A Glastonbury town councillor suspended by the Conservative Party after her details appeared on a white supremacist dating site will be formally asked to explain herself by colleagues.

Cllr Lillith Osborn, who represents St John's Ward on Glastonbury Town Council, was named in a national newspaper report following a partial data leak from WhiteDate, a far-right dating platform. The report stated that when she joined the site in 2020, before she was elected, she described her political orientation as "pro-white".

At Tuesday night's meeting, councillors said the issue could not go unaddressed. Cllr Osborn was not present.

Cllr Jon Cousins told the chamber it was "very awkward" to raise the matter but said it was necessary. He said councillors should not bring the council into disrepute and warned that staying silent would be "quite extraordinary" given the seriousness of the allegations.

"I would like the council to ask Cllr Osborn to formally respond to this chamber about the article and about her opinions and position, particularly this self-declared 'pro-white' position," he said. "Without doing so, it would almost look as if we are condoning it."

Cllr Emma King said residents deserved clarity.

"The excuse she gave publicly was that she was doing it for research on paganism, which seems the most ludicrous excuse," she said. "I really think she needs to explain what that research was and provide evidence of what it was actually for."

She added that Glastonbury is a diverse community and councillors have a responsibility to ensure residents feel safe. "Silence only ever helps the oppressor," she said.

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Cllr Rik Cook questioned whether any law had been broken.

"Is it a legal case? Is there a prosecution? I don't know any of it," he said. "Can you enlighten us as to what more she has actually done wrong?"

He added that he was "very concerned" about what he described as an inflated tone in the debate. "I'm not denying that there's a problem. But at the same time — you want her to come here and explain herself to us? Why are we even considering that?"

The town clerk advised that no formal decision could be taken because the matter was not on the published agenda, meaning the council could not lawfully pass a resolution at that meeting. However, councillors agreed that a written request would be sent to Cllr Osborn ahead of the next meeting, inviting her to respond.

The Conservative Party has confirmed Cllr Osborn has been suspended while the matter is investigated. Sarah Dyke, MP for Somerton and Frome, has also publicly called for her to stand down.

During the meeting, one councillor said they had been told by a member of the public that a complaint to the monitoring officer had resulted in no action because the events referenced pre-dated Cllr Osborn's election. That information was second-hand and was not independently verified during the meeting.

Cllr Osborn remains a serving member of Glastonbury Town Council and has not commented publicly on the debate among fellow councillors.

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