Imagine for a minute that you were the leader of a political party. Imagine that said party has a reputation for being, I dunno, a little bit on the racist side. Imagine that your primary goal was to change that perception and build a new party based on inclusion. Then imagine that, during the course of your 're-branding' exercise, an MP says something particularly controversial that undermines your appearance of an inclusive political party. Imagine your MP saying the following:
“If there’s anybody who should f*** off it’s the Muslims who are doing this kind of thing. Police should pull out the stops to track down these vile thugs.”
How would you respond if the story turns out to be false? Would you:
a) Demand the report in question is removed from the website on which it appears, and discipline the offending MP for not taking more care in his statements.
b) Instantly dismiss the offending MP from your party and protest in the strongest terms to the reporters of the story.
c) Discipline the MP in question and warn him of his future conduct.
d) Shrug your shoulders and do nothing about it.
If you said b, well done, you are indeed the leader of a progressive, inclusive party. If you said d, you are indeed the leader of the Conservative Party and you have proven beyond doubt that you couldn't give two shits about embracing a multi-cultural society. Here is the response I received from David Cameron (well, his secretary) when I asked why the Conservative Party hasn't pushed The Sun to remove the offending article from their website:
Not our problem mate, we don't care if we appear like a bunch of reactionaries. After all, that's the way we have always been. Thanks, glad you cleared that up.
Why not watch the slideshow of what the new Conservative Party stands for? Go on, you'll love it.
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