Northampton Tory councillor speaks out after wife pleads guilty to inciting racial hatred

Lucy Connolly, aged 41, of Parkfield Avenue, Northampton, was charged in August with publishing material intending to stir up racial hatred. Her now-deleted tweet called for mass deportation and suggested setting fire to hotels housing immigrants, in response to misinformation shared following the Southport murders. The offence took place on the social media platform X on July 29.

Today (Monday, September 2), the mother-of-three pleaded guilty to the charge via video link from HMP Peterborough. A sentencing date has been set for October 17 at Birmingham Crown Court by Her Honour Judge Adrienne Lucking.

Judge Lucking stated that Connolly should expect a “substantial” custodial sentence. Her husband, councillor Raymond Connolly, who represents the Delapre and Rushmere ward, spoke outside of the court following the hearing.

Wearing an Adidas tracksuit, Raymond said: “I’m kind of relieved it’s all over. These last few months have been quite traumatic for Lucy and the children. The stuff I hear on TV is not really Lucy; she’s probably the opposite of what she’s having to admit to. She knows she’s overstepped the mark, and there are consequences for it. Hopefully, she’ll be able to learn from this and move on with her life.

"It was just a moment of...an upset housewife really. Just seeing children [murdered] and the reports with all the misinformation, and she just got dragged into it.

“I’ve had really good support from my fellow councillors. It’s not affected my role. I’ve had messages of support from residents saying not to resign. I’ll leave it until the next elections, and I’ll let them decide.”

Clearly emotional, he continued: “I’m sure she regrets it. She regrets making the statement. She took it off after a couple of hours because she realised...she made a mistake.”

When asked if she accepts that the tweet was racist, Raymond responded: “She’s not that person. I’m not too sure, really. She’s not that person; she’s probably the opposite.”

When asked why he thought his wife tweeted it, he said: “Because we lost our own son. Any children who get harmed or anything, she will kick off. That’s it, really.”

Regarding the potential for a substantial sentence, Raymond said: “I haven’t spoken to her about it. She feels that because of the Tory tag, she expects it. That’s what she thinks. She’ll cope with whatever they throw at her; she’s got strong resilience. Hopefully, she’ll come back a better person.”

Addressing the Tory connection in the press, Raymond added: “Everything seems to be ‘Tory councillor’s wife.’ She’s just a middle-aged mother, but it’s ‘Tory councillor’s wife.’ I’m getting emails saying ‘Tory scum, Tory scum.’ What’s that got to do with Lucy’s situation?”

The Chronicle & Echo spoke to the couple before Connolly was arrested and subsequently charged. Here’s what they both said in the immediate aftermath of the screenshotted tweet going viral.

When asked if the police had been in touch, Mrs Connolly replied: “No, because it’s not a crime. This was a one-off tweet. It’s not hate speech. It doesn’t constitute hate speech. I deeply regret it. I’m renowned for speaking first and thinking later. There are a lot of people who think I’m racist, but that’s not the case. I know the truth. My friends and family know the truth.”

Sharing some of her political views, she added: “The country is a mess. We keep sweeping everything under the carpet to appease everybody else.

“You can’t upset anybody; you can’t say that because that’s racist; you can’t say that because that’s Islamophobic. No, it’s just fact. If it’s fact, how can it be racist?”

She said her tweet wasn’t racist and would ‘debate’ if it’s xenophobic.

Speaking to Raymond in the aftermath, when asked if he thinks his wife is racist, he said that she wasn't and, as a childminder, she looked after children from different cultures and countries.

"She loves all those kids. She’s not a racist. Nothing of that sort. These parents would come and speak up for Lucy. They’d give her support.”

He continued: “I haven’t got any answers for it. Lucy is not that sort of person. I don’t discuss politics with her because we’d end up rowing. It was totally out of character.”

When asked if he agreed with the tweet, he said: “No, I don’t. I don’t think Lucy agrees with it.”

When asked if he condemned the tweet, he said, “I said to her, ‘What are you doing?’ She said it was just a snap thing because she was so distressed [about Southport]. She was in such a state. I couldn’t even believe she had written it because it’s totally out of character. I condemn it. I wasn’t too happy about it. She said she’s sorry. I don’t know what more she can do.”

When asked about his role as a councillor, he said: “My role as a councillor...I see myself as a really good councillor. I get everything done. I will finish my term because I've not broken any group rules. I’ll speak to the group to see where we go from here. Hopefully, I’ll go for re-election next year.”

After 16 years of marriage, when asked if they’d had conversations about the subject and if he knew her views, he said: “Lucy has never mentioned anything about asylum seekers. I don’t really discuss it with her.”