Selaine Saxby - Another Tory Idiot

You may not have heard of Selaine Saxby before, but as a result of her ability to open mouth and insert foot, many people now have, and more undoubtedly will. She is a new intake Tory MP representing North Devon, and she is a signatory to the letter sent by party chair Amanda Milling to Keir Starmer blaming Rotten Lefty™ Angela Rayner for all the adverse comment she and her colleagues have been receiving this week.

Selaine Saxby MP

Commenting on Ms Milling’s righteous upbraiding of the Labour leader (“Will Sir Keir take action against Labour MPs and party members who perpetrate abuse, and apologise for Rayner’s record of unparliamentary behaviour?”), she observed “My team and myself have received nothing but abuse from opposition supporters for 48 hours now and I hope this is a step towards more positive political debate in future”.

Sadly, this was not a totally honest appraisal of where the abuse was originating, leaving aside for a moment the shonky grammar. More likely it had something to do with her response to local businesses in her own constituency: after she and most of her Tory colleagues had voted against extending free school meals for least well-off children through the half term and Christmas holidays, those businesses stepped in to help.

But instead of that, she took to Facebook and proclaimed “I am delighted our local businesses have bounced back so much after lockdown they are able to give away food for free, and very much hope they will not be seeking any further Government support”. Would Madam care to dig herself in a little deeper? Have a guess.

“The very unpleasant language used towards myself and my staff in the last few days is not going to be of benefit to any children in North Devon. There are numerous ways to help those who need help the most in North Devon way beyond free school meals over a half term holiday, and I am committed to working towards finding them, in a polite manner, barring as few people as possible from my social media feeds!” Ri-i-i-ight.

Cue intervention from Devon Live. “North Devon Conservative MP Selaine Saxby, who voted against the government providing free schools meals for vulnerable children during half-term, has caused even more controversy after publicly 'attacking' the hospitality industry for stepping in to give away free food … The post sparked huge anger on the site with calls for an apology and her resignation”. Who was in the vanguard of this criticism?

“Among those demanding she apologise is North Devon Lib Dem spokesperson Alex White, who said one in six children in Devon live in poverty, rising to one in three in parts of North Devon”. Not anyone from the Labour Party, then. Over to Ms Saxby.

“The portrayal of my recent comments on social media, out of context [ho ho ho], does not accurately convey my views - I of course deeply regret any offence that may have been caused … I am proud that we live in a community where local businesses are keen to help others and it is this widespread community spirit that has got us through the first wave of the pandemic”. Then she negates that by playing the victim once again.

“The recent behaviour of a small but hostile element toward myself, my office staff and on social media, has become aggressive and personally abusive”. She should have heard the shit many Labour canvassers got last December. And stop blaming her idiocy on others.

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