Councillor who represents Oakham North East on Rutland County Council as a Liberal Democrat, has been suspended by the party following complaints about a prolonged series of offensive

Chatfield was elected in the May 2023 local elections, securing one of the two seats in the Oakham North East ward for the Liberal Democrats (alongside Hannah Edwards). He has served on several council committees, including Planning, Strategic Overview and Scrutiny, Audit and Risk, and Conduct.

The complaints

In June 2025, Conservative MP Alicia Kearns reported Chatfield’s social media activity to Rutland County Council. The posts, made over roughly a year, were described as including racist remarks, offensive comments about Rutland residents, and attacks on local journalists. The council accepted that the “posts by or comments on other posts by Mark Chatfield include remarks, which are insulting, racist and offensive,” but declined to take formal action. Officials said the comments were made in a personal capacity, even though Chatfield had used his Facebook account to comment as a councillor on multiple community pages

One example cited by Kearns involved a post comparing the then-Member for Richmond and Northallerton (Rishi Sunak) to “different shades of toast.” Additional concerns were raised about Chatfield’s behaviour in a public council meeting, where he allegedly used an offensive expletive and swore about a female councillor while she was speaking. No formal council action followed those incidents either.

Party process and delay

Kearns escalated the matter to the Liberal Democrats’ formal complaints process in August 2025. The party’s internal guidelines indicated an average response time of around six weeks. Nearly a year later, in mid-June 2026, the party informed her that the complaint had still not been progressed.

Speaking in the House of Commons and publicly in June 2026, Kearns criticised both the council and the Liberal Democrats for inaction, arguing that complaints about civility in public life should not be ignored. A Liberal Democrat MP who spoke with her afterwards expressed concern and undertook to ensure the party reviewed the complaint seriously.

Suspension

On 17 July 2026, reports confirmed that Chatfield had been suspended by the Liberal Democrats over the “year of ‘offensive’ social media posts.” Graphics tracking councillor affiliations listed the change as a move from Liberal Democrat to Independent.

As of the latest available public listings prior to the suspension announcement, Chatfield remained a serving councillor. The suspension removes the party whip; he continues to hold his elected seat on Rutland County Council but no longer sits as a Liberal Democrat member.

The case has been cited in wider discussions about standards of conduct expected of elected representatives, particularly regarding social media use when identifying as a councillor, and the effectiveness of internal party and council complaints processes.