Facebook haters labelled Tory hopeful a ‘nonce’
A FORMER Tory MP who lost his seat at the general election told last night how he was targeted by an online campaign that accused him of being a ‘nonce’.
Andrew Bingham, who was defeated in High Peak, Derbyshire, revealed how a local group claiming to be separate from the Labour Party sent out more than a thousand leaflets criticising his voting record and used social media to attack him. ‘High Hopes for High Peak’ claimed it was ‘a non-party affiliated community group campaigning for equality, respect, tolerance, and positivity’.
However, a picture posted on its Facebook page shows how it organised a joint event with the Labour candidate Ruth George in a park two weeks before polling day. During the campaign, one supporter wrote on the Facebook page that Mr Bingham was a ‘nonce’ (jail slang for a paedophile). Another was reported to police after she posted a picture showing how she had vandalised his posters.
Katie Tyreman, who identifies herself as a Labour supporter on her own Facebook profile, shared the image showing how she had covered a Conservative poster board with the group’s literature. She wrote: ‘Am hoping I didn’t just break the law by going back to gaffer these up… Makes a point tho (sic) eh?!’