Labour Sheffield City Council candidate denies accusation of creating 'racist' petition ahead of May elections

Michael Chilton, a Labour candidate for Sheffield City Council in this year’s elections, denies the allegation.

Mr Chilton created a petition titled “Opposition to proposed travellers site” on January 12, 2023. The travellers’ site in question is planned for an area off Eckington Way, Beighton, along with a new industrial site; and local concerns are mounting over the traffic implications should the sites go ahead.

When contacted by The Star for a comment on the accusations of “racism” within the petition, Mr Chilton said: “Anyone familiar with Eckington Way and the surrounding road network knows how congested it is with traffic. I’ve heard stories from local residents of 10 minute journeys taking half an hour because of congestion, and we can’t let this get worse. Any development on the land around Eckington Way, regardless of its nature, will cause further congestion and traffic problems. Until that road network is improved I, along with local residents, oppose any development of that site full stop.”

The industrial and travellers’ sites are currently in the early stages, with Sheffield City Council’s Have Your Say webpage showing the local plan’s Eckington Way proposals only recently had the public consultation stage closed. The public consultation stage saw a number of drop-ins and online events held over the course of January and February, in which locals could raise concerns and suggest changes to different parts of the local plan.

The proposals also have a number of conditions that must be met for development on the site to go ahead.

Mr Chilton created another petition called “Opposition to industrial site in local plan”, which starting running on the Sheffield City Council website three days after the one focused on the travellers’ site.

A member of the Sheffield Labour Party said the original petition contains “dog whistle racism” and “is enticing racism and prejudice” in local community groups against the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) communities, due to the last line in the petition, which reads: “The proposed site is not on the city boundaries like the current two. Placing it in the middle of a settled community does not make it suitable compared to the existing sites.”

Mr Chilton’s petition does discuss concerns relating to traffic and the proportion of travellers’ sites established in Sheffield South East compared to other parts of the city. The petition has been the most signed on Sheffield City Council’s ePetitions site for some time, and closed on February 12 with 2,823 respondents. The industrial site petition closed with 635 respondents.

The Labour member said the suggestion GRT sites are not “suitable” to be in “settled communities” is where the petition’s reported issue lies.

They said: “During any campaign your aim should be to bring communities together and campaign on things that affect everybody. At a time like this any candidate should be seeking to unite people not create further division.”

Lena Lee, aged 57, has lived with her family in Sheffield for 22 years and said: “It’s scary. It doesn’t matter where I go because of my voice and my life I get attacked… I think everyone has a choice on speech and everybody can say what they like but there has to be a limit on hatred.

“How do you think I feel as a 57-year-old woman with children and grandchildren who were and are in school?”

Mr Chilton currently works in the office of Clive Betts MP, who The Star approached. The MP said: “There are some people who would say unacceptable things, which Michael and I do not agree with.”

Mr Betts continued to say their concerns, and the concerns of many residents, was the existing problem with traffic on Eckington Way and how this could be worsened by vehicles using the proposed sites.

He said it would be wrong to “dismiss” these concerns from local residents and he and Mr Chilton “will not work” with anyone using the proposals to discriminate against GRT communities.

Chrissy Meleady MBE is the CEO of Equalities and Human Rights UK and said: “If and where any racist dog whistling and other forms of discriminatory treatments have occurred from any political party members and/or candidates, this needs urgently investigating and redressing.

"Racism in all its forms and the inflaming of hate and discrimination has no place in Sheffield and in our wider world too. Under the provisions of the Equality Act 2010, Romany Gypsy and Traveller communities are protected equalities characteristic people and communities.”

A spokesperson from the Yorkshire and the Humber branch of the Labour Party said: “The Labour Party takes all complaints extremely seriously and they are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures.”

Following the allegations racism within the petition, The Star sent an email to every current Labour councillor to offer them the chance to comment for the story named and on the record, with a deadline for Monday, February 13. No Labour councillors took this opportunity, but one source contacted The Star to say the “overpowering whip culture” in the local party was preventing individuals from publicly commenting.

Green Party councillor, Alexi Dimond, contacted The Star regarding the petition and said: “Sheffield Council has committed to working towards becoming an anti-racist city” and all parties in the city, including Labour “have a responsibility to this commitment”.