Wednesday 5 May 2010

Getting Rather Confused On The Campaign Trail...

Southend West general election candidates decided to have a hustings and take questions from the public. It was all going quite well, until the police investigation of a B&B owner who turned away a gay couple because it conflicted with his Christian beliefs came up...
Ukip candidate Garry Cockrill said: “Ukip would get rid of these equality laws which are no such thing.

Christians are being discriminated against since this act has come to pass.”
Strong stuff! As you can expect, the Labour man was firmly for such legislation. But what did his Tory opponent think?
Tory David Amess said: “I won’t get involved in this argument.

“If the law said it’s wrong than so be it.
Well, there you go.

Never mind if a law is not working as intended, never mind if it is being operated in such a manner that it clearly gives people the impression that certain offences are not religiously motivated despite what we can all see in front of our eyes, while others feel the full weight of the law.

The law's the law! Never will David Amess criticise it!

Except when it comers to expenses...
Speaking about his record and the recent crisis engulfing parliament, Mr Amess said: “I’ve always been a community and constituency politician.

Our country has been destroyed and our parliament has been destroyed.

“My position has been greatly diminished.”
So what? Your fellow MPs broke the law. Some of them - not enough, by a long chalk - are facing court proceedings.

Go tell them “If the law said it’s wrong than so be it”...

5 comments:

Sue said...

Considering the meeting was in a church, surely they must have expected questions like this?

I think you're right, the law seems to work for some people and not for others. Christians (I am not one, by the way), are being unfairly picked upon.

There are Gay Hotels in the UK.

Can you imagine if the couple had advertised their B&B as a "Christian B&B?"

This law is stupid. It should be up to the owners or shareholders what their policies are. If they choose to lose money by denying certain customers a service, more fool them!

Perhaps Mr Amess was too scared to express his views. This is what our country to has come to, freedom of speech, dead, thanks to the equality laws.

It's a shame UKIP won't be in power.

RantinRab said...

To be perfectly blunt, the Tory could say whatever he wanted.

He's never getting in anyway.

Angry Exile said...

And of course the converse is the MP's friend and favourite excuse:

"It was entirely within the rules. No laws were broken. I did nothing wrong."

Laws are important, even necessary. But they're not quite the same thing as justice. As the man said, she seems to have taken a holiday from these parts.

Clarissa said...

Unfortunately Rab he is the incumbent in what should be a safe seat (we haven't had anything but a Tory in Southend since before WW1) so is more than likely to be returned to parliament tomorrow unless there are lots of other people out there like myself (and Julia if I'm reading her comments correctly?) who though conservative/libertarian inclined don't want him.

JuliaM said...

"This law is stupid. It should be up to the owners or shareholders what their policies are. If they choose to lose money by denying certain customers a service, more fool them!"

Fully agree.

"Unfortunately Rab he is the incumbent in what should be a safe seat..."

Yup! *sigh*

I can't see him not getting returned, though hopefully, with a much reduced majority, id there's any justice...