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Politics
Liam O'Dell
Oct 05, 2022
Liz Truss arrives on stage to Moving On Up by M People at Tory Party Conference
IndependentTV
With every political party conference, it seems inevitable that footage of someone singing will appear online at some point – we’re still not over deputy prime minister Thérèse Coffey belting out “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life” last year.
Now, it seems we have to deal with former X Factor contestant and “Glitterball” singer Ella Henderson making an appearance at this year’s Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, something which has taken Twitter users by surprise.
Video footage of Henderson’s performance was shared by Scottish Conservatives member John White on Tuesday night, showing her singing a line from her debut single, “Ghost”.
However, the musician has come under fire for performing at the TikTok and UK Music-sponsored event, with some referencing the fact she performed at this year’s Brighton Pride back in August and is now performing for a party “that makes queer lives a misery”.
At the time, Henderson said on Instagram: “Words don’t and won’t ever describe the love I have for the LGBTQ+ community! You are all forever a part of me and in my heart!
“I promise to do everything I can with my platform and voice to create awareness, cultivate change and mostly spread love, light and equality in honour of each and every one of you.”
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Her previous support of LGBTQ+ was mentioned by social media users on Wednesday, who accused her of “fake allyship”:
\u201cWait until Ella Henderson finds out what the tories have been pumping into that river she keeps going to pray at.\u201d— SHANE REACTION (@SHANE REACTION) 1664925746
\u201cFor some reason Ella Henderson performing at a tory conference is like my straw on the camels back. This countries simulation is so broken and we can\u2019t even have 2010s reality tv musicians anymore.\u201d— Travis (@Travis) 1664966613
\u201cWhen Ella Henderson sang \u201cthe ghost of you it keeps me awake\u201d she meant Thatcher\u201d— Liam \ud83c\udf39 (@Liam \ud83c\udf39) 1664962762
\u201cElla Henderson on her way to Tory conference after drinking toxic sludge from the river she prays at\u201d— jack rem x (@jack rem x) 1664964827
\u201cSorry but Ella Henderson got booked solidly by prides these last two years and then ends pride season with a performance at the Tory conference - just a few hours after their vile \u2018health\u2019 minister decided she couldn\u2019t be arsed rolling out more monkeypox vaccines??\u201d— JON \u270c\ud83c\udffb (@JON \u270c\ud83c\udffb) 1664957266
\u201cTaking money from the party that makes queer lives a misery means Ella Henderson should never be hired for another Pride event.\u201d— Jack Duncan \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Jack Duncan \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1664958440
\u201cNot Ella Henderson performing at the Tory party conference \ud83e\udd2e\u201d— Pixie Polite \ud83e\uddda\ud83c\udffb (@Pixie Polite \ud83e\uddda\ud83c\udffb) 1664961520
\u201cThis many of you can\u2019t care about that Ella Henderson singer being at Tory conference, she got like two songs\u201d— Jason Okundaye (@Jason Okundaye) 1664965473
\u201cElla Henderson performing on the B Stage at 57,000 Prides a year and pretending to be an ally\u201d— jack rem x (@jack rem x) 1664964885
\u201cWaking up to seeing Ella Henderson performing at a tory event is not what I expected at all\u201d— Shirley Carter\u2019s Pussy (@Shirley Carter\u2019s Pussy) 1664960130
\u201cSo prides aren\u2019t gonna be booking Ella Henderson again are they? Performing for Tory conference when they have rolled back on every promise and actively ignored people on the GRA reforms consultation is a load of sheeeeeiiite mate\u201d— Divina De Campo stream DECODED (@Divina De Campo stream DECODED) 1664964062
In a statement shared with The Independent, a UK Music and TikTok representative insisted Henderson’s performance at the conference does not “indicate political affiliation”.
They said: “Ella Henderson performed as a guest of UK Music and TikTok at the Conservative Party Conference, following a similar event at the Labour Party Conference a week before.
“Ella was due to perform at the Labour Party Conference as well but had to pull out due to illness.
“These events do not indicate political affiliation and are held to highlight the importance of the UK’s music sector and the success of our talent on a global stage.”
Henderson is yet to publicly respond to the criticism.
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