Wakefield’s Tory candidate can’t stop comparing the party to Harold Shipman – 17 votes of no confidence
Campaigning for next week’s Wakefield by-election took an unexpected turn on Thursday, when the Conservative candidate to replace jailed sex offender, former Tory MP Imran Ahmad Khan, gave a bizarre reason why people should still vote Conservative.
NEW: The Tory candidate in the Wakefield by-election has said voters should still back the Conservatives because “we still trust GPs” after Harold Shipman killed 250 people.
Nadeem Ahmed says Imran Ahmad Khan was just "one bad apple".
Story: https://t.co/Q57VB4aWit pic.twitter.com/bVv1HOTdki
— Tony Diver (@Tony_Diver) June 16, 2022
It wasn’t even merely a dreadful Partridgesque slip-up. Here he is using the same line with ITV Calendar’s Harry Horton.
Has jailed former MP Imran Ahmad-Khan tarnished the reputation of Conservatives in Wakefield?
Tory candidate Nadeem Ahmed: "The people of Wakefield understand there's bad apples… look at Harold Shipman. He committed suicide in Wakefield prison, but do we trust our doctors?" pic.twitter.com/RJ13WDaT0o
— Harry Horton (@harry_horton) June 16, 2022
People weren’t convinced his strategy of comparing the party to a notorious serial killer had come directly from CCHQ.
1.
I'm no campaigns expert but I'm pretty sure 'we're not as bad as Harold Shipman' isn't the greatest sell on the doorstep pic.twitter.com/vIompCTmsW
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) June 16, 2022
2.
Exactly, like we shouldn't just stop trusting prime ministers because one of them helped kill 170,000 people. https://t.co/gmu8uC2V0L
— THE SECRET TORY 🗽 (@secrettory12) June 16, 2022
3.
A good way to win votes is to voluntarily compare your party to the killings of Harold Shipman https://t.co/pXYQ3S8qNX
— James Felton (@JimMFelton) June 16, 2022
4.
Can't say I saw 'not quite as bad as Shipman' appearing on the Tory election leaflets https://t.co/7cregaAk0w
— Liam Thorp (@LiamThorpECHO) June 16, 2022
5.
Outstanding https://t.co/DFsmO7NwFG
— Nadine Batchelor-Hunt (@nadinebh_) June 16, 2022
6.
LABOUR: *worries constantly whether Starmer is too boring, comms a bit muddled*
TORIES: https://t.co/o3JZLiRhAy— Area Man (@Alasdair_CM) June 16, 2022
7.
Wow OK they really didn't do any due diligence on this guy. https://t.co/J9qeJQvClN
— Sam Freedman (@Samfr) June 16, 2022
8.
Oops he's done it again! https://t.co/0eRko8cZzl
— James Oh Brien (@mrjamesob) June 16, 2022
9.
There's something with a Little Britain character potential, about a politician, that on being asked a difficult question, voluntarily brings up something worse. https://t.co/blAeLF4HfF
— Rob Manuel 🧻 (@robmanuel) June 16, 2022
