Shocked and appalled taxi drivers have called for the resignation of a councillor who described them as “mafia”.
Southend Licensed Taxi Driver Association (SLTDA) has threatened to stand against Peter Wexham at the next election unless he resigns after the Leigh councillor compared them to the criminal organisation in a discussion over a new rank in Southend High Street.
In a statement, the association said: “To suggest that when calling for a taxi in Southend is like dealing with the mafia, a highly dangerous group of criminals, is nothing more than an outrageous and uncalled for slur.”
Unrepentant Mr Wexham declined to chance to retract his statement about that the town’s more than 1,000 hackney carriage and private hire vehicle drivers as the council discussed an additional 24-hour rank outside Marks and Spencer’s last Thursday.
Speaking to the Echo, the Liberal Democrat said: “All the time they always want more but they don’t want to give up anything."