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Make your voice heard. Send a pre-written letter to your MP about the remarks made by Glenn Gibbins, the newly elected Reform UK councillor for Sunderland, in under two minutes.

Reform UK councillor Glenn Gibbins publicly stated that Nigerians should be “melted down and used to fill potholes.”  •  He remains in office.  •  Your MP needs to hear from you.

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Letter preview

Dear MP,

I am writing to you as a Nigerian-heritage constituent, and I do so with a heavy heart.

By now you will likely be aware of the remarks made by Glenn Gibbins, the newly elected Reform UK councillor for Hylton Castle ward in Sunderland, who publicly stated that Nigerians should be “melted down and used to fill potholes”. These words do not need to be dressed up. They are a dehumanising incitement, written not in the heat of a private argument, but broadcast on social media for the world to see. In posting this vile comment, Cllr Gibbins has reduced my entire community to raw material, fit only to be trampled upon.

I am shaken by this. Many in my community are frightened.

What compounds the injury is that Cllr Gibbins was not stopped from presenting himself as a candidate for elections. Rather, he was allowed to stand for election and, subsequently, won. Cllr Gibbins now holds public office, exercises political authority, and represents constituents in this country. That a man who views Nigerians and Africans as subhuman is permitted to govern has left families in my community afraid for their safety and for the safety of their children.

I am asking you, as my Member of Parliament, to lend your voice clearly and urgently to the following:

First, that Glenn Gibbins be removed from his position as a councillor without delay. A man who holds such views has no business holding public office, and those in positions of authority must say so plainly.

Second, that Mr Gibbins be prohibited from standing for or holding political office for the foreseeable future. Suspension from his party is not enough. The public record must reflect that this kind of language carries consequences.

Third, and perhaps most urgently, I am asking you to call on the Prime Minister to issue a direct and unambiguous statement of reassurance to people of Nigerian and African heritage in this country. We need to hear, from the highest level of government, that racism directed at our community is taken seriously as a matter of policy and principle.

We are a part of Britain. We are not strangers. We are certainly not raw material.

I ask that you act with the urgency this moment demands.

Yours sincerely,

[Your name]