Tory who warned of Muslim conspiracy to make people transgender elected to Parliament
Sally-Ann Hart won Amber Rudd’s old seat, Hastings and Rye. (Facebook)
A Conservative candidate who shared a blog claiming there is a Muslim conspiracy to make people transgender has been elected to Parliament.
Sally-Ann Hart prevailed over Labour in Hastings and Rye despite facing an investigation over allegations of antisemitism, transphobia and Islamophobia.
The candidate received 26,896 votes in Thursday’s election, ahead of Labour’s Peter Chowney on 22,853.
The seat was previously held by former Home Secretary Amber Rudd, a Conservative moderate and equalities minister.
Tory candidate Sally-Ann Hart had shared hate-filled blog
Hart had faced anger earlier this week when it was reported she shared a 2017 blog post claiming that extremists are secretly pushing a “Muslim agenda” by promoting LGBT rights+ and women’s right to choose.
The blog had claimed: “They want the non-Muslim population to be stagnant while their Muslim population grows. Numbers mean power.
“They want a young male population that is weakened or with confused female tendencies, whether real or imagined, or transgendered.
“They want to oppress the women and weaken the men. And the rest of America? They are controlling you via the media.”
Sally-Ann Hart was elected despite facing a Conservative probe over her comments (Hastings and Rye Conservatives)
Hart described the blog as an “affecting read” as she posted it to her Facebook wall.
The candidate was already facing a probe for anti-Semitism for sharing a video implying that George Soros, a Jewish billionaire, controlled the EU.
Conservatives had promised investigation over comments
A Conservative spokesperson said: “Sally Ann Hart is under investigation and these comments will form part of that investigation.
“Our complaints process is rightly a confidential one but there are a wide range of sanctions to challenge and change behaviour, including conditions to undertake training, periods of suspension and expulsion, and these are applied on a case-by-case basis.”
Labour’s shadow equalities minister Naz Shah said: “This disgusting Islamophobia and homophobia have no place in our society. And no one who spreads these vile far-right conspiracy theories is fit to be an MP.”
“Boris Johnson has claimed that Conservative members who do this sort of thing are ‘out first bounce’. So it defies belief that Sally-Ann Hart was selected as a candidate in the first place, and it is shameful that Boris Johnson is now failing to take action.”
