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27
Apr
Harrogate Town Council candidate at centre of historic homophobia row denies expulsion claim
Anthony Murphy, the Conservative candidate for the Duchy ward in this week’s Harrogate Town Council elections, has denied he was expelled from the Bradford Conservative Party for distributing racist literature in 1988.
The Stray Ferret revealed Mr Murphy had made a series of historic homophobic comments on social media, which included describing homosexuality as “acts of grave depravity” and “intrinsically disordered”.
Mr Murphy subsequently said he had changed and “those comments could not be further away from my views now”.
Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has called on the Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative Association to withdraw support for him.
Speaking in Parliament on Thursday (April 24), Mr Gordon urged Leader of the House Lucy Powell to “make time for a debate on candidate standards and party accountability”.
He said:
This was not a vetting failure; the local Conservative association knew and selected him anyway. It has refused to withdraw support or answer whether he is the same Anthony Murphy who was linked to organising Enoch Powell rallies.
The local association has either gone rogue, or the nasty party is well and truly back as the Conservatives chase votes from Reform.
Ms Powell, the Labour MP for Manchester Central, replied:
I am sorry to hear of the appalling homophobic remarks being made by a councillor, and a Conservative councillor at that.
The Hon Member has raised them here this morning, and I hope that those on the Conservative front bench have heard his question, because action needs to be taken.
Mr Gordon has also asked if Mr Murphy was expelled from the Bradford Conservative Party for distributing racist literature in 1988.
A spokesperson for the Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative Association said Mr Murphy had told them he wasn't expelled from the party in Bradford.
They added Mr Murphy was taking legal advice on some of the claims that have been made and declined to comment further.
Nineteen seats on the new Harrogate Town Council will be contested on Thursday.
Here is a full list of candidates.
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