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A Conservative general election candidate who said that said people on the Benefits Street reality TV show needed “putting down”, should be removed by Boris Johnson , the Labour Party has said.
The Channel 4 show, which aired in 2014, depicted the close knit community of Turner Street in Birmingham where many made use of the welfare state.
It has now emerged that Francesca O’Brien, who is standing for the Conservatives in the key marginal seat of Gower in south Wales, wrote a series of comments critical of the people featured on the show, on her personal Facebook account.
“My blood is boiling, these people need putting down,” she wrote in the now deleted comment first reported by The Guardian
A friend responded that they were “the man for the job“,
“Tomorrow is t*** a tramp Tuesday take your batts (sic) to the streets,” they wrote, adding that they had “just swam 1000m and I can’t move so I might have to just shout abuse.”
Show all 68 1 /68Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Tom Watson - Labour Deputy leader of the Labour party served as the member for West Bromwich since 2001. Earned a majority of 7,713 in 2017
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Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Philip Hammond - Conservative Former chancellor served as the memmber for Runnymede and Weybridge from 1997. Earned a majority of 18,050 in 2017
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Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Ken Clarke - Independent Former chancellor served as the member for Rushcliffe from 1970. Mr Clarke served most of his term as a conservative before he had the whip withdrawn in September 2019 for voting against the government. Earned a majority of 8,010 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? John Bercow - Independent Former speaker of the commons served as the member for Buckingham from 1997. Mr Bercow served as a conservative until his election as speaker in 2009, a role that he retained until his resignation in October 2019
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Amber Rudd - Independent Former home secretary served as the member for Hastings and Rye from 2010. Ms Rudd served most of her term as a conservative before resigning the whip in October, citing concerns over the government's approach to Brexit. Earned a majority of 346 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Rory Stewart - Independent Former international development secretary served as the member for Penrith and The Border from 2010. Mr Stewart served as a conservative for most of his term until September 2019 when he had the whip withdrawn for voting against the government. Earned a majority on 15,910 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Vince Cable - Liberal Democrat Former leader of the Liberal Democrats served as the member for Twickenham between 1997-2015 and 2017-2019. Earned a majority of 9,726 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Sir Oliver Letwin - Independent Former chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster served as the member for West Dorset from 1997. Mr Letwin served most of his term as a conservative before he had the whip withdrawn in September 2019 for voting against the government. Earned a majority of 19,091 in 2017
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? David Lidington - Conservative Former chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster served as the member for Aylesbury from 1992. Earned a majority of 14,696 in 2017
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Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Nicky Morgan - Conservative Culture secretary served as the member for Loughborough from 2010. Earned a majority of 4,269 in 2017
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Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Justine Greening - Independent Former education secretary served as the member for Putney from 2005. Ms Greening served most of her term as a conservative before she had the whip withdrawn in September 2019 for voting against the government. Earned a majority of 1,554 in 2017.
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Jo Johnson - Conservative Former universities minister served as member for Orpington from 2010. Mr Johnson is the brother of prime minister Boris Johnson. Earned a majority of 19,453 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Heidi Allen - Liberal Democrats Served as the member for South Cambridgeshire from 2015. From 2015 to March 2019 Ms Allen was a member of the Conservatives, leaving to form ChangeUK, which she left in October to join the Liberal Democrats. Earned a majority of 15,952 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Ed Vaizey - Conservative Former sport minister served as the member for Wantage from 2005. Earned a majority of 17,380 in 2017.
