Jeremy Corbyn is facing calls to take action against Emma Dent Coad after Guido revealed she called black Tory candidate Shaun Bailey a “token ghetto boy” and “scumbag”. It turns out that was not the only time. Guido has found this tweet from 2011 in which she again attacked Bailey, calling him “ghetto man” and “a low life”. There is no context that explains this away. If this was a Tory MP Labour would be calling on them to go…
Guido has spoken to Shaun Bailey about Emma Dent Coad’s racially charged comments calling him a “token ghetto boy” and a “free-loading scumbag”. He says Labour should consider suspending her:
“I am shocked and saddened by the hate-filled, racist article written by Labour MP Emma Dent-Coad which has surfaced this afternoon. During my time in politics I have dealt with prejudice and attacks from hard-line groups, including the BNP, but not once have I been labelled a ‘token ghetto boy’.
Her use of language, including the caption of ‘keeping it real’, is more akin to that of a white supremacist group than that of an elected politician and she should be ashamed. As someone who was born into a poor family in Ladbroke Grove, I am proud of my charity work helping deprived community groups in the area Ms Dent-Coad now represents.
Ms Dent-Coad has a long history of public intimidation. She should publicly apologise for these latest slurs – not just to me but to the wider black community – and the Labour Party should consider her position.”
Yet another Labour race row. And once again they are very slow to react…
UPDATE: Bailey tells LBC Corbyn should withdraw the whip:
Labour MP Emma Dent Coad labelled black Tory candidate Shaun Bailey a “token ghetto boy” and “free-loading scumbag” who is “not welcome” in her Kensington constituency, Guido can reveal. In a vicious 2010 blog post – which really is dripping with poison and hate – Dent Coad labelled Bailey a “token ghetto boy” who was being “used” by the Tories and will never “fit in, however hard he tries”.
The abuse continued, with Dent Coad quoting two conspicuously anonymous “former neighbours” who she claims thought Bailey was “a free-loading scumbag” and “the most hated man in North Kensington”. Dent Coad concluded that if Bailey were to win his seat “he will no longer be welcome in North Ken”. Imagine the outrage if a Tory MP talked about a black Labour candidate in this way. Dent Coad has a new report out on inequality in Kensington today. She could start by looking at her own prejudices…
Dame Angela Watkinson, the Tory MP in Hornchurch and Upminster, will be 79 in 2020 and is expected to retire after nearly two decades in the Commons. A string of top Tories are already sniffing round the cushy 16,000 majority seat. Hotly tipped is Nick de Bois, the popular former Enfield North MP who lost his seat in 2015. Local Tories have noted that former Cameron adviser Shaun Bailey, now a London Assembly member, has moved to the area and is flaunting his newly-discovered pro-Brexit credentials. Syed Kamall, the Leave-backing Tory MEP leader, has also been turning up to local association meetings. Kamall should be popular, having stood up to intense career-ending pressure from Cameron. Havering has been dubbed “the most Eurosceptic place in Britain” and voted 70% to Leave. It is a very Brexit-y seat for life…
Diane Abbott on Amber Rudd:
“Who can have confidence in Amber Rudd to make far-reaching changes to the Home Office if she doesn’t seem able to get basic facts right?”
