‘Gay donkey raped my horse’ candidate comes last in UKIP leadership election
Jonathan Rees-Evans, who claimed a gay donkey raped his horse, has lost out in his bid to lead to the UK Independence Party.
The Brexit-backing UK Independence Party is holding its second leadership election of the year, following the resignations of Nigel Farage and short-lived leader Diane James.
Deputy leader Paul Nuttall, parliamentary spokesperson Suzanne Evans and party activist Jonathan Rees-Evans faced off in the election, which concluded today.
Mr Rees-Evans, who is best known for claiming that a “homosexual donkey” tried to rape his horse, came last with just 2775 votes. Paul Nuttall was elected leader with 9622 votes, with Suzanne Evans in second place.
The outspoken activist made the claim in 2014, when he was challenged to condemn UKIP Oxford chair Dr Julia Gasper’s claims that homosexuals prefer sex with animals.
Mr Rees-Evans insisted: “Actually I’ve witnessed that. I was personally quite amazed.
“I’ve got a horse, it was in the fields, and a donkey came up – my horse is a stallion.
“A donkey came up which is male, and I’m afraid tried to rape my horse.
“My horse bit the side of the donkey, and I had to give my horse a slap to protect the donkey.”
During the race, Mr Rees-Evans insisted that homophobic views should be “entirely acceptable” within UKIP.
Speaking about UKIP candidate Alan Craig, who has attacked the “Nazi expansionist ambitions” of the “gay-rights storm troopers” and compared same-sex adoption to “child trafficking”, Mr Rees-Evans insisted his views were not unacceptable.
He said: “It is entirely acceptable for a UKIP candidate to have any views that he likes.
“He’s not homophobic, what he’s saying is that the LGBT militant wing, not people who happen to be gay or lesbian, but people who go and protest against Christians’ rights, these people are militants.”
He added: “It’s interesting, because my campaign manager, who happens to identify himself as gay, would say pretty much the same thing. He very much opposes this militant attitude that a lot of the LGBT, you know…”
Asked if racist views would be accepted, Mr Rees-Evans continued: “I’d need you to define what you mean by racist.”
Paul Nuttall, who was elected leader, is an opponent of LGBT rights who has attacked plans to challenge homophobia in schools.
Condemning a plan for LGBT-inclusive sex and relationship education, he said: “Children deserve their innocence, which is precious and already under attack from every direction. It needs to be protected not defiled by those tasked with their care.
“If [Labour’s] Tristram Hunt thinks this is a progressive move he is totally wrong and his justification that it will help tackle homophobic bullying is just politically correct nonsense.
“This proposal is just further evidence of how out of touch Labour is with the families they purport to represent and a very good reason not to vote for them.”
“Rather than helping tackle problems of domestic violence and rape in future years, as given as another woolly reason for introduction, it is going to confuse and worry these little children.”
Mr Nuttall previously called to ban people with HIV from the UK.
He said: “There are around 60 countries that currently bar people who are HIV-positive from entry, according to the United Nations, and we should follow suit.”
“The cost of treating someone with HIV in the UK is estimated at around £18,000 per year, although this does vary depending on the type and number of drugs taken and the stage of the infection.”
“We should introduce systems similar to those in Australia and Canada where long term admission is basically barred if migrants health conditions are considered a danger to public health or safety or would cause excessive demand on the health care system.”
He has specifically courted the anti-LGBT vote, claiming UKIP is the “natural home” for Catholic voters who are angry over same-sex marriage and other social reforms.
Nuttall insisted in 2015: “Twelve percent of Catholics have already indicated that they are going to vote, or have already voted, UKIP.
“On moral issues, we, more than any other political party, are more in line with Catholic thought. Whether it’s on gender-choice abortion or same-sex marriage, we are absolutely 100 percent behind the Catholic Church.”
