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Liam O'Dell
Aug 28, 2022
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A Conservative MP has been accused of “hypocrisy” after criticising a member of Labour’s shadow cabinet for wearing a “Never Kissed A Tory” T-shirt and creating an “us vs them” dynamic.
Sara Britcliffe, the MP for Hyndburn and Haslingden in Lancashire, slammed what she considered to be “quite disgusting” behaviour from shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell on Saturday - when the Labour MP donned the red shirt for Manchester Pride.
“And this is the problem: creating an us vs them. Quite disgusting from a shadow minister.
“A difference of political belief should not result in hate,” she tweeted.
It isn’t the first time a Labour politician has faced a backlash over whether they’d be friendly with someone from the other end of the political spectrum.
In 2017, the former North West Durham MP Laura Pidcock told the left-wing blog Skwawkbox she had “absolutely no intention” of being friends with a Tory.
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She said: “Whatever type they are, I have absolutely no intention of being friends with any of them.
“I feel disgusted with the way they’re running the country, it’s visceral – ,’ not interested in being cosy.”
Like Ms Powell, she too received criticism from Tory MPs for the stance, with now-culture secretary Nadine Dorries accusing her of having a “hands over the ears juvenile attitude”.
In this instance, however, Twitter users soon pointed out to Ms Britcliffe that her party has leaned into a bit of “us vs them” as well:
\u201c@SarBritcliffeMP Look at the comments of your own MP\u2019s, ministers and cabinet members before you criticise others.\u201d— Sara Britcliffe MP (@Sara Britcliffe MP) 1661617678
\u201c@SarBritcliffeMP Crikey Sara, your hypocrisy is staggering!\u201d— Sara Britcliffe MP (@Sara Britcliffe MP) 1661617678
\u201c@SarBritcliffeMP Where have you *been* Sara?!\nhttps://t.co/T6y7Pw7gNS\u201d— Sara Britcliffe MP (@Sara Britcliffe MP) 1661617678
\u201cIt is \u201chate\u201d to not kiss someone now, that\u2019s good and normal\u201d— Grace Petrie (@Grace Petrie) 1661684726
\u201cYour party is releasing condoms with the slogan \u201cLabour isn\u2019t working but this condom will\u201d, so let\u2019s not pretend \u201cNever kissed a Tory\u201d is some kind of vile attack. \ud83d\ude44\u201d— Em (@Em) 1661682179
\u201c@SarBritcliffeMP @paulbristow79 So the Tories aren\u2019t the party of culture wars? I see my MP has retweeted this and that grifter is forever stoking culture wars in Peterborough.\u201d— Sara Britcliffe MP (@Sara Britcliffe MP) 1661617678
\u201c@SarBritcliffeMP It's a joke, and quite a gentle one at that. You lot are so easily offended.\u201d— Sara Britcliffe MP (@Sara Britcliffe MP) 1661617678
\u201c@SarBritcliffeMP Every Tory government I have lived under has divided the country. Unions versus police. Unions versus the people and now Brexiters (aka tax avoiders) against Remainers.\u201d— Sara Britcliffe MP (@Sara Britcliffe MP) 1661617678
Others noted that when it comes to “disgusting” T-shirts, Ms Britcliffe can’t really talk given she was branded “childish” for wearing one with her Labour predecessor’s face on it over Christmas in 2019:
\u201c@SarBritcliffeMP\u201d— Sara Britcliffe MP (@Sara Britcliffe MP) 1661617678
\u201c@SarBritcliffeMP It was ok for you to have an insulting T shirt Re, Graham Jones\u201d— Sara Britcliffe MP (@Sara Britcliffe MP) 1661617678
Ousted politician Graham Jones said the action was “unbefitting of an MP”, while Ms Britcliffe said she had apologised to him and there was “no mocking” involved.
“It was a Secret Santa present and in fact mocked me,” she claimed in a statement at the time.
While Ms Powell has not responded to Ms Britcliffe’s remarks, she did reply to education secretary James Cleverly, who told her to “keep asking nicely” as “I’m sure one will say yes eventually”.
“Oh James, I thought you’d never ask,” she said, with a wink emoji to boot.
Ouch.
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