A REFORM UK councillor on Cornwall Council has responded to criticism he has received over some of his social media comments.

People have complained about Cllr Steve Trevelyan’s language and attitude on Facebook. A member of the public, who did not want to be named, said: “The behaviour and language of Steve Trevelyan on Facebook is appalling. Is this really what our representatives have become?”

In response, Cllr Trevelyan, who represents the Clay Country villages of Roche and Bugle, has said that as an “ex-squaddie” he has a no-nonsense approach, which many of the people he represents appreciate. He blamed “easily-offended lefties” for making complaints against him.

He said: “I have never been any different and I’m not going to sell out now because some melts are offended. This is what’s wrong with the woke establishment.”

His response comes against a background in which a number of his social media comments have been subject to formal complaints. In his first year as a councillor, following the elections last May, Cllr Trevelyan has faced four code of conduct complaints. Three were found to be in breach and one was rejected.

In July 2025 complaints were made about “discriminatory” language used by Cllr Trevelyan. He was found to be in breach of the code of conduct, but no action was taken because the councillor “apologised in the fullest terms”. He said in his apology: “I wish to clarify that the views expressed in my posts were my own as an individual councillor and do not reflect the position of Reform UK. I deeply regret any offence or distress caused to residents, parents or the wider community. My intention was to raise legitimate concerns brought to me by constituents, but I fully accept that my approach was inappropriate and lacked the necessary care and diligence expected of a councillor.”

Following another complaint in October 2025, Cllr Trevelyan was found to be in breach of the code of conduct again and the matter was referred to the standards committee for censure. A complaint in December was rejected because the complainant failed to provide sufficient evidence to support her claims.

A fourth code of conduct complaint was made in March when a resident said that Cllr Trevelyan responded to concerns about speeding with mocking and insulting remarks on social media. The assessment found breaches of the code of conduct and referred the matter to the standards committee for censure.

Cllr Trevelyan posted on social media on Thursday (August 20) to reveal that he has received a driving ban.

Among the comments he made in the post were: “I’m not gonna justify my points ban… I broke the law and that’s that. However, I never went out to speed – why have I just lost a 55k-a-year job for 5mph over?

“So being totally stressed I have been a bit overly critical of people on this site with their ‘you deserve it’ comments and personally I should have ignored them. So apologies to any offence I have caused.”