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Posted: Tue 8th Nov 2022

Exec Board split as Conservatives vote against Rob & Ryan Freedom award – in part due to ‘message of hate’

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This article is old - Published: Tuesday, Nov 8th, 2022

Two senior conservative councillors have voted against awarding Wrexham Football Club owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney ‘Freedom of the City’ after a “star player engaged in a message of hate against a section of our community.”

Councillors had met today to discuss awarding the new club owners the highest and rarest local Civic award – the Freedom of Wrexham.

The honour is proposed by the Executive Board “In recognition of the long history of the football club in this area” and “In recognition of the global promotion and awareness of the club and the Wrexham area”.

However the proposal today caused a rare split in the council’s ruling administration, with two senior councillors and portfolio holders voting against awarding Ryan and Rob the civic honour

The council’s executive board is made of up 10 members of the ruling administration – which locally is a coalition between the independents and conservatives.

Of those two groups seven members of the independents – the largest group on Wrexham Council – and three conservative members are portfolio holders on the executive board.

It is rare that there is a public split in the way the executive votes, with agenda items getting passed unanimously.

The last time we can remember this happening was in 2018, when there was a split in votes over plans for a new Welsh-medium school in Borras however that was less fractious than this afternoon.

Wrexham Council Leader Mark Pritchard presented the report, “If you look at the history of the club, and the problems they’ve had, they’ve had some good owners, and they’ve had some terrible owners. Now I think they have two wonderful owners I really do. I think the club can go from strength to strength. If you look at the history of the football club and everything it represents I think it’s worthy of this award”.

“I think we should recognise what the club stands for, and what the new owners have brought to Wrexham. I’d like to congratulate them on the planning application that’s going through, that’s wonderful and we will have a four sided stadium”.

Cllr Nigel Williams echoed the positive words, saying that the new owners and work they are carrying out is “truly putting Wrexham on the international map”.

Cllr Phil Wynn explained how the club was in the DNA of his family, stating he thought the award would show the ‘gratitude towards what joy the football club has brought to the people of Wrexham over the years”.

Cllr Rob Walsh said, “I think what Rob and Ryan have done is has taken us to another level with their support for the club, and also for the the documentary as well. They didn’t have to do this, they could have invested in an existing Premier League club. They could have chosen that or other clubs in the country, but they chose us. I’m so grateful for that.”

In a first for the Guildhall Cllr Walsh noted the progress of an NFL team, speaking of Rob McElhenney, “I know his beloved Philadelphia Eagles are unbeaten in the NFL. So if anyone wants to add extra support for what they’ve done, get behind them!”

The flow of positivity came to a half with a lengthy and considered speech from Cllr Hugh Jones, the Group Leader of the Conservatives on Wrexham Council and one of three Conservative Executive Board Members.

His full speech is below:

“I’ve considered this recommendation over the last few weeks quite seriously and I looked at the 4.2 in the report, which talks about the nature of the Freedom and the fact that it’s awarded to people or persons of distinction, or persons who have in the opinion of the authority rendered eminent service to that place an area

I fully understand the passion that there is for Wrexham Football Club. As a football fan myself, I can well understand the emotions that are associated with those passions.

But for me the timing and the values and the priorities are wrong. We are recommending to award the freedom of the county borough at a time when one of their star players has engaged in a message of hate against a section of our community, and one of the owners has liked an Instagram post containing that same message of hate.

I wonder what sort of message that says to our schools and to our young people? It is not who the recipients are of these messages, it is absolutely fine for people to disagree, there will always be disagreement, we have disagreement within this chamber. It’s how we manage that and how we treat each other.

Football is one of those organisations that’s under the spotlight for how it behaves, and how it treats other people.

Hate is ultimately destructive, wherever it comes from, when it comes from people of prominence I don’t think that that meets the requirements of the freedom of the county borough.

But it’s also about our values as a council and as a county borough and who we seek to recognise as beacons in our society.

I look down the list of the recipients of the Freedom and I see eminent alderman, eminent professors, in more recent years the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, North Wales police, the Welsh Guards, the Royal Air Force in Wales – people who daily, men and women put their lives on the line in order to protect the freedoms that we enjoy.

