Which Tory disgraced himself, his party and his constituency with ‘care home’ heckle on Jeremy Corbyn?
Andrew Griffiths MP: Is he the guilty party?
Conservative Party whip Andrew Griffiths needs to come clean.
It has been alleged that this man, the MP for Burton, made an “ageist and inappropriate remark” while Jeremy Corbyn was responding to Philip Hammond’s Budget speech.
As Mr Corbyn spoke in defence of elderly people suffering cuts in care budgets, it has been suggested that Mr Griffiths – hiding out of sight of the Speaker’s chair – said the Labour leader should “be in a care home” himself.
Mr Corbyn heard – and you can watch his reaction here:
If you want to know why 3.5m people extra voted for Labour in Junethen see this clip. The anger not just in Corbyn's voice but on the entire front bench is the anger shared by millions in Britain suffering under this cruel Tory Government. pic.twitter.com/eS1UjtBUHk #Budget2017
— Pileus Media (@thepileus) November 22, 2017
As Labour MPs got to their feet and pointed towards the exit, shouting “shame on you”,and “get out”, a visibly infuriated Mr Corbyn snapped: “I hope the honourable member begins to understand what it’s like to wait for social care stuck in a hospital bed while other people are having to give up their work to care for them.
“The uncaring, uncouth attitude of certain members opposite needs to be called out.”
Members of Parliament and the public have expressed their fury at the heckle:
https://twitter.com/ToryFibs/status/933381678759849984
A Tory Whip trying to drown out Jeremy Corbyn talking about child poverty. Tory MPs crouching down on the steps between benches to try to shout down Jeremy's speech, unseen by the Chair. Our democracy and government should be better than this.
— Richard Burgon MP (@RichardBurgon) November 22, 2017
Some have called for the Speaker and his team to take action:
I wish to make complaint, the bullying tactics shown by Tory MPs during Corbyns speech were an insult to the mother of all parliaments and the Speaker should crack down on this sort of behaviour, they should of been removed.
— Isobel_Waby we NEED a COALITION (@Isobel_waby) November 22, 2017
Mr Deputy Speaker failed to control this today, he should evicted a couple of the bullies, when they behave like children, treat them like children, this debate was seen across the UK and was a disgusting example of Parliament, even worse the Deputy Speaker and the Tories. https://t.co/P0h2IOjqtH
— Isobel_Waby we NEED a COALITION (@Isobel_waby) November 22, 2017
And Mr Griffiths was suggested as the culprit:
It is alleged that @AndrewGriffiths was the Tory MP that disgracefully heckled Jeremy Corbyn today, suggesting he should 'be in a care home'. He did this out of sight of the speakers chair, like a little playground bully ducking for cover. And he's a Tory whip. Spineless.
— Rachael Swindon (@Rachael_Swindon) November 22, 2017
So Andrew Griffiths needs to clarify matters – right now.
If he did say the offending words, he must apologise to Mr Corbyn, to elderly care home residents – and their carers, to Parliament, to his colleagues in the Tory Whip’s office – who will have been disgraced if one of their colleagues misbehaved in such a manner, to the general public… and to his constituents in Burton, who would be humiliated if their representative was responsible for such childish behaviour.
It is disrespectful – not just to the Leader of the Opposition, but to the occasion, to Parliament, and to the people of the United Kingdom.
If Mr Griffiths did say those words, then the electorate of Burton would be well-advised to reconsider their decision to put him in Parliament with a majority of more than 10,000. His local Conservative Association would be wise to think about fielding another candidate at the next general election (which may not be too far in the future, remember).
But if he didn’t, then he needs to find out who was responsible and force that person to own up.
In that circumstance, the real culprit would be doubly cowardly, having not only made the comment, but having let Mr Griffiths take the blame for it. One could argue that as a Whip, responsible for maintaining discipline in his party, it is Mr Griffiths’ responsibility.
So its up to Andrew Griffiths. What is he going to do?
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Well said, Mike. Just discovered that Conservative whip Andrew Griffiths MP has blocked me on Twitter—which frankly is a badge of honour and an indication that my multi-year campaign is having an impact. All Tory MPs are human rights violators and they should collectively hang their heads in shame.
The Tories are good at nasty sneering insults.