Conservative councillors in Bradford are rebelling against attempts by health and safety staff to separate them from their toasters.
Simon Cooke, the leader of the Bradford Conservatives and the head of the insurgency, declared to the Bradford Telegraph and Argus: ‘They may take our bins, but they will never take our toaster!’
All staff working on council premises—a Grade I-listed, 19th-century building—are banned from using toasters because they pose a potential fire risk and contravene the council’s eco-friendly policies on energy use.
An amnesty, according to a council memo reported in the Guardian, would be held on Monday, for ‘all portable heaters, fans and toasters ... [which] do not comply with the council’s agreed recycling and heating efficiency policies’.
Cllr Cooke, who on Twitter characterises himself as the ‘scourge of the nannying fussbucket’, explained to the Telegraph and Argus: ‘The Conservative group has a small fridge, a microwave and a toaster, for the use of 23 councillors, which I do not consider to be extravagant or environmentally unfriendly.’
But a Bradford Council spokesperson, points out: ‘Toasters are not permitted in council buildings, especially Grade One listed City Hall, due to the risk of them setting off sensitive smoke detectors, these in turn trigger the fire alarms leading to full building evacuations. False alarms are a waste of both council and fire service resources.’
Update: Tensions have eased for now over toaster controversy. Cllr Cooke announced the following on Twitter:
Update on the toaster front - environmental 'amnesty' cancelled. The toasters are safe for now! @nadiakhomani @domburch
— Simon Cooke (@SimonMagus) December 14, 2015
