Friday, September 04, 2015
Crass UKIP candidate and Tory MPs get public mood wrong on refugees
Listening to David Davies, the Tory MP for Monmouthshire argue on Radio Wales that most of the refugees attempting to enter the UK are not fleeing war, but are "mostly young men, mostly with mobile phones, chancing their luck", it was difficult to believe that any politician could match him for a lack of compassion and understanding of the humanitarian crisis facing Europe and Britain's role in helping to create that crisis.
However, he was trumped shortly afterwards by another Tory MP called Davies, this time Phillip Davies from Shipley, who according to the Huffington Post called a female constituent that she was "pathetic" and accused her of having a "trendy left wing view" in an argument over the refugee crisis:
Mr. Davies wrote that Britain cannot take "a never ending supply of people into the UK" while net migration is 300,000 a year, three times the level David Cameron has committed to bringing it down to.
After Amy Firth called his position "cold" and asked if the emails were spoofs, Mr Davies replied: "It is frankly pathetic to suggest that you can only show you have compassion by thinking we should take everyone who wants to come here."
He added: "I see that you subscribe to the trendy left wing view that what is important is looking compassionate whether it is really compassionate or whether it is sensible.
"If you want to think that you have a monopoly on compassion which can only be shared by people who agree with you then that is your prerogative."
Well both MPs could well find themselves isolated today if, as expected, David Cameron completes a full U-turn and announces plans to increase the number of refugees being allowed into the UK.
Neither MP however, has managed to match the sheer awfulness of Wimbledon Ukip candidate Peter Bucklitsch who called the parents of the Syrian child whose body washed up on the shores of Turkey yesterday "greedy". Writing from what appears to be his account on Twitter, he said the parents of the boy are responsible for his death for their attempts to "queue jump" into Europe for "the good life".
This is yet another candidate who has been endorsed by UKIP leader Nigel Farage and so far appears to remain a member of that party. It is truly dreadful when a crisis of this sort provokes comments such as those made by these three individuals.
However, he was trumped shortly afterwards by another Tory MP called Davies, this time Phillip Davies from Shipley, who according to the Huffington Post called a female constituent that she was "pathetic" and accused her of having a "trendy left wing view" in an argument over the refugee crisis:
Mr. Davies wrote that Britain cannot take "a never ending supply of people into the UK" while net migration is 300,000 a year, three times the level David Cameron has committed to bringing it down to.
After Amy Firth called his position "cold" and asked if the emails were spoofs, Mr Davies replied: "It is frankly pathetic to suggest that you can only show you have compassion by thinking we should take everyone who wants to come here."
He added: "I see that you subscribe to the trendy left wing view that what is important is looking compassionate whether it is really compassionate or whether it is sensible.
"If you want to think that you have a monopoly on compassion which can only be shared by people who agree with you then that is your prerogative."
Well both MPs could well find themselves isolated today if, as expected, David Cameron completes a full U-turn and announces plans to increase the number of refugees being allowed into the UK.
Neither MP however, has managed to match the sheer awfulness of Wimbledon Ukip candidate Peter Bucklitsch who called the parents of the Syrian child whose body washed up on the shores of Turkey yesterday "greedy". Writing from what appears to be his account on Twitter, he said the parents of the boy are responsible for his death for their attempts to "queue jump" into Europe for "the good life".
This is yet another candidate who has been endorsed by UKIP leader Nigel Farage and so far appears to remain a member of that party. It is truly dreadful when a crisis of this sort provokes comments such as those made by these three individuals.
