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A Tory council leader has come under fire after posting a Facebook picture of her luxury steak dinner with a message saying: ‘Wonder what all the poor people are doing?’
Kay Mason Billig, 61, who leads Norfolk County Council and is a former Tory parliamentary candidate insisted that she was making a self-depreciating joke about her circumstances rather than mocking people in poverty
But opposition councillors criticised her comment as ‘shocking’ and she is now facing calls for her resignation.
The post by Mrs Mason Billig who is also chairman of the Standards Committee of South Norfolk Council, appeared on one of her publicly visible Facebook accounts on Saturday evening and has since been deleted.
One of her pictures showed a freshly-cooked Tomahawk steak ready to be carved on a board, beside a bottle of italian red wine, a bowl of salad and a potato dish in peppercorn sauce.
Another image featured her husband Michael sitting at a table and grinning while holding up a glass of wine, alongside the words: ‘Wonder what all the poor people are doing?’.
Tomahawk steaks which are thick cut with a long rib bone attached so they resemble an axe are usually cooked in the oven after being pan fried, and are often sold by Waitrose and Tesco to mark special occasions such as Father’s Day last weekend.
Mrs Mason Billig’s steak is believed to be from Tesco’s Finest range which was last week selling Tomahawk steaks for between £25 and £32.50 depending on the weight, complete with star shapes of wild garlic butter.
Tesco described its Tomahawk steaks online as being ‘succulent and flavoursome’ and ‘matured on the bone for 30 days for maximum flavour and tenderness’.
The wine in her picture is thought to be an award-winning bottle of Amarone Della Valpolicella. Similar bottles of the Italian red are currently priced at £21 in Morrisons.
Mrs Mason Billig, who represents the Loddon division south of Norwich and reportedly gets allowances of more than £51,000 a year from the county council, failed to answer multiple emails and messages from MailOnline asking for her to comment on the post.
But she told the Eastern Daily Press today: ‘My husband and I have sometimes called ourselves “the poor people”.
‘It’s a private joke as we live fairly modestly, so when we have a treat, we will sometimes post about it. This is asking if friends wonder what we (the poor people) are doing.
‘It’s not intended to be about anyone else and is no reflection on people who are less well off than ourselves. It’s a bad state of affairs when I can’t even joke about myself without it being twisted into something it isn’t.’
Talking about her post being leaked, she added: ‘I am deeply disappointed that someone has decided to be this horrible when they must certainly know it’s actually self-deprecation. What a sad world we live in.’
But Steve Morphew, leader of the Labour group at Norfolk County Council, said: ‘People like to have council leaders who show they are in touch, care about the plight of others and show humility and pride in the public positions they hold.’
‘This is a nauseating example of the exact opposite. I find nothing amusing here.’
Michael Rosen, the Labour group leader on South Norfolk Council, told MailOnline: ‘It is quite a shocking thing to say when we are freshly out of the winter period, when so many people in Norfolk had to make a choice between heating or eating.
‘It 100 per cent calls into question her suitability to lead Norfolk County Council which has a number of the country’s most deprived areas in its boundaries. A lot of Norfolk residents have to make careful choices about what they eat very night. She is really letting her own side down by posting things like this.’
Dr Catherine Rowett, the Green Party group leader on Norfolk County Council, said: ‘I find it really distressing that someone in public service could be so snobbish, so devoid of empathy.
‘She surely needs to resign now! Norfolk is a county with extremes of inequality. People are struggling, with two or three jobs, wishing they could see their children for Father’s Day.
‘My thoughts would be on how we could help those families enjoy Father’s Day too, rather than mocking people who are less fortunate.’
A senior Norfolk Conservative, quoted by the Eastern Daily Press, said they believe Mrs Mason Billig, should quit over the post.
They said: ‘I think she should resign. We are entitled to a private life and to let our hair down, but I don’t think anybody should degrade those less well off than others.
‘Under Conservative party guidance, there’s a case that she has brought the party into disrepute and the party should be carrying out an investigation.
‘This falls well below the Nolan Principles for Public Life.’
Another Tory said: ‘Most politicians are wise to avoid social media. It’s hard to win votes, but easy to lose them.’
A furious source who forwarded a screenshot of Mrs Mason Billig’s post to MailOnline said: ‘I couldn’t believe it when I saw it.
‘Lots of people post pictures of their nice dinners, but her comment about poor people and wondering what they were eating was in incredibly bad taste.’
The source who asked not to be named, added: ‘I have had to deal with the county council on occasion and they have a reputation for being so righteous with the letters they send out and employment stuff you have to fill in.
‘Yet you have the leader of the council writing silly comments like this. She must have realised it was a stupid remark because she deleted it.’
Mrs Mason Billig stood unsuccessfully as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for the Norwich North constituency in 2001.
She has been a South Norfolk district councillor since 2011, and was the council’s deputy leader from 2018 until her appointment as leader in May 2023.
Mrs Mason Billig is reported to have had a ‘legal background’ with a career in the marine sciences industry in Great Yarmouth which led to her becoming a Group Company Secretary.
A spokesman for Tory-run Norfolk County Council said they could not comment as Mrs Mason Billig’s Facebook post was ‘not relevant’ to her council work.
The spokesman added: ‘It is not posted on any council accounts or relevant to her (council) business so it is not one we can comment on at the council. It’s certainly one she may be able to comment on. A message has been forwarded on to her.’
Daniel Elmer, the leader of Tory-run South Norfolk Council, failed to respond to calls for comment. His council’s communication team was also approached and did not comment.
Mrs Mason Billig was criticised earlier this week for comments made during a debate over Norfolk County Council’s vision for a single council for when all eight of the county’s councils are abolished and new ones created.
She said children could die should plans to abolish all eight Norfolk councils and create new ones result in two or three different councils delivering social services.
