A former UKIP councillor sacked for posts made on Twitter has spoken out for the first time.
Colette Fairbanks, who represented Pharos ward on Wyre Council from 2019 until 2023 when she chose not to contest the seat, started working as a recovery worker at substance misuse charity Change Grow Live in October 2022. The mum-of-two “really enjoyed” her new job but says that one colleague began to treat her differently and make her feel “uncomfortable”.
Colette, who lives in Fleetwood, says she mentioned this to her line manager, but a meeting to discuss it was cancelled. Colette was then asked to attend a disciplinary meeting in which she was presented with a series of posts on Twitter, now X, made under accounts in her name.
Colette told her bosses one of the accounts was hers but a second, set up in November 2022 after she started working for Change Grow Live, wasn’t hers. Using the first account Colette had posted, in 2019, saying “we should ban all Halal and Kosher”, but she denied making any homophobic or racist posts under the newer account.
“I told them that account was nothing to do with me,” Colette, 56, told LancsLive. “I reported it to the police and to Twitter.”
An email from Twitter after Colette reported the bogus account
An email from Twitter after Colette reported the bogus account
While Colette admits she is “anti-Islam” she insists she is not racist and her comments were solely due to animal welfare concerns related to how animals are slaughtered to produce Halal meat.
“I said that animals should receive a bolt stun otherwise they feel severe pain and are extremely stressed,” Colette said. “I don’t agree with it and I think it’s cruel.”
After she was sacked in July 2023 and had exhausted the internal appeals process Colette, who had also shared pro-Brexit views online, launched an employment tribunal claim and argued that her political views were philosophical beliefs protected by the Equality Act.
But the employment tribunal in Manchester found that wanting to leave the EU is an opinion rather than a philosophical belief that falls under equality laws.
Ruling against Colette, Employment Judge Paul Jumble said: “On balance, the tribunal found that the claimant had genuinely held opinions and views but she did not convince the tribunal that she had any underlying philosophical belief.”
Colette maintains that her UKIP membership and anti-immigration stance is not “racist”. “When I was a councillor I helped some of the migrants living in our area; it’s not the people I have a problem with, it’s the systems and process,” she added.
After she was sacked from Change Grow Live, Colette started working as a housing officer at Blackpool Council; a job she “absolutely loved”. However, she was due to quit work in May this year due to ill health, and is currently unable to work.
“I’ve always liked helping people, and felt that both those jobs allowed me to do that, but it seems like certain people had a prejudiced view of me based on the fact I was a UKIP councillor,” Colette added.
LancsLive contacted Change Grow Live for a comment but since acknowledging our request they have not responded.
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