British Labour politician Philip Normal has resigned from Lambeth Council in the wake of Islamophobic and transphobic tweets he made being highlighted in the media.
Normal made international headlines in early 2021 when he designed a t-shirt that simply read “La”. The phrase was featured on the groundbreaking television drama It’s a Sin which focused on how London’s LGBTIQA+ community was affected by the early years of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. His simple t-shirt raised over £250,000 (AUD$474,000) for HIV charity the Terrance Higgins Trust.
Normal served as the Mayor of Lambeth, a groundbreaking role as someone who is gay and living with HIV. HIs term as Mayor ended last year and he returned to be a councillor.
He’s now resigned from the council completely and apologised for a string of transphobic and Islamophobic social media posts. A series of posts spanning a five year period from 2009 – 2014 were highlighted in the media. Following several days of outrage from his local community, he confirmed he’d resigned.
“I have today resigned as a Lambeth councillor and a Lambeth Labour candidate for Oval ward,” he wrote. “I want to apologise again to everyone who I have caused deep hurt and pain to due to my past social media posts.”
In a follow-up post he said he was proud of his work on the council, and regretted that statements he’d made in the past had undermined the council’s progress on important issues.
“I’m proud to have been a ward councillor for Oval and Mayor of Lambeth and I am sorry that my past actions from before I was elected have undermined the positive work that Lambeth Labour councillors do to advance equality in our diverse communities.” Normal said.
Olly Alexander, who starred in the television series labeled Normal’s comments as “extremely disappointing”, while they were also condemned by the Terrance Higgins Trust.
“They conflict entirely with our values and what we stand for as a charity,” a spokesperson told London based Gay Times.
“We will always be an ally in the fight against racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and other forms of discrimination. This is central to our work as the HIV epidemic and wider sexual health issues are greatly exacerbated by stark inequalities, with marginalised communities some of the most impacted globally.
“It’s A Sin has had a massive impact in updating people’s perceptions of HIV over the last 12 months. It has engaged so many in the hugely important work still to do to tackle HIV-related stigma, to ensure everyone living with HIV lives well, and to reach the goal of ending new HIV cases by 2030.
“We’re very grateful for everyone who watched the series, took action and supported our work. We hope that all that’s been achieved remains the focus when looking at the legacy of the series.”
OIP Staff
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