Reform MP Robert Jenrick has backed Sunderland City Council’s decision to refuse to support Wear Red Day, a campaign day run Show Racism the Red Card.

In a series of posts on X, Jenrick also suggested that the council was right to pull funding from anti-racism charity Show Racism the Red Card.

However, the charity has made clear that the current administration was not providing any funding to the organisation and that it has only withdrawn its support for Wear Red Day on 16 October. 

James Kingett, North East education manager at Show Racism the Red Card, told Left Foot Forward that the charity has not yet had a conversation with the current leadership about funding, but “we would speculate that this is not a good sign”. 

The Reform leader of Sunderland City Council, Chris Eynon, said in a council meeting that the council would not be supporting Wear Red Day this year due to comments the anti-racism charity’s CEO Ged Grebby has posted about Reform online.

In the meeting, Eynon read out some posts Grebby had published on X that were critical of Reform, including him saying that “Reform is a very very dangerous organisation” and that “racists have been emboldened by Farage”. 

Jenrick accused Grebby’s X account of being “a sewer of anti-Reform rants”.

The Tory turncoat turned Reform MP said that given Reform won 58 out of the 72 seats on the council in May, “Residents would be right to question whether this organisation should be supported financially by their council under Mr Grebby’s leadership”.

However, Jenrick’s claim overlooks the fact that Show Racism the Red Card is not currently “supported financially” by the Reform-run council.

Jenrick made the comments on X after he refused to say whether he supported Show Racism the Red Card in an interview with LBC’s Nick Ferrari.

Asked if he agreed with Eynon’s claims that Show Racism the Red Card is a “politically charged organisation with an agenda”, Jenrick said: “I don’t know, Nick, what lies behind that.”

Pressed on whether he thinks the football anti-racism initiative is “politically charged”, Jenrick repeated that he didn’t know “the evidence” behind the comments.

He then added: “Do I think it’s reasonable Nick, for a local authority to make choices about what charities and organisations they support? Yes, absolutely.”

Ferrari asked if Jenrick supported driving racism out of football. Jenrick responded: “The aim is obviously laudable but I don’t know what lies behind the decision.”

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward

The post Robert Jenrick backs Reform council refusing to support football anti-racism campaign day appeared first on Left Foot Forward: Leading the UK's progressive debate.

Reform-run Sunderland City Council has been condemned over its decision to withdraw support for a campaign day organised by local anti-racism charity Show Racism the Red Card.

In a council meeting on 16 September, Reform council leader Chris Eynon said the council would no longer support Show Racism the Red Card’s Wear Red Day, their campaign day on 16 October.

Show Racism the Red Card says Wear Red Day is “a national moment of allyship and solidarity with those who are facing racist abuse and hostilities”.

Participation from the council would have involved council staff showing their support for the campaign day and encouraging others to do the same.

It would have also involved lighting key public assets red, such as Sunderland’s Penshaw monument, on 16 October as a show of solidarity.

Leader of the opposition on Sunderland City Council, Paul Edgeworth, called the decision “terrible” and “really pig-headed”. 

Eynon said Reform had made the decision because of the “very very stark political bias” of the anti-racism charity’s founder Ged Grebby.

In the meeting, Eynon read out some posts Grebby had published on X that were critical of Reform, including him saying that “Reform is a very very dangerous organisation” and that “racists have been emboldened by Farage”. 

Eynon also cited Grebby attending Labour Party conference and having met with trade unions and Labour MP Kim McGuinness as reasons for Reform withdrawing support for the organisation.

Eynon said “we don’t mind supporting good causes, we’re really happy to get behind things like carers’ week and the White Ribbon campaign but we have no plans on supporting politically charged organisations with an agenda.”

Edgeworth told Left Foot Forward that the decision was “terrible”, adding “Just recently we had Romaine Mundle, who’s a Sunderland player suffering racist abuse at a match so it’s clearly still happening in Sunderland and across the country.”

On 22 February, Sunderland AFC put out a statement condemning the “vile online racist abuse” that Mundle was subjected to after a match against Fulham.

The Lib Dem councillor for Grindon and Thornley Close added: “Whatever Reform’s view is of individuals involved with the campaign, it just sends a terrible message.”

He said of Reform’s decision: “It’s not representative of Sunderland, we are a welcoming place where people from all over the world have chosen to make their home.”

“It just sends completely the wrong signal and is really pig-headed of Reform.”

In a statement, Ged Grebby, Chief Executive of Show Racism the Red Card, said: “Show Racism the Red Card have worked with Sunderland City Council throughout its 30 year history, and are proud of the charity’s North East roots. We are disappointed in the statement made by the Leader of Sunderland City Council stating that they will not be supporting Wear Red Day this year. 

“In our experience, the people of Sunderland have traditionally demonstrated a welcoming, inclusive and anti-racist attitude, and believe it is important that voters see this decision as further evidence that the Council are unsupportive of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion initiatives.”

James Kingett, an education team manager at Show Racism the Red Card, said that the campaign group was “disappointed with the justification for the decision being aligned with the personal views of the chief executive”.

On Eynon’s accusation that Show Racism the Red Card is a “politically charged organisation”, Kingett said that the charity is “apolitical organisation” adding: “We educate people against racism, we help people understand where it comes from [..] and the impact is has on black and global majority people and traditionally minoritised communities.”

In his statement, the Reform council leader said the council would still support anti-racism initiatives.

Kingett said “this positive to a certain extent”, adding: “We would just question why they felt that Show Racism the Red Card and the Wear Red Day initiative was an initiative that they could no longer support”.

This comes after Reform UK-led administration pulled £10,000 in council funding for the city’s Pride events in June.

Just weeks after taking over control of Sunderland City Council from Labour in May, Reform also announced that it would “never” fly the Pride flag outside City Hall.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward

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