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Apr
Stray Ferret reveals historic homophobic views of Tory candidate for Harrogate Town Council
The Stray Ferret can reveal that a Conservative candidate for Harrogate Town Council has a history of homophobic posts on social media.
On January 22, 2015, the Conservative candidate Anthony Murphy posted it was a “perennial truth that homosexual sex are acts of grave depravity”. He went on to add that “tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered’”.
Three years later he urged bishops to “purge the filth from the Church”. We have also seen social media posts from an organisation set up by Mr Murphy, the Lumen Fidei Institute, which described sexual activity between same-sex people as “deeply depraved”.
Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative Party said his views were from the past and “at a time of heightened debate” over same-sex marriage.
Mr Murphy, who lives in Harrogate and is the editor of the Catholic Voice magazine, is standing for election in the Duchy ward on May 1.
His homophobic comments appear to be based on discussion over same-sex marriage in the context of his Catholic faith. But they appear to contradict the Conservative Party’s own stated values.
In the article below, the Stray Ferret has taken the decision to publish some of these posts. Please be aware that they contain offensive material.
'Intrinsically disordered'
On January 22, 2015, he posted on his personal Facebook page that it was a “perennial truth that homosexual sex are acts of grave depravity”. He went on to add that “tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered’”.
A post on Anthony Murphy's personal Facebook profile in 2015.
Mr Murphy founded the Lumen Fidei Institute — a not-for-profit organisation in Ireland which describes itself as “an association of Catholic lay people engaged in cultural and educational matters”.
He was a frequent author of articles regarding the Catholic faith, though he has not published anything on the website since August 2021.
However, one article by Mr Murphy from August 2018 about homosexuality and same-sex marriages entitled “Maynooth: ‘cesspool of liberal theology and heterodoxy’” — which is still available to read online — concludes the church and “decent Catholics” should not rest until “every bishop stands up and takes direct action to purge the filth from the Church”.
Meanwhile, the X (formerly Twitter) account for the Lumen Fidei Institute has also posted homophobic comments about sexual activity between same-sex couples.
In one post from October 7, 2023, the account described sex between same-sex pairs as being “deeply depraved and results in disease”.
A post on X (formerly Twitter) from the Lumen Fidei Institute account.
Mr Murphy’s comments appear to contradict the Conservative Party code of conduct and its own stated values.
The Conservative manifesto for the 2024 General Election said:
We are committed to promoting equality of opportunity, not divisive identity politics. We value a society that is inclusive no matter what sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity or religion a person is.
The manifesto goes on to add that the party is proud of its record on “delivering for LGBT people” and highlights the Same Sex Marriage Act was passed into law by David Cameron’s Conservative-led coalition government in 2013.
Anthony Murphy (centre) pictured campaigning with the Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservatives. Picture: HK Conservative Facebook.
The party also has an anti-discrimination policy in its code of conduct, which adopts “protected characteristics” found in the Equality Act 2010.
The conduct says:
Every party member must not discriminate against, bully, harass or victimise any other person because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
Conservative Party response
The Stray Ferret asked the Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative Party to respond to the posts made by its candidate.
We also asked the party if it was aware of Mr Murphy’s posts, whether the posts were consistent with Conservative party values and if it intended to take any action against Mr Murphy.
Rebecca Reeve-Burnett, chair of the Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative Association, responded on behalf of Mr Murphy. She said:
When the same-sex marriage legislation was in front of government all the major political parties were split with some supporting and some against. Discussions extended much further than Parliament into local communities and particularly religious groups.
Emotions can run high on these issues and they certainly did during that period of legislation change. Many people said and wrote things which they would not say or write now. I support any person’s right to change a view or a position on something as they progress through their life, and will not hold a former view against someone if I am certain it is no longer their view.
I know that many of those who do not support same-sex marriage hold their views on religious grounds. Anthony is a religious man and his Catholic faith is the foundation of his beliefs on marriage. Whilst I don't share some religious views on marriage — indeed I married my wife with a vicar's blessing shortly after being allowed! – I do respect the right to religious freedom.
We do not tolerate homophobia or any other kind of discrimination in our association and we have not found any during the selection process for our town council candidates. As an association we were aware of what you have shared before Anthony entered our selection process, and we discussed it during that process too.
These are views from the past, from a time of heightened debate. The past is where they belong.
Anthony is a committed local campaigner who is working very hard to demonstrate that to local residents in Duchy ward ahead of the elections and will be an excellent councillor for the whole community if elected on 1 May.
The Stray Ferret has tried to contact Mr. Murphy, but his contact details are not publicly available. We asked the association if Mr Murphy will make a statement on the issue and clarify if his views have changed. Ms Reeve-Burnett said she had spoken to him, and they had agreed she would respond on his behalf.
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