A politician has been slammed after social media posts surfaced in which she said people on a reality television show about receiving benefits from the government need “putting down”.
Francesca O’Brien is vying for a marginal seat in Wales for the Conservative Party but her campaign has been thrown off after a number of her offensive comments were revealed by The Guardian.
In since deleted posts written in 2014 on Facebook, Ms O’Brien said: “Benefit Street..anyone else watching this?? Wow, these people are unreal!!!”
When replying to a friend’s comment she wrote: “My blood is boiling, these people need putting down.”
She also endorsed a friend’s suggestion to “twat a tramp Tuesday” to “take your batts (sic) to the streets”.
When contacted by The Guardian, the 32-year-old defended the comments as being “off the cuff”.
The politician’s Labour rival Tonia Antoniazzi holds the seat by just 3000 votes but is now likely to retain the position.
Ms Antoniazzi said she was dismayed by the comments.
“These are disappointing comments from Francesca, and I’m sure lots of people will find them really insensitive,” she said, as reported by the newspaper.
“Much of the work of an MP is helping people, who through no fault of their own, find themselves in difficult situations.
“This lack of empathy should worry anyone who isn’t born with a silver spoon in their mouth.”
https://www.news.com.au/finance/busines ... VmI#.bf75y
How not to win an election
How not to win an election
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”
Re: How not to win an election
It seems to me, (especially with this being a winnable constituency) that Ms O’Brien should be under enormous pressure from the party to step down as the candidate...
What provisions (if any) exist for a party to remove and replace a candidate during an election campaign in the UK?
What provisions (if any) exist for a party to remove and replace a candidate during an election campaign in the UK?
Re: How not to win an election
Not sure, but deselection should be done asap if they want any chance...
“If you trust in yourself, and believe in your dreams, and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.”