‘Crank’ Tory candidates accused of sharing online conspiracy theories
‘Crank’ Tory candidates accused of sharing online conspiracy theories
Labour has expressed concerns about the calibre of would-be Tory MPs after a some shared outlandish views online
The Conservative party has been accused of becoming a home for “cranks” after some of its candidates at the general election were revealed to have shared conspiracy theories on social media.
The posts seen by the Observer include the suggestion that positive tests for Covid-19 were “mass psychosis at work” and that the Black Lives Matter movement might be an attempt to “bring down British society”.
Labour said some of the postings shared by Tory candidates suggested “serious concerns” about the calibre of the party’s would-be MPs. Some candidates have already deleted social media accounts, or removed posts, or locked access to accounts.
One Tory candidate in London is revealed to have referred to the London mayor Sadiq Khan as a “snivelling little drip” who had done more to damage the capital “than the Luftwaffe”. Another wrote in a book in 2005 that “we must teach people to be prejudiced once again”.
Crank? Isn't this pretty standard for the tories at this point? They've pedalled conspiracy theories before.
They just keep getting more extreme.
party of clowns surprised they attract clowns
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The Conservative party has been accused of becoming a home for “cranks” after some of its candidates at the general election were revealed to have shared conspiracy theories on social media.
The posts seen by the Observer include the suggestion that positive tests for Covid-19 were “mass psychosis at work” and that the Black Lives Matter movement might be an attempt to “bring down British society”.
Jenny Johnson, who is an associate professor at the University of Liverpool and the Tory candidate for Wirral West, has deleted her account on X, but archived posts reveal she shared apparent pandemic conspiracy theories.
Another Tory candidate, Yousef Dahmash, who is contesting the Rugby and Bulkington constituency, retweeted a post in February 2022 that pledged support for the US podcaster Joe Rogan after he was criticised for past use of racial slurs.
Niall Innes, who is standing in Stockton North, reposted a controversial BBC interview in June 2020 with the TV presenter Neil Oliver in which he suggested Black Lives Matter campaigners might be anarchists or communists attempting to “eat into the built fabric of Britain and thereby to bring down British society”.
Jonathan Ashworth, shadow paymaster general, said: “Rishi Sunak’s Conservative party is being increasingly taken over by cranks and conspiracy theorists.
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