T-SHIRTS celebrating the eventual death of Margaret Thatcher – on sale at the TUC conference - sparked a 10 minute row at yesterday's full council meeting.
The Labour opposition group was asked to clarify its views on the issue, and one of the party's councillors, Brian Lucas, stood up and said he would "raise my glass" when the former prime minister dies, arguing she showed "nothing but contempt" for the working class during her reign.
Leader of the Tory-led authority Andrew Lewer voiced his disgust at the T-shirts, saying: "This isn't about whether or not Mrs Thatcher was good for this country. It's about producing a T-shirt celebrating the death of a woman in her 80s."
The authority's Liberal Democrat group distanced itself from the "distasteful" T-shirts.