When social media comes back to bite

It is truly the election of social media gaffes coming back to bite. Whether it was the Brexit Party’s Daniel Rudd, Tory Antony Calvert, or Labour’s Kate Ramsden and Frances Hoole, it’s clear none of the major parties are doing even the slightest bit of research into who they put up under their rosettes, as resurfaced comments saw candidates accused of racism, sexism and more just as things got up and running.

All of the above stepped down but others have stayed put. Take Jane Aitchison in Pudsey, Yorkshire, who suffered through an excruciating 12 seconds of silence on the Emma Barnett show on Radio 5 Live last week.

The Labour candidate was being asked about yet another colleague’s social media posts celebrating the hypothetical death of Tony Blair, but Ms Aitchison maybe should not have been so sure that celebrating deaths was bad, as she said - it was later uncovered she had posted online joyously announcing the death of Margaret Thatcher, and was even recorded saying it out loud.

Yet she clings on. Unlike Nick Conrad, the Conservative candidate for Broadland in Norfolk who was forced to stand down after national outrage over his comments that women who do not wish to be raped should keep their knickers on.

Of course this wouldn’t have been a surprise to the local Conservative Association: Mr Conrad made the comments on his well-listened-to BBC Radio Norfolk breakfast show and it was reported widely in the local press at the time.

Indeed, Mr Conrad himself said it was discussed in his selection interview.

Although, arguably, we get the candidates we deserve when the ones we’ve already voted in are not much better.

Little did we know a mere seven days after campaigning officially kicked off, so much flipflopping would have happened already. First you had Boris Johnson refuse to say that flooding in the Midlands and the North was a national emergency, before making a U-turn and calling a COBRA meeting.

Then the Brexit Party - having announced they would stand in all seats - said they would only contest Labour seats.

Having previously said

Mr Johnson’s deal “was not Brexit”, Nigel Farage is now happy to accept it.

And then you had the Lib Dems promising £10,000 for every adult to put towards training.

Rich from the party who trebled tuition fees.

Expect plenty more of this over the next four weeks; the madness has only just begun.