Council issues statement after councillor was misgendered during meeting and received online abuse

The Mayor and Chief Executive of the London Borough of Newham have apologised to a non-binary councillor who received online abuse after they were repeatedly misgendered during a council meeting.

Whilst discussing and voting on the council 2023/24 budget at a Full Council meeting late last month (27 February), a number of councillors used the wrong pronouns to address Cllr Danny Keeling.

The Green party councillor and opposition leader identifies as non-binary, meaning their pronouns are 'they/them'. However, some members at the full council meeting referred to them using 'he/him' pronouns.

While speaking at the meeting, Cllr Zulfiqar Ali (Labour) said: "I note Cllr Danny Keeling's contribution. I'm grateful to him for welcoming a number of suggestions and proposals within the budget."

Cllr Keeling can later be seen leaving the room while Cllr Ali is speaking.

A point of order was then called by Green party councillor, Cllr Nate Higgins, who noted that: "We've now seen Cllr Danny Keeling misgendered again to the point that they've now left the room because they feel unable to participate in one of the most important parts of being a councillor."

He added: "I also just want to make a plea to the chair and to the monitoring officer that when this happens, we don't have to wait until the end of the speech or for me to come up and defend my colleague or for the colleague to defend themselves.

"You have a microphone. You have the power here to make this a safe space for trans and non-binary members."

Cllr Ali then apologised for misgendering Cllr Keeling.

Newham Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz later stood to "apologise profusely" and called on her colleagues to "do better".

But during her apology, the mayor accidentally misgendered Cllr Keeling again: "It's been wrong, and it's caused hurt to the degree that he."

She paused before saying: "And I've even made a mistake, and it just demonstrates how easy it is to make a mistake no matter how consciously hard you are trying."

The council unanimously passed a motion on 'Supporting the Transgender Community' in January.

In the wake of the meeting, Cllr Keeling tweeted: "I thought I was clear when I seconded the trans motion speech that I have had enough of the transphobia and misgendering in this chamber. EVERY WEEK it is now - this is now bullying."

Tagging Mayor Fiaz, they added: "Why does this still happen, was the motion voted on as all talk and no action?"

A day later, Cllr Keeling tweeted that they had been receiving insults and death threats online as a result of news coverage of the meeting.

In response, Mayor Fiaz and Colin Ansell, interim Chief Executive Newham Council, published a statement noting that: "We acknowledge the harm experienced by Cllr Danny Keeling because of the misgendering that occurred at the meeting of Full Council on Monday night, and the sustained abuse on social media since then. We take the wellbeing and safety of our elected members very seriously and will do all we can to safeguard their interests.

"Incorrectly stating an individual's preferred pronouns and disrespecting their identity goes against the standards we promote at the council in our quest to be a beacon of inclusivity. We are deeply sorry that this situation has continued to occur."

They added: "We will learn from this. We are in contact with Cllr Keeling to support them at this time and to address what is needed to change behaviours and practice at the council.

"Taking place as LGBT+ History Month comes to an end, this incident reaffirms that we must continue to do more in our commitment to all those marginalised, specifically those in the non binary and trans community that have chosen to make Newham their home. We abhor any and all forms of discrimination."

Adam Carey