Conservatives expel councillor after racist comment about Lib Dem

The Andover Advertiser reports:

A former Test Valley mayor caught up in a race row has been been expelled from the Conservative Party.

However, Councillor Ian Hibberd claims the decision is an “over reaction”.

The prominent Tory councillor was suspended after making a racist comment on Facebook about Wellow parish councillor Harmeet Singh Brar in May…

Cllr Hibberd, who represents Romsey Extra on Test Valley Borough Council, said: “It’s a total over reaction. I deplore all this political correctness rubbish.”

The comment referring to Cllr Brar is not appropriate to print in a family newspaper.

Harmeet Brar joined the Liberal Democrats in April:

The story is a reminder too about the importance of the Liberal Democrats getting our own disciplinary processes right. Proposals to do just that will come back to the party’s federal conference this autumn.