Over two thirds of Tory candidates received abuse during general election, survey reveals
2 min read
Tory candidates received almost double the abuse of their Labour rivals during the general election, a survey has revealed.
The research, which looked into harassment during June’s election campaign, found that 71% of Conservative contenders reported abuse, compared with 38% of Labour candidates.
The findings were part of a wider inquiry by the Committee on Standards in Public Life.
Tory candidate for Ealing Central and Acton Joy Morrissey told the committee: “Groups would wait for hours for me to come out, and when I did they would come up and surround me, scream at me ‘C***’ and ‘You f****** Tory scum’.”
“Groups of six or 12 would physically surround us when we campaigned, screaming at us and spitting at us.
“Social media were used as a platform to bring people together in a negative way that produced action on the ground.
“By the end, we could not wear rosettes, we had to have the police with us and always go in groups.”
Twenty sitting MPs and candidates have given evidence, including shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg and Brendan Cox, the widower of murdered MP Jo Cox.
Tim Bale, professor of politics at University of London, suggested that new Labour members were to blame for some of the increased harassment.
He said: “Since Jeremy Corbyn took over Labour there has been an influx of people who are rather more used to a kind of factionalised and vituperative culture of politics...Making people feel very uncomfortable...is a deliberate tactic.”
Meanwhile, the left-wing pressure group Momentum discussed launching a hate campaign against the Prime Minister’s husband Philip May at a recent conference.
Speaking at the event, Paolo Gerbaudo, director of the centre for digital culture at King’s College London, said he was seeking to: “Make the left hate again . . . I’m full of hate these days.”
He continued: “The husband of Theresa May works for a £1 trillion hedge fund that is profiting from tax avoidance.
“So let’s take loads of hate against that man...Let’s be personal. Let’s be visceral! Let’s hate!”
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