{{Short description|British politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = Cllr. | name = Nigel Porter | honorific_suffix = | image = Nigel Porter.jpg | alt = | caption = Nigel Porter in 2019 | office1 = Leader of the Opposition on Leicester City Council | term_start1 = 2 May 2019 | term_end1 = 5 May 2023 | predecessor1 = ''Vacant'' | successor1 = Deepak Bajaj | office2 = Leicester City Councillor <br /> for Aylestone Ward | term_start2 = 27 September 2004 | term_end2 = | predecessor2 = Jean Middleton | successor2 = | party = Liberal Democrats (2011–present) | other_party = Conservative (2004-2011) }}
'''Nigel Carl Porter''' is a Liberal Democrat politician in the City of Leicester. He served as the Leader of the Opposition on the Leicester City Council from 2019 to 2023, and has been a ward councillor for Aylestone since 2004.
==Political career==
Nigel Porter was first elected as a ward councillor for Aylestone in a 2004 by-election, retaining the seat for the Conservative Party following a vacancy caused by the departure of Jean Middleton. He held his seat at the 2007 local elections, finishing second in a two-person ward.
In January 2011, Porter was de-selected as the Conservative Party, pending an investigation into a breach of data protection laws. After a seven-month investigation, he was absolved of all charges. In March, Porter joined the Liberal Democrat group on the city council and was announced as the party's candidate in Aylestone Ward for the upcoming elections.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ousted Tory defects to fight seat for Lib-Dems |url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/Ousted-Tory-defects-fight-seat-Lib-Dems/article-3375278-detail/article.html |website=leicestermercury.co.uk |accessdate=13 July 2019 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> He was the sole Liberal Democrat candidate returned at the 2011 City Council Elections, coming first in Aylestone Ward with 32.2% of the vote.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maclean |first1=David |title=The Labour Party has swept the board in Leicester in a stunning city council election victory. |url=http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/RED-LEICESTER/article-3532542-detail/article.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510014444/http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/RED-LEICESTER/article-3532542-detail/article.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 May 2011 |work=Leicester Mercury |date=10 May 2011}}</ref> Following the election, Porter attempted to create an opposition group coalition with the only remaining Conservative Councillor.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maclean |first1=David |title=The only remaining Lib Dem opposition member on Leicester City Council says he is open to forming a coalition with the only remaining Tory. |url=http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Lonely-opposition-won-t-coalition/article-3536838-detail/article.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512010606/http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Lonely-opposition-won-t-coalition/article-3536838-detail/article.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 May 2011 |accessdate=13 July 2019 |work=Leicester Mercury |date=12 May 2011}}</ref>
Porter received national attention after he was forced to apologise in 2017 after making an innuendo about the name of Labour Councillor, John Thomas during a city council debate.<ref>{{cite news |title=Liberal Democrats councillor made 'male appendage' joke at Labour rival called John Thomas |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/12/liberal-democrats-councillor-made-male-appendage-joke-labour/ |accessdate=13 July 2019 |work=The Telegraph |date=12 April 2017}}</ref> Porter called the investigation 'politically motivated' and 'something out of Stalin's Russia' after the Labour-ran Council attempted to have him removed from future Council meetings.<ref>{{cite news |title=LibDem councillor avoids censure after joking about Labour rival's 'male appendage' name |url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/730087/LibDem-councillor-nigel-porter-avoids-censure-joke-male-appendage-John-Thomas |work=Daily Express |date=8 November 2016 |language=en}}</ref> Porter has repeatedly accused Labour councillors of bullying, including making jibes about his mental health, threats to 'break his knuckles' and being told that 'There's a lot of us and only one of you. You want to be careful'.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Grant |first1=Ross |title=Bullying on Leicester City Council The treatment of Leicester City Council's sole Liberal Democrat member Nigel Porter by Labour members is no laughing matter, says its sole Conservative member Ross Grant. |url=https://martinbrookes.blogspot.com/2013/09/bullying-on-leicester-city-council.html |website=Martin Brookes |accessdate=13 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Lib Dem 'kicked in the nuts' by Labour councillors |url=https://www.politics.co.uk/news/2013/09/23/lib-dem-kicked-in-the-nuts-by-labour-councillors |work=politics.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>
Porter was re-elected in the 2015 City Council election, with a majority of eighty-two votes over the third-placed Conservative candidate.
In 2019, Porter accused the Labour Council of "gagging" him during a budget debate after he was stopped from questioning Labour Mayor, Peter Soulsby's business interests in the Cultural Quarter.<ref name="Leicestershire and Leicester councils set budgets and council tax rates for 2018/19">{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Dan |title=Leicestershire and Leicester councils set budgets and council tax rates for 2018/19 |url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/live-leicestershire-leicester-councils-debate-1243650 |accessdate=13 July 2019 |work=Leicester Mercury |date=20 February 2019}}</ref>
Porter was the Liberal Democrat candidate for the directly elected mayor of Leicester in the 2019 election, pledging to support a referendum to abolish the position if elected.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Dan |title=Lib Dems set out why they should run Leicester City Council |url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/liberal-democrats-set-out-should-2761848 |accessdate=13 July 2019 |work=Leicester Mercury |date=15 April 2019}}</ref> He finished fourth, receiving 5.0% of the vote. However, he was comfortably re-elected as a Councillor, finishing first in his ward.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Dan |title=Every result from Leicester City Council elections |url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/leicester-city-council-election-results-2812459 |work=Leicester Mercury |date=30 April 2019}}</ref> 2019 was the third consecutive election that he was the only Liberal Democrat elected in Leicester.
Following the 2019 Election, Porter was the only opposition councillor on the Leicester City Council. He thus took the position of Leader of the Opposition.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Porter called for face-masks to be provided for free to Leicester citizens, in light of rising cases in the city. The suggestion was labelled "ridiculous" by city mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Martin |first1=Dan |title=Call for every Leicester resident to get a free face mask |url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/face-masks-should-given-every-4156730 |website=LeicestershireLive |accessdate=8 September 2020 |date=25 May 2020}}</ref> Porter's intervention secured a donation of 2,000 face masks from private businesses for Aylestone residents.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Martin |first1=Dan |title=Where you can get free face masks right now in Leicester |url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/you-can-free-face-masks-4195658 |website=LeicestershireLive |date=5 June 2020}}</ref> Porter subsequently called for Soulsby to resign after it emerged that the mayor had broken COVID-19 restrictions during lockdown.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/calls-leicester-mayor-sir-peter-4225127|title=Calls for Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby to resign over alleged lockdown visits to partner's home|date=14 June 2020|work=Leicester Mercury|accessdate=27 December 2020}}</ref>
Porter was reelected on 4 May 2023 with an increased majority and the second seat in the Aylestone ward was won by fellow Liberal Democrat candidate Scott Kennedy-Lount.<ref>https://www.leicester.gov.uk/your-council/elections-and-voting/may-2023-elections/city-council-election-results-by-ward/aylestone/</ref> The pair were joined Zuffar Haq who was elected in the Evington ward, resulting in a Liberal Democrat group of three councillors.
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Nigel}} Category:Leicester Category:Councillors in Leicestershire Category:English Unitarians Category:Liberal Democrats (UK) councillors Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people)