Controversial Tory councillor says poorest Borehamwood residents want something for nothing

3rd November, 2019

A controversial Tory councillor has found himself in trouble again after saying that people in parts of Borehamwood are the ‘something for nothing society’… ‘who blame everyone for their woes except themselves.’

The comment from Cllr Anthony Spencer came on Twitter in response to a Hertfordshire Mercury article showing the disparity between Leeming Road in Borehamwood – the poorest road in Hertfordshire – with affluent St Albans.

It bought outrage from local residents, some of whom are still stinging from previous gaffs from Cllr Spencer who has variously claimed that he doesn’t ever shop in the town where the Council is based or that middle class people shouldn’t be expected to get on buses.

Holly Kal-Weiss, Hertsmere’s Labour candidate in the forthcoming General Election said: Anthony Spencer’s comment reflect his poor grasp of the way austerity has affected this country. With 23% of children living in poverty in Hertsmere under his watch it is no wonder he fails to see the fundamental problems underpinning our society.

Continued Holly: “ The people of Borehamwood work hard to provide for their families. They should be given equal opportunities.

But perhaps his biggest insults have been directed against the LGBTQ+ community where he filibusted a recent motion to support inclusivity in the Borough, and was previously labelled a homophobe for saying that LGBTQ+ people should not be welcomed in orthodox synagogues.

A spokesperson for Hertsmere Labour said: “Here is a Hertsmere Tory councillor who has a very thinly-veiled grasp on reality. He is either entirely oblivious to how some of the people in Borehamwood struggle to survive, or simply doesn’t want to know. Only recently he said there was no one starving in Hertsmere despite nearly 4,000 people using the food banks last year.”