Norwich City Councillor under investigation for 'racist' Facebook post

She's apologised for a post made in 2017

Sally Button represents the Bowthorpe ward
Author: George Thompson, Local Democracy Reporting ServicePublished 24th May 2022
Last updated 24th May 2022

A Labour councillor being investigated over a social media post relating to a golliwog has said she is “truly sorry”.

Sally Button, who represents the Bowthorpe ward, shared a photograph on Facebook in 2017 which included the character once used as the brand logo for Robertson’s jams which is now widely considered a racist caricature.

The caption on the picture said: “I asked for a tattoo of the bloke from The Jam. This doesn’t look like Paul Weller to me.”

Ms Button’s post – featuring two crying laughing emojis – was reported by the Greens to the council’s monitoring officer on Friday.

Attempts were made to contact Ms Button over the weekend.

On Monday, she said: “ I would like to make a full apology for my response to this Facebook post.

“I can see in hindsight that the post is offensive, I should not have responded and for that, I am truly sorry.

“I abhor racism and will continue to fight against it in all forms”

The post was reported to City Hall’s monitoring officer, who stated it was not a matter for them to deal with, passing the complaint onto the Labour group.

The councillor had been due to be appointed to the new Norwich City Council cabinet at a meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, May 25).

The appointment had been put on hold over the weekend while Labour investigated the complaint “as a matter of urgency”.

It is understood she was to be named cabinet member with responsibility for social inclusion – which includes championing equality and diversity.

The golliwog was a fictional character created by author Florence Kate Upton in 1873, appearing as a type of ragdoll.

The caricature came to be used for commercial purposes – including on Robertson’s jams and marmalades, until it was dropped in 2002.

The image is widely considered to be an example of racist stereotyping.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.