The most popular post this week was Conservative Vandalised Billboards which I followed-up yesterday with the Big Society posts (and see here). Related was the interest in the TBH’s polling results in my Cornwall’s Tories are Stuffed. Also this week, I drew attention to Conservative PPC for Camborne and Redruth George Eustice’s pitch on his Green credentials. Mr Eustice might care to use his influence as an ex-speech writer for cycling, sledging Dave, to have a word in his leader’s shell-like about how Cameron lets the plane take the strain. Oh, and I’m still waiting a reply from Mr Derek Thomas about Mr Chris Grayling’s endorsement of homophobia.
Tory dirty tricks: report the details and sign the petition to sack Chris Grayling.
In a recent post I raised the question of why such an apparently decent man as Derek Thomas, the Conservative hopeful for St Ives, would want to represent the Nasty Party.
The St Ives Conservatives website provides a clue to the answer. After an impressive list of Mr Thomas’ good works – a list which makes you wonder, What the hell is this man doing with the Nasty Party? you get this statement from him:
Furthering the Conservative cause is increasingly important to me as the core values of Conservatism sit most comfortably with my personal faith. Many new ideas and new values have been adopted by this nation in recent decades and where traditional values have been discarded our communities have declined. The Conservative Party’s direction of travel and our core values provide a basis for leading the nation towards stronger, healthier, more caring communities.
I must confess that I haven’t an inkling of what all this is supposed to mean, but it would be of help to voters if Mr Thomas would decode it for us. Except that he is a Christian, I don’t know just what variety of Christianity Mr Thomas’ ‘personal faith’ might be. ‘Where traditional values have been discarded our communities have declined’ – which values and communities? It’s just a little bit scary when politicians start bringing their ‘personal faith’ into politics – just in case they turn out to be bonkers fundamentalists.
In a recent post I challenged Cornwall’s Tory candidates to tell us if they agreed with shadow home secretary Chris Grayling’s remarks that people who run bed and breakfast in their own homes should have the right to reject homosexual guests. Is,this, perhaps a Conservative ‘core value’ Mr Thomas shares, or not? I think we should be told.
One would hope not, but in some of Cornwall’s B&Bs this morning there may have been quiet sighs of satisfaction over the Full English at shadow home secretary Chris Grayling’s remark that people who run bed and breakfast in their own homes should have the right to reject homosexual guests. In a land of B&B and Christian faiths of varying degrees of fundamentalism, one can perhaps be forgiven for fearing the worst. Someone needs to speak out, and so far it isn’t David Cameron.
Cornwall’s Tory PPCs should tell us if they agree with Mr Grayling, or not. What does Mr Derek Thomas, Conservative PPC for St Ives (and a Christian), have to say? Perhaps Mr Thomas’ opponents at the General Election, like Labour’s Philippa Latimer, should ask him. It’s not only morally right that Grayling should be challenged. Legally sanctioned homophobia -which is what Grayling is allowing – could do huge damage to Cornwall’s holiday trade.
Allowing certain business-owners to discriminate based on sexual orientation opens the door to discrimination based on race, religion, country of origin, and anything else — and to the sort of inequality that we thought we’d said goodbye to forever in this country.
You can sign a petition demanding David Cameron sack Chris Grayling here.
