UKIP deselects candidate over ‘cruelty to sheep’
UKIP, which has stood by members who made homophobic statements, has deselected a candidate over cruelty to sheep.
The United Kingdom Independence Party has dropped 71-year-old Cornish farmer David Evans, who was due to run for Parliament next year in Camborne and Redruth.
However, the farmer was deselected after he admitted six charges of animal cruelty at Bodmin Magistrates’ Court this week, in relation to poor living conditions for his flock.
A spokesperson for UKIP said: “With this incident coming to light he has been deselected as a candidate. We operate in an even handed jurisdiction so we have to follow procedures.”
“UKIP is continuing to investigate.”
Meanwhile, just last week the party welcomed former Christian Peoples Alliance leader Alan Craig, who has claimed that same-sex marriage amounts to “child abuse”, and warned about the “gaystapo”.
UKIP said at the time: “We’re not prejudiced against traditional, old-school Christians just as we’re not against homosexual people.”
The party also failed to deselect its Newark by-election candidate Roger Helmer, who said he should be able to dislike gay people in the same way as different types of tea.
The East Midlands MEP has also compared same-sex marriage to incest, saying: “If two men have a right to marry, how can we deny the same right to two siblings? Are we to authorise incest?”
The party also failed to disassociate itself from MEP David Coburn, who last month referred to Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson as a ‘big fat lesbian’.
