An allegation has been made that the Leader of the Isle of Wight Council has Golly dolls in her home. She, Cllr Lora Peacey-Wilcox, has refuted this.
The leader told the County Press that she does not have any items like that her home and says that Police are investigating a complaint raised by her of blackmail and harassment.
Doctored images?
Images seen by NewsOnTheWight that were allegedly posted by Cllr Peacey-Wilcox to her friends on Facebook on 5th November 2020, show a lit-up display cabinet in the background. It’s unclear what is actually in the cabinet, but the suggestion is that there is a collection of Golly dolls.
It’s been claimed to News OnTheWight by an insider who knows Cllr Peacey-Wilcox, that the images appeared ‘doctored’.
Call for resignation
Cllr Geoff Brodie (Lab) told News OnTheWight that Cllr Peacey-Wilcox told him about the image on 12th November 2021.
It’s unclear who originally sent the image to Cllr Peacey-Wilcox which Cllr Brodie says she raised with him. He told News OnTheWight,
“Until then I knew nothing about it. She expected publication soon.”
He went on to say,
“After due consideration I advised her to resign as Leader. She thanked me for my advice.
“Obviously she did not act upon it. She was taking advice from Cllrs Jordan, Bacon and Stephens.”
Brodie: “She trusted me in those days”
Cllr Brodie claims that he was then sent a copy of the image last week.
When asked by News OnTheWight in what context Cllr Peacey-Wilcox raised the issue with him, Cllr Brodie replied,
“She probably brought it up with me because she trusted me in those days. She hasn’t since I advised her to resign.”
Cllr Brodie told News OnTheWight he knows nothing about the blackmail and harassment allegations.
Widely recognised as a racist symbol
Gollies have been widely recognised as a racist symbol for many years, but can still be found for sale in some shops on the Isle of Wight.
In the summer of 2020 when a petition to ban the sale of Golly dolls was reignited, a spokesperson for the council told News OnTheWight,
“Unfortunately, this is not something that Trading Standards have powers to investigate.
“Their remit is around product safety and standards and we can only seize or require something to be taken off sale if it is unsafe.”
News OnTheWight has put a number of questions to Cllr Peacey-Wilcox and will update once we hear back from her.
Article edit
10.06pm 17th Feb 2022 – Corrected the date of when the Facebook post was shared
