Local politicians weigh in after Tory deputy chair Rachel Maclean is accused of transphobic remarks
Politicians in the region have weighed in after the Conservative Party's deputy chair for women was accused of making transphobic remarks about one of her general election rivals.
Redditch MP Rachel Maclean shared a post on X, formerly Twitter, that described transgender woman Melissa Poulton as "a man who wears a wig and calls himself a 'proud lesbian'."
She also commented: "While the Greens don't know what a woman is, my Worcestershire neighbours the people of Bromsgrove certainly do."
Miss Poulton is the Green Party candidate for Bromsgrove and has described her remarks as "gaslighting".
She said: "It's a shame, without a shadow of a doubt it is a transphobic comment, it's dog whistling at the finest."
The online criticism of Miss Poulton centred on a video, during which she gave her support to the 50:50 Parliament campaign, an initiative that aims to increase female representation in the House of Commons.
In the video, she said: "Representation matters and shapes policy. I encourage the most amazing, brilliant women to stand for politics."
But since announcing her own candidacy for Bromsgrove last week, Miss Poulton said she had received a lot of abuse online, including from Mrs Maclean.
Aldridge-Brownhills MP Wendy Morton has also questioned Mrs Maclean's actions.
She said: “I don’t know why she chose to put that message out.
"Politics is at times a very heated place to be but you still need respect in politics. That to me is one of the most important things."
Councillor Shaun Davies, leader of Telford & Wrekin Council, said: "These types of words from somebody who's got huge amounts of authority are regrettable.
"It's sad to say that unfortunately people who are trans or other minority groups are feeling the brunt of abuse on social media and for an MP to engage in that is really regrettable”
In a statement to the BBC, Mrs Maclean, who is deputy chair of the Conservative Party, with responsibility for safeguarding and women, said: "Everyone in the UK should be free to live their lives and fulfil their potential regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity and to have the confidence and the freedom to be themselves."
