority issue, there’s all backgrounds. The coaches which went down to London for the protests were from all backgrounds.”
Councillor Pete Smith, another member behind the notice of motion, said: “The security is over the top by any measure, I’m disgusted and ashamed. I’ve been on the council off and on for over 40 years. I’ve seen some rumpuses, arguments and fights over the years. But never, ever, have I known the public gallery being cordoned off. This is an insult to the people of Walsall who have turned up to the meeting.”
Many members of the public who turned up to the meeting on January 13, 2025, had to watch it live streamed from another room
(Image: LDRS)
Councillor Khizar Hussain, another member behind the notice of motion, apologised to those who were unable to get into the public gallery. He said: “This has never happened in the history of Walsall Council where 70 per cent of the gallery is closed. This is the wrong approach, we’ve got residents here who elect all of us and they should have the right to listen to us, to the notice of motion, and this is not the right way.”
Over a dozen councillors spoke in the motion which called for the immediate return of Israeli and Palestinian hostages, urged the UK Government to recognise a Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, demanded an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, and a re-evaluation of arms sales to Israel.
Leading the motion, Coun Nawaz said: “After the tragic events of October 7, Israel did not just set out only to get its hostages out of Gaza. It decided to undertake one of the most brutal of genocidal campaigns ever witnessed.
“Over 45,000 people slaughtered, killed by Israeli forces, supplied by billions of pounds-worth of weapons, killing women and children. This is not defence. This is genocide, plain and simple. Children killed as they scrounge for food, children killed as they played, not understanding what is happening around them. Many children are orphaned by the bombs and weapons supplied by the USA and UK.
The demonstration outside of Walsall Council ahead of the meeting on January 13, 2025, about Israel’s war on Gaza
(Image: LDRS)
“Our government talks rightly of Putin’s criminal occupation and massacres, but when it comes to Netenyahu, they turn a blind eye. The hypocrisy, humanity and morality can not be dependent on what the background of those being slaughtered is.”
Recently, councillor Naheed Gultasib volunteered in Palestinian refugee camps supporting humanitarian charities. She said: “I have seen first-hand the horrific and devastating impact of this genocide. It’s a genocide we’re all complicit in because of our current government and previous government. I will be forever haunted by images of men, women and children with burns, acid burns, head to toe, missing limbs, parents mourning their dead children.”
Councillors Saiqa Nasreen, Hajran Bashir, Waheed Rasab, Pete Smith, Amo Hussain, Izzy Hussain, Ram Mehmi and Gaz Ali shared similar sentiments.
A demonstrator outside of Walsall Council ahead of the meeting on January 13, 2025, about Israel’s war on Gaza
(Image: LDRS)
Councillor Garry Perry, leader of Walsall Council and the Conservative group, said: “We recognise that conflict in the Middle East has caused immense suffering, and our hearts go out to all those affected. Some of us will choose to abstain from this vote, but will do so not out of any indifference but out of recognition of our limits as a local authority. I hope that decision is seen as a call for unity, rather than division.”
Leader of the labour group, councillor Matt Ward, said: “We all want an end to the violence. Both Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live in security, dignity and peace. We as a Labour party have consistently supported a two state solution. For us, we will be abstaining tonight.”
When it came to the vote on whether to support the notice of motion, 16 members were in favour of the motion, none were against, and 40 abstained, meaning that the motion was carried. Susan Foster, a representative of a community group partnered with a Palestinian village, the Walsall Kobar Friendship Association, said those who chose to abstain might have done so due to a ‘lack of education’.