Sunderland, March 26, 2025 – The Sunderland Conservatives have expressed profound disappointment and concern over the Labour-run Sunderland City Council’s decision to amend and dilute a critical motion supporting a national grooming gang inquiry.
The original motion, proposed by the Conservative Group, called for robust local action to implement the recommendations of the Jay Report, a landmark inquiry into child sexual exploitation led by Professor Alexis Jay.
The Conservative motion sought to establish mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse as a cornerstone of council policy, ensuring accountability for Councillors, employees, contractors, and grant recipients.
It included clear measures such as amending the Code of Conduct to enforce reporting obligations, tasking the Chief Executive with driving implementation, and embedding safeguarding requirements into procurement and funding processes. These steps were designed to address Professor Jay’s call for local authorities to “step up to the mark” and take meaningful action following her 2016 review.
Alongside this, it expressed support for Labour run councils that have called for a national inquiry.
However, Labour Councillors introduced last-minute amendments that significantly watered down these commitments.
The Conservatives argue that the amendment undermines the urgency and scope of the original proposal, leaving Sunderland’s children at greater risk. In protest at Labour’s actions, Sunderland Conservative Councillors refused to participate in the vote on the amended motion during the council meeting. They cited the weakened proposal as a betrayal of the original intent to protect vulnerable children, choosing to abstain rather than endorse what they described as an inadequate response.
Cllr Antony Mullen, Leader of the Sunderland Conservatives, said: “This was the most shameful meeting of Council I have attended in 7 years. Labour totally gutted a motion calling for a national grooming gangs inquiry and instead turned it into a defence of their government. Nobody should have introduced politics into this but, with Labour, it’s always party before country.”