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Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Nick Boles - Independent Former skills minister served as the member for Grantham and Stamford from 2010. Mr Boles served most of his term as a conservative before resigning the whip in April 2019 in protest of the government's approach to Brexit. Earned a majority of 20,094 in 2017
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Hugo Swire - Conservative Former commonwealth minister served as the member for East Devon from 2001. Earned a majority of 8,036 in 2017
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Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Kate Hoey - Labour Prominent Laboour brexiteer served as the member for Vauxhall from 1989. Earned a majority of 20,250 in 2017
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Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Sir Alan Duncan - Conservative Served as the member for Rutland and Melton from 1992. Earned a majority of 23,104 in 2017
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Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Sir Nicholas Soames - Conservative Former armed forces minister served as the member for Mid Sussex from 1997, having previously served as member for Crawley from 1983. Though Mr Soames served the majority of his term as a conservative, he briefly had the whip removed from September-October 2019 for voting against the government. Earned a majority of 19,673 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Owen Smith - Labour Served as the member for Pontypridd from 2010. Challenged Jeremy Corbyn for leadership of the Labour party in 2016. Earned a majority of 11,448 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Sir Michael Fallon - Conservative Former defence secretary served as the member for Sevenoaks from 1997, having previously served as the member for Darlington from 1983-1992. Earned a majority of 21,917 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Alistair Burt - Conservative Served as the member for North East Bedfordshire from 2001, having previously served as the member for Bury North from 1983-1997. Mr Burt served the majority of his term as a Conservative before having the whip removed in September 2019. He later had the whip restored shortly before resigning. Earned a majority of 20,862
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Ross Thomson - Conservative Served as the member for Abedeen South from 2017, having previously served as the member for North East Scotland from 2016. Mr Thomson is standing down amid accusations that he sexually assaulted Labour MP Paul Sweeney. Earned a majority of 4,752 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Ian Austin - Independent Served as the member for Dudley North from 2005. Mr Austin served most of his term as a Labour member before resigning in February 2019. Earned a majority of 22 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Ronnie Campbell - Labour Served as the member for Blyth Valley from 1987. Earned a majority of 7,915 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Stephen Twigg - Labour Served as the member for Liverpool West Derby from 2010, having previously serve as the member for Enfield Southgate from 1997-2005. Earned a majority of 32,908 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Jim Fitzpatrick - Labour Served as the member for Poplar and Limehouse from 1997. Earned a majority of 27,712 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Nick Hurd - Conservative Former Northern Ireland minister served as the member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner from 2005. Earned a majority of 13,980 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Geoffrey Robinson - Labour Served as the member for Coventry North West from 1976. Earned a majority of 8,580 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Kevin Barron - Labour Served as the member for Rother Valley from 1983. Earned a majority of 3,882 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Sir Patrick McLoughlin - Conservative Served as the member for Derbyshire Dales from 1986. Earned a majority of 14,327 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Ann Clywd - Labour Served as the member for Cynon Valley from 1984. Earned a majority of 13,238 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Stephen Pound - Labour Served as the member for Ealing North from 1997. Earned a majority of 19,693 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Helen Jones - Labour Served as the member for Warrington North from 1997. Earned a majority of 9,582 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Guto Bebb - Independent Served as the member for Aberconwy from 2010. Mr Bebb served most of his term as a conservative before he had the whip withdrawn in September 2019 for voting against the government. Earned a majority of 635 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Caroline Spelman - Consevative Served as the member for Meriden from 1997. Earned a majority of 19,198 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Louise Ellman - Independent Served as the member for Liverpool Riverside from 1997. Ms Ellman served most of her term as a Labour member before resigning from the party in October 2019 citing concerns over antisemitism. Earned a majority of 35,947 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Sylvia Hermon - Independent Served as the member for North Down from 2001. Ms Hermon served as a Ulster Unionist Party member until 2010 when she stood as an independent. Earned a majority of 1,208 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
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Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Henry Bellingham - Conservative Served as the member for North West Norfolk from 2001. Earned a majority of 13,788 in 2017
Chris McAndrew
Which MPs are standing down at the general election? Nick Herbert - Conservatives Served as the member for Arundel and South Downs from 2005. Earned a majority at 23,883 in 2017
Ms O’Brien, who was in her late 20s at the time, responded “I’m liking that idea… haha, made me laugh”.
Labour ‘s shadow education secretary Angela Rayner, who has previously discussed growing up on a council estate with parents who were on benefits, said the comments were “absolutely disgusting”.
She added: “Many of us have relied on social security support at some point in our lives and it is nothing to be ashamed of. This person is not fit to be an MP and Boris Johnson should remove her as a candidate.”
The Conservative party has so far not taken any steps to remove Ms O’Brien as a candidate following the revelation.
In a statement, she said: “These comments were made off the cuff, a number of years ago. However, I accept that my use of language was unacceptable and I would like to apologise for any upset I have caused.”
She is fighting for the seat currently held by Labour’s Tonia Antoniazzi, who won in 2017 with 22,727 votes, 3,269 ahead of the Conservative candidate.
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