A Tory local election candidate in the St Helen’s ward of the Sussex constituency of Hastings and Rye has been suspended after local army veterans questioned his claims to have served in the Falklands conflict.
An email from the local Labour Councillors has alerted members to concerns raised by local army veterans that Matt Lynch, a Tory candidate in the marginal St Helen’s Ward is claiming to have been a serving Para2 veteran and is not:
Dear Hastings & Rye Labour Party member
There’s an issue which has just emerged with the Conservative candidate for St Helen’s ward, in the Hastings Council elections that take place tomorrow.
Conservative candidate Matt Lynch has been challenged by local veterans to prove that his claims of 14 years military service, including in the Falklands War, are true. Lynch made the BBC South East News headlines last night when local forces veteran Steven Flynn told the BBC that despite expensive enquiries, he could find no record of Lynch ever having served.
Local Parachute Regiment veteran Steven Flynn noticed Lynch’s claim to have served twelve years in 2 Para but did not recognise him and was unable to find any old comrades who did.
Mr Flynn said:
To this day no one knows of him.
It’s an insult to most people and their families. There were men who died on Mount Longdon who never saw their newborn baby. It’s an insult to them.
In response to those concerns, the Conservative party has suspended Lynch pending an investigation and removed his campaign profile from the local party website, but it is too late to change campaign literature, so Mr Lynch will, to all intents and purposes as far as local residents are concerned, stand as a Tory candidate – unless they get the message from local news or social media.
Lynch’s local MP is former Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who resigned at the weekend for misleading MPs and the nation.
The Tories have been dogged by a series of scandals about their local election candidates, ranging from racist and misogynist comments to faked campaign images and ridiculous, false claims in campaign leaflets. These scandals have led to the suspension of a string of candidates.
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Conservatives: chickenhawks, most of them.
Not sure what’s more offensive – the stupidity, the lying or the fact that nine times out of ten Tories don’t get found out.
I guess he can join up with the other mummies little solidiers in The Daily Fail Littlebrain, Quinten Wetts, Dacre. I know there is a squad of real veterans that goes around sorting out the Walter Mitties. Perhaps they might give him a call? Watch this space.
Isn’t it ironic! The Selfservatives keep sacking Candidates who are caught lying but once on Parliament they can lie to their hearts content!
In fact all they have to do is follow Theresa May’s lead and lie like rugs!
Yep.
They dislike immigrants – until or unless they become toerag MP’s. Then the ones who were immigrants (Or children of) themselves, vote to remove other immigrants or take away their rights.
Weirdos.
2 para are a very tight community, if anybody knows whether or not he was part of them, they would.
Another LYING TORY BITES THE DUST!
Perhaps 2 Para would like to pay him a visit just to say ” Hi ” …… know what I mean ?
I tweeted electoral commission to ask them what happens if these people who are suspended and their names are still on the paper and they win the election and I havent had an answer – do you know?
Here you go, @Veronica
http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/16180809.What_happens_when_a_council_candidate_is_suspended_by_their_party_/
The really interesting point behind all of these stories is that the Tories have so few active members these days that they will take anyone as a candidate. Over recent years I have heard of several cases and know of some myself where they have approached anyone who they might have come across to stand for them . Current Tory party members or not its not its clearly not an issue for them.
The fact is that they are an ageing and as a consequence a rapidly shrinking party that has a huge membership crisis.
https://twitter.com/Trickyjabs/status/991442707145986048
A list of all tory candidates suspended up until 1st May. but there have been more since