Labour candidate forced to apologise for calling people who shop at Waitrose ‘scum’ A Labour MP has said the party can “kiss goodbye” to the chance of winning a target marginal-seat when the […]

A Labour MP has said the party can “kiss goodbye” to the chance of winning a target marginal-seat when the country next goes to the polls due to a series of Twitter comments made by the candidate selected to stand in the seat.

Jane Aitchinson, who has been selected as the Labour candidate in Pudsey, Yorkshire, has been forced to apologise for comments made on the social media platform in which she called the Royal family “scroungers,” and called people who shop at Waitrose “scum”.

She has retained the backing of the Labour party to run in the super-marginal Leeds seat, which is currently held by Conservative Stuart Andrew.

The i politics newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription.

‘Benefit scrounging scum’

The candidate, who was backed by Unite and Momentum as well as key Jeremy Corbyn allies John McDonnell and Jon Trickett, in December 2013 posted a link to an article about a “middle-class revolt” over free coffee at the supermarket Waitrose, adding: “From the comments seems real scum already shop there”.

In another tweet a month later, she appeared to post an article about fast-food chain McDonald’s creating 2,500 jobs, adding: “S**t food. S**t jobs. This is what they want for us.”

And in a series of tweets she took aim at the Royal Family. Ms Aitchison deleted a tweet describing Prince Charles as “benefit scrounging scum”, but in another undeleted post unearthed by the Guido Fawkes political blog, she comments on an article about Buckingham Palace seeking a housekeeper: “I am sick of paying for these lazy scroungers.”

‘We might as well kiss that seat goodbye’

Ms Aitchison, who in 2011 left the Socialist Party, formerly the Trotskyist Labour entryist group Militant, praised attendees at the Socialist Workers Party-hosted Marxism Festival of July 2015 as “the best class fighters”.

Responding to her selection, a Labour MP, who wished to remain anonymous, told Yorkshire Post: “We might as well kiss that seat goodbye for Labour