‘I won’t be silenced’ - Under pressure South Tyneside Reform UK councillor hits back at critics
A South Tyneside councillor who is under pressure from opponents due to online comments has hit back at his critics.
South Tyneside Council’s Lead Member for Housing has hit back at those who are calling for him to resign after he claimed a far-right conspiracy theory is in “full swing” and that the British people are facing “an invasion”.
Cllr Steven Smith, of the Biddick and All Saints ward, made the comments on in a now deleted post on his Facebook page last week.
In the post, Cllr Smith claimed that the ‘Population Replacement Programme’ (PRP) is in “full swing”.
It echoes the ‘Great Replacement’, a widely debunked far-right conspiracy theory that claims white populations in Western countries are being deliberately replaced by non-white immigrants through mass migration and demographic change.
Political opponents have since called for him to step down and urged Cllr Paul Mackings, the Leader of South Tyneside Council, to take action.
Despite deleting his post, Cllr Smith has vowed that he “won’t be silenced” and stated that “there’s more to come”.
In a Facebook post on September 11, he said: “The Greens are in meltdown, calling me uneducated and a moron (I do happen to have BA and MA degrees).
“I've been reported to the police the council and anyone else that they can think of.
“They're behaving like hysterical children, thrashing about on the supermarket floor! I won't be silenced by these fools.
“I was voted in on my beliefs that we can reindustrialise, prioritise British people and deport every single illegal immigrant.
“I will fight for the rights of you, the British people.
“The left's whining is amusing to me - strap in, there's more to come.”
The Shields Gazette has repeatedly asked Cllr Steve Smith and South Tyneside’s Reform UK group for a comment but is yet to receive a response.