Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

T_i_B

(14,805 posts)
Sat Jan 20, 2018, 05:18 AM Jan 2018

Tory MP Ben Bradley under fire for urging jobless to have vasectomies

One of the few Tories to win a seat off Labour at the last election, whose views seem to have been formed after drinking 14 pints of Fosters then reading the Daily Express. Eugenics seems to be increasingly fashionable with right wingers like Ben Bradley and Toby Young, which is a major cause of concern.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jan/16/ben-bradley-under-fire-for-blogpost-urging-jobless-people-to-have-vasectomies

A Conservative MP who has been appointed as a party vice-chairman once suggested that unemployed people should opt for free vasectomies rather than continuing to have children they could not afford to support.

In a blogpost, Ben Bradley claimed that the country would be soon “drowning in a vast sea of unemployed wasters” if workless families had four or five children while others limited themselves to one or two.

Bradley, who unexpectedly defeated Labour’s Sir Alan Meale last year to become the Tory MP for Mansfield, made the comments in 2012 in support of a government policy for a benefit cap.

The 28-year-old, who was promoted to Conservative vice-chair representing young people in Theresa May’s new year reshuffle, apologised for the inappropriate post and said he had since matured.

11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

lunasun

(21,646 posts)
1. Sounds more UKIP .. but ToRies don't surprise me either. I suppose if he had been talking to
Sat Jan 20, 2018, 05:25 AM
Jan 2018

or about the Irish he would have seriously had a proposal for them too

T_i_B

(14,805 posts)
2. Swift's satire is far too subtle for Tory chancers.
Sat Jan 20, 2018, 05:34 AM
Jan 2018

And UKIP types are more likely to join the Tories right now as they are in power and putting into practice UKIP's terrible policies.

Denzil_DC

(8,012 posts)
4. More from Bradley's greatest hits:
Sat Jan 20, 2018, 09:52 AM
Jan 2018
Disgraced Tory MP said Scots can't be trusted with 'big jobs like saying foreign words'

DISGRACED Tory MP Ben Bradley once wrote that he doesn’t think Scots should be trusted with “big jobs like saying foreign words”.

Bradley’s post from 2010, which has been uncovered from the now-deleted blog by the Political Scrapbook website, criticises football pundit Alan Hansen’s accent.

It says: “My highlight so far is Alan Hansen talking about ‘Pujol,’ who definately (sic) isn’t playing. Scottish people should not be trusted to with (sic) big jobs like saying foreign words!”

Bradley’s ironically incoherent and mis-spelt attack on Hansen’s pronunciation is, however, probably one of the least controversial posts on his old blog. Another comment called for unemployed people to be sterilised, while others ridiculed public sector workers and supported police brutality.

http://www.thenational.scot/news/15867789.Disgraced_Tory_MP_said_Scots_can_t_be_trusted_with__big_jobs_like_saying_foreign_words_/


On the since-deleted blog, Bradley opined that "public sector workers are lost in their own fantasy land" and should quit their jobs if they weren't happy with the pay.

The "police brutality" mentioned above relates the the 2011 London riots, when he wrote: "We need to come down hard on these morons before somebody gets killed! If we have any sense as a nation we’ll stay home tonight and make it easy for the police to find the ones hanging around town centres with their faces covered. For once I think police brutality should be encouraged!"

He was on a roll:

Today, BuzzFeed News unearthed a deleted tweet from August 2011 in which Bradley celebrated a decision by David Cameron to allow police to deploy water cannon to bring rioters under control.

"The water cannons are coming," Bradley told his followers, under a picture of a water cannon spraying protesters in Ireland.

"I'll be in front of the news tonight watching police play 'Splat the Chav,'" he continued.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexspence/the-tory-mp-who-backed-vasectomies-for-the-jobless-wanted

T_i_B

(14,805 posts)
5. Begs a few questions
Sat Jan 20, 2018, 10:50 AM
Jan 2018

Like what on earth were Mansfield Conservatives thinking when they selected this idiot? It's not difficult to see another Jared O'Mara type situation playing out in Mansfield.

And then Theresa May compounded the problem by making him a vice chairman of the Conservative party. Now I know that Theresa May has a very poor track record with appointments but again, what on earth was she thinking?

LeftishBrit

(41,307 posts)
6. I think there may be something in common there..
Sun Jan 21, 2018, 03:58 PM
Jan 2018

Probably neither the Sheffield Hallam Labour party nor the Mansfield Conservative party actually expected to win the seats, so they didn't put that much care into selecting their candidates.

