- Rosemary Carroll stood down for 3 months over the racist Facebook post
- She apologised insisting she shared post by accident and meant to delete it
- Her readmission handed the Tories control of Pendle Council in Lancashire
A former mayor who was suspended by the Tories for sharing a racist joke on Facebook has been reinstated – handing the party a council victory.
Rosemary Carroll was told to stand down for three months over the post which compared an Asian to a dog.
But she was brought back into the party today – allowing the Conservatives to seize control of Pendle Council in Lancashire by one seat.
Labour have reacted furiously to the move, but local Tory leader Paul White said Ms Carroll had ‘learned form her mistake’.
He added: ‘Rosemary is a good councillor for Earby. A popular councillor. She made a mistake, people make mistakes.’
Rosemary Carroll (pictured right) was told to stand down for there months over the post which compared an Asian to a dog
Labour leader Mohammmed Iqbal described the decision as ‘a damning indictment of the Conservatives’.
‘She was welcomed back with open arms,’ he said.
‘They should have done the decent thing and distanced themselves from her. I’m appalled. The suspension was a gimmick.’
He added: ‘Here’s a councillor who brought shame on the borough on an international level and was welcomed back into the fold with open arms simply to grab control to the council.
‘She turned up with a Conservative rosette literally as the votes were being counted.’
The Tories had a good set of local election results under Theresa May (pictured today talking to activists in Barnet in north London) but have been attacked by labour following the councillor back into the party
Ms Carroll has ‘sincerely apologised’ over the racist joke, which she said she meant to delete the post but accidentally published in error.
Ms Carroll was suspended from the party for three months over the post.
The political balance of the council is now Conservatives, 25 seats; Labour 15 seats, Liberal Democrats nine seats.
Mr Iqbal added: ‘If it was a fair and square result I could take it on the chin but this is shocking.’
The council said it was told Ms Carroll had rejoined the party at lunchtime on Friday.
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