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Thursday 30 July 2020

Theresa May And A Naughty Tory

A quick perusal of That Spreadsheet - compiled by someone in the Tory Party and noting the behavioural, shall we say, eccentricities of its MPs, shows that former MP for Dover Charlie Elphicke is one of those named. The comments against his name say simply “Inappropriate with female researchers”. Just what that meant was spelt out this morning at Southwark Crown Court when Elphicke was convicted of sexual assault.
Charlie Elphicke

As the BBC has reported, Elphicke “denied groping the women in similar situations nine years apart. He was convicted of one count of sexual assault in 2007, and two further counts against a second woman in 2016. His wife Natalie Elphicke, the current Dover MP, said her husband's actions have ended their marriage. He will be sentenced in September”. We learned “There is a very real possibility he faces immediate custody”.

The Beeb’s report also told “Elphicke's trial heard he had lunged at a woman, aged in her 30s, at his London home in 2007 on the first night his wife was away after the birth of their son. He forced his victim on to a sofa and groped her breast while trying to kiss her, before chasing her and chanting ‘I'm a naughty Tory’”. What a creep. And there was more.

In 2016 he twice sexually assaulted a parliamentary worker aged in her 20s, first attempting to kiss the woman and grope her breast. ‘He had his mouth open, continually trying to kiss me,’ his victim told the court. ‘It was like a disgusting, slobbery mess.’ In the second assault several weeks later, he ran his hand up the inside of her thigh towards her groin”. Proper Donald Trump fan and no mistake.
That much is bad enough, but then a thought enters: if Elphicke’s name was on That Spreadsheet, then senior party figures would have known he was a creep. But that did not stop him having the whip restored in late 2018, as the Guardian reported at the time: “Two Conservative MPs who had the party whip removed after being accused of sexually inappropriate conduct will be allowed to vote in Wednesday’s crucial ballot to decide whether to sack Theresa May”. One of those two was Elphicke.

On the Labour benches, there was a united front displayed against Elphicke’s reinstatement, merely so Theresa May could save her own skin. Dawn Butler called her action “a betrayal of women” while Jess Phillips said it was “totally despicable”, adding “When Theresa May said she wanted parliament and politics to change, she lied”.

Writing in the Independent, Sean O’Grady observedThere is no parliamentary or Conservative Party rule that links suspension to events of national significance. It was surely on the discretion of the whips, and presumably with the knowledge of the party hierarchy - party chair, chief whip, leader. In any case, it was a disgrace. Not the greatest disgrace we’ve seen in the palace of Westminster this year, but a pretty grubby little business nonetheless”. Would Ms May’s successor have done differently? I doubt it.

Charlie Elphicke, contrary to some press reports, is not merely “naughty”. He’s a creep, a serial sex pest and will be expected to have to sign the sex offenders’ register. He shouldn’t have been let loose in the Palace of Westminster, and when the Tories knew what he was like, most certainly should not have had the whip restored.

But that is what the Tories get up to in the 21st Century. Some parties never change.
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13 comments:

Arnold said...

He will be sentenced in September”. We learned “There is a very real possibility he faces immediate custody”.

How is that immediate?

Maggie in Brotton said...

If he gets 3 months or longer in jail [which he should - abuse of a position of authority] - he will be removed as an MP - only 78 more to go !

Andy McDonald said...

Former MP. It's in the first sentence FFS...

Anonymous said...

tory "family values".

Same old (s)tory.

Anonymous said...

In law we are innocent until found guilty, he was perfectly entitled to vote in Parliament. Former Labour MP for Peterborough Fiona Onasanya voted in Parliament while still serving her sentence and their vote was crucial.

But of course that is all well and good because they voted the right way!

N said...

Bzzzzz!

Sorry, that was the wrong answer! Try again next time!

See you all next time on 'Whataboutery for Idiots!'


A fan of sex pests, are you Anonymous? That's not at all suspicious.

Tories really have no morals.

Anonymous said...

@18:51

Yes, because repeated counts of sexual assault are equivalent to lying to police to avoid being prosecuted for speeding. I can imagine most of us might do the latter but only very few of us would consider the former.

BTW, nice swerve around the actual topic being the removal of the whip and its sudden reinstatement. Let me guess: you'd keep the MP guilty of repeated counts of sexual assault but think the party was right to expel Julian Lewis.

Anonymous said...

Actually, now I come to think of it, maybe 18:51 is right. The Tories should have returned the whip to someone to someone accused of repeated counts of sexual abuse because he is a perfect expression of their values. Truth in advertising and all that.

Anonymous said...

Onasanya v and Elphicke were both among the 21 politicians to vote against a bill to strengthen LGBT education in schools.

What say you 18:51? Has the cognitive dissonance broken your tiny little mind?

David said...

@Anon 18:51
It wasn't a vote in Parliament. It was a Tory Party matter and they are entitled to exclude pervs.
I don't know what that would do for their numbers.

Jonathan said...

I see Family Values are back on in the Tory party.
Same party that allows a Minister to continue in office despite caught red handed giving Dirty Desmond a nice little saving in tax.
Failing Grayling a man so useless he gives a ferry contract to a company with no ferries!

Nadine Dorres who disappears Down Under to scare the wildlife shirtless..
But hey ho this is the Tories and ethics and morals don't apply to them.

Ordure, Ordure said...

@18:51
Fiona Onasanya was expelled from the Labour Party in December 2018.
Onasanya was not a Labour MP when she voted in April 2019.

Your attempt to make the Labour Party seem as bad as the Tory Party's decision to return the Tory Whip to serial sex pest Elphicke is indicative that you are devoid of any morals.

Anonymous said...

@Jonathan

Not to mention the Education Secretary and the Home Secretary both being sacked from previous positions because of security issues to do with their dealings with foreign governments. And the current PM was blocked from accessing state secrets as Foreign Secretary because Downing Street believed he was a security risk.