Ignore ex-MP’s offences like you did Shipman, Tory in by-poll race tells Wakefield
THE Conservative candidate for the Wakefield by-election said people should still trust his party “like they still trust GPs” despite the actions of one of the town’s former residents – serial killer Dr Harold Shipman.
Nadeem Ahmed was speaking in reference to his predecessor, the former MP Imran Ahmed Khan, who was jailed for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy.
The by-election on Thursday’s (23) for the ‘Red Wall’ constituency was triggered by the resignation of Khan from the House of Commons.
Ahmed, a former teacher and councillor, said Khan’s offences were “disgusting”. But he added it should not erode voters’ faith in the Tory party in the same way that people continue to repose faith in general practitioners despite Shipman’s crimes.
The GP was convicted of murdering 15 of his patients, but he is believed to have killed more than 200 people. He was found hanged in his prison cell in 2004.
“Harold Shipman committed suicide in Wakefield prison. He was a GP, he was a trusted professional, just like teachers and others .... Have we stopped trusting GPs? No, we still trust GPs and we know that he was one bad apple in there,” Ahmed told the Telegraph last week.
“He (Khan) is in prison, which is the right place. [For me] As a teacher, a father, and as a human being, what he did was wrong. He’s been convicted of that offence, and I cannot stand here and say that was right. It was absolutely disgusting. And the people of Wakefield know that he was one bad apple.”
The town, which will go to the polls along with Tiverton and Honiton, was won by the Tories in the 2019 general election despite the region being traditionally dominated by the Labour party. It was the Conservatives’ first victory in the seat in more than eight decades.
However, strategists expect the seat will be won by Labour due to the public’s anger over ‘partygate’, Khan’s prison sentence and the ongoing cost of living crisis.
A national poll reported by the Telegraph suggested that the Conservatives could lose their majority if a general election was held now, with 39 per cent of respondents saying they planned to vote for Labour.
However, Wakefield’s Labour candidate Simon Lightwood said he would work hard and “knock on every door” for votes.
He predicted not only would traditional Labour voters come back to support the party, but some Conservatives too would support his candidature.