Concerns about alleged sexist and homophobic behaviour were raised against Slough’s new mayor as he was elected to the role this week.
Conservative Cllr Balwinder Dhillon was voted in as mayor for the coming year at a meeting of Slough Borough Council on Thursday 16 May.
But Labour councillors said councillor Dhillon ‘shouldn’t be within a million miles’ of being Slough’s mayor, while Conservatives called him an ‘honourable man’ and spoke of his charity work.
Labour Cllr Christine Hulme noted that residents had complained of ‘sexism and homophobia’ from councillor Dhillon. She said Labour’s candidate for mayor Haqeeq Dar would ‘uphold and promote equality and inclusion.’
It comes after a council meeting on 25 April when former Conservative Party activist Steven Gillingwater accused councillor Dhillon of calling him a ‘faggot,’ branding the then-deputy mayor ‘Islamophobic, racist, hate-filled, homophobic.’
Labour councillor Robert Anderson said is ‘somebody who shouldn’t be within a million miles of being the first citizen of this town.’
He said councillor Dhillon had been ‘censured’ by the council and forced to apologise on four occasions, and had been suspended twice.
Councillor Dhillon was suspended from the council for two months in 2011 after being accused of being ‘intimidating and insulting’ towards another councillor in a public meeting.
On another occasion in 2005 he was made to apologise after being accused of ‘verbally and physically’ threatening another councillor.
Labour Cllr Mark Instone said Slough would become a ‘joke’ if Cllr Dhillon was made mayor. He said: “This is a really sad day for Slough.
“People need to be able to look up to and respect their mayor and if we end up with a mayor that we cannot respect then the whole town loses out and Slough becomes yet another joke.”
But Conservative councillors described councillor Dhillon as an ‘honourable’ and ‘passionate’ man.
Council leader Dexter Smith said Cllr Dhillon had donated his entire allowance to disability charity Mencap.
He said: “His actions I believe reflect a man whom my group wish to propose as mayor because they are befitting of the first citizen of Slough. He is someone with a deep desire to improve the lives of those who live in the town.”
And deputy leader Wal Chahal said Cllr Dhillon had a record of helping people ‘across the whole of Slough.’
He said: “He is at his core a family man with strong family values underpinned by his Sikh faith which guides his life day in and day out. A very honourable man in that respect.
“He is a man of principle and integrity with a strong compass of what is right and wrong. That’s a very important point – that’s something he stands by.”
Councillor Dhillon was elected mayor with Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors voting in favour and Labour councillors against.
He said he would ‘be fair to councillors from all parties’ and ‘serve my mayoralty with integrity and to treat each other with the respect you deserve.’