Thought that doesn't explain Mayhem's appointments. I think she just wants to attract young people back to the Tories, so chose a comparatively young MP - but that is no excuse.

T_i_B

(14,805 posts)
7. Mansfield appears to have been targeted by the Conservatives
Sun Jan 21, 2018, 04:55 PM
Jan 2018

Very much like North East Derbyshire where I live. The Tories heavily outspent a rather moribund Labour campaign here and appear to have done the same in Mansfield, spurred on by the EU referendum result and demographic changes moving the area away from Labour.

By contrast, Momentum gave strong backing to O'Mara and heavily targeted Sheffield Hallam. If you want to make a Corbyn fanboy squirm, ask them why they targeted Sheffield Hallam so heavily and neglected the neighbouring seat of North East Derbyshire that was being targeted in a big way by the Conservatives.

I should also add that I can't blame Mansfield voters too much for Ben Bradley. The Conservative election campaign was so heavily focused on Theresa May that people probably thought that she was the local candidate!

LeftishBrit

(41,307 posts)
8. Interesting
Tue Jan 23, 2018, 06:59 AM
Jan 2018

It may then be not due to considering the seats as not worth bothering about, but to the increasing tendency of people to vote for the party leader, rather than the MP. Our politics is getting more and more like American politics in certain ways.

T_i_B

(14,805 posts)
9. Jeremy Corbyn Demands Apology And Damages From Tory Vice Chairman Ben Bradley
Sat Feb 24, 2018, 08:05 AM
Feb 2018

Ben Bradley getting himself into trouble yet again

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jeremy-corbyn-demands-apology-and-damages-from-tory-vice-chairman-ben-bradley-over-communist-spy-slur-twitter-charity_uk_5a8d4b02e4b00a30a250fc16

Jeremy Corbyn is demanding an apology and donation to charity from a Tory MP who falsely claimed he had “sold British secrets to communist spies”, HuffPost has learned.

Lawyers acting for the Labour leader have written to Bradley, a Tory party vice chairman, to insist that he tweets the apology to all his followers.

Although the tweet has been deleted, their letter sent to Bradley points out the spy allegation is damaging and potentially harmful, and must not be repeated.

The four legal demands are that Bradley:

- confirms in writing that the defamatory statement will not be repeated in any form
- tweets an apology and asks followers to retweet it
- makes a donation to a charity of Jeremy Corbyn’s choice in lieu of damages
- and pays Jeremy Corbyn’s legal costs.

muriel_volestrangler

(102,647 posts)
10. Bradley apologises unreservedly, makes substantial donation to Corbyn's chosen charities
Sat Feb 24, 2018, 12:09 PM
Feb 2018
Conservative Party Vice Chair Ben Bradley has apologised unreservedly for a libellous tweet about Jeremy Corbyn, pledged to never repeat the claims in any form, agreed to make a substantial donation to charities of the Labour Leader’s choosing and meet his legal costs.

Jeremy will be splitting the funds between a homeless charity and a foodbank in Mr Bradley’s constituency of Mansfield.

Mr Bradley’s apology, which he will also tweet and ask followers to retweet, says:

“On 19 February 2018 I made a seriously defamatory statement on my Twitter account, ‘Ben Bradley MP (@bbradleymp)’, about Jeremy Corbyn, alleging he sold British secrets to communist spies. I have since deleted the defamatory tweet. I have agreed to pay an undisclosed substantial sum of money to a charity of his choice, and I will also pay his legal costs.

“I fully accept that my statement was wholly untrue and false. I accept that I caused distress and upset to Jeremy Corbyn by my untrue and false allegations, suggesting he had betrayed his country by collaborating with foreign spies.

“I am very sorry for publishing this untrue and false statement and I have no hesitation in offering my unreserved and unconditional apology to Jeremy Corbyn for the distress I have caused him.”

https://labour.org.uk/press/senior-tory-apologises-libellous-tweet-jeremy-corbyn/

T_i_B

(14,805 posts)
11. Ben Bradley has resigned as Conservative Party Vice Chair
Tue Jul 10, 2018, 12:46 PM
Jul 2018

He has resigned over the Chequers plan.

Like some of the other Tory flouncers, he really should have been pushed sooner.

Latest Discussions»Region Forums»United Kingdom»Tory MP Ben Bradley under...