Then I look around our county borough, and I look at the organisations that work and serve our community. One of the first thing came to mind was the Venture, an organisation that over 40 years has transformed the lives of young people in our community. Then I read the testimonials about the Venture that came from the First Minister of Wales, saying, I remain in awe of everything that they’ve achieved over the 40 years, and from the Secretary of State for Wales the Venture is one of the best children’s organisations in the country, if not in Europe.

Then I look at the choirs of Rhos who, over the generations have traveled the world from China, to the United States, spreading the name of Wrexham and spreading culture, welsh culture and welsh heritage and again, as I say, the name Wrexham, at the same time raising 1000s of pounds, certainly, for charity.

We talked this morning, about AVOW and the importance of the work that is does for the voluntary community across the county borough.

We talk about investment that’s taking place in the in the football club. But there are businesses , the Bamford family, the founders of Moneypenny have invested millions of pounds into this county borough and have created jobs over the years. The manufacturers of the vaccine who saved millions of lives.

So I say it is about timing and values, I wish the football club every possible success. I want to see them win the league, I want to see them be promoted.

But I think we need to look at the freedom as something that rewards good behaviour, that rewards value and contribution to the community over long periods of time.

I’ve just mentioned just a few of the organisations and businesses that have made a significant contribution, and have transformed the lives of many people in our community.

We need to look at our priorities when we grant the freedom of the county borough before we make the decision. For that reason, I don’t believe either the timing or the priority given to the football club is the right in the context of those values that we consider to be important; community service and the work that people do in providing jobs and support for our communities.

I will be voted against. Thank you.”

Cllr Marc Jones from Plaid Cymru responded, “I think in terms of acknowledging the contribution of this football club to the town is long overdue because for so long, it’s been the flag bearer for the town. It’s carried that message as people have said, throughout Europe it is what has put the town on the map for decades. It’s not a recent thing.

“I think in terms of volunteers contributing, volunteers as in the fans saved this club, volunteers kept the club going through some very dark years, volunteers fought for this club, and kept this this club alive. It is remiss of us to ignore that contribution by volunteers.

Cllr Marc Jones went on, “For Councillor Hugh Jones to focus on the most recent owners, and I think he also has to take the rough with the smooth, you know, his party, whether we like it or not, is in power and they’re doing some terrible things to people, they do some awful things to communities….”

At this point Cllr David A Bithell who was chairing the meeting interjected, “I’m not getting involved in cross party politics to do with what’s happening at national government” and requested the meeting stuck to the report.

Cllr Marc Jones then came back, reiterating his support for the Freedom award, and asked, “I would just like to ask Councillor Hugh Jones which football club he supports?”

Cllr Bithell again ruled out the point and the meeting moved on.

Labour’s Cllr Malcolm King branded it “political argy bargy’ , “It is grossly inappropriate. This is a civic matter, we should have dealt with it with greater dignity than this. I am very saddened, we can do better than this. This is not good enough.”

Cllr Bithell again came back as Chair, “Everybody’s entitled to their opinion, we live in a democracy, whether we agree that or not, we are all entitled to our views and opinions. And in this one, it’s obviously different people have got different views, and different opinions.”

Cllr Bithell asked that the Wrexham Supporters Trust get recognition in the recommendation to Full Council, something that was taken forward and agreed.

Council Leader Mark Pritchard added, “With regards to Councillor Hugh Jones I respect his thoughts, but I completely disagree with him. I don’t agree with anything he said in his presentation, but he’s entitled to that opinion.

“If any of you in this room or within Wrexham or within North Wales, or within Wales, or within this country or globally don’t recognise what this football club is, and what its two new owners have brought to Wrexham you are on a different planet for me”.

A vote was taken, and unusually for a Wrexham Executive Board it did not sail through unanimously – with the two Conservative members Cllr Hugh Jones and Cllr Paul Roberts raising their hands to vote against – with Cllr Beverley Parry-Jones not attending the meeting and sending her apologies.

The matter now goes forward to a Full Council meeting for wider consideration.

Top pic: The vote taking place.

Our live tweets from the Guildhall earlier, in reverse chronological order:



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