Council meetings on genteel Isle of Wight erupts into total chaos - 'fascist pig'

Tensions between councillors in a UK beauty spot erupted during a series of public meetings as a Reform UK representative accused her colleagues of "harassment and bullying". A planning committee meeting on the Isle of Wight descended into insults and threats as the Reform councillor warned her independent counterparts that she would call the police on their "outrageous" behaviour towards her. In the ensuing chaos, one local official slammed another as a "fascist pig" and denounced Nigel Farage's party as a "racist organisation" and "threat to democracy".

Independent councillor Geoff Brodie sparked the disruption when he accused his Reform counterpart Caroline Gladwin of failing to declare the number of rental properties she owns since her by-election victory in May, the County Press reports. Ms Gladwin countered that the allegation had "nothing to do" with the meeting at hand, which was about the creation of a combined authority for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. However, Mr Brodie then suggested she shouldn't be involved in the discussion and warned that the biggest threat to local democracy was not devolution but "Reform UK". Ms Gladwin is one of two Reform MPs on the council.

At a later meeting, Mr Brodie went onto describe Reform as "a racist organisation", prompting an outbreak of shouting in the council chamber and forcing chairman Ian Dore to interject and warn: "That's enough ... we're not having this tonight."

However, the independent representative instead upped the ante, labelling David Adams, an independent member of Ms Gladwin's newly-formed ABC group, a "fascist pig".

Mr Brodie then accused Mr Adams of making "threats against him". "Why do you think we've got a security guard in here tonight, because he makes threats to me on a constant basis," he added.

Monitoring officer Francis Fernandes said Ms Gladwin had declared her rental properties to the council's monitoring officer but they had not been published on the public register because of an "issue about sensitivity".

Isle of Wight Council backed the devolution plans in a vote of 26 to nine on October 1, approving in principle the establishment of a new Hampshire and Solent Mayoral Combined Authority.

It was devised as part of the government's wider English devolution plan, described as the "greatest transfer of power out of Westminster this century".

However, some local officials warned that the move would strip control from the island. Conservative councillor Joe Robertson suggested the new authority would be "93% elected by mainlanders".

Independent council leader Phil Jordan said the change would unlock £1.4 billion of long-term funding, however. "This is about removing barriers and securing guaranteed investment," he said. "If we don't take this deal, our neighbours move ahead while the island gets left behind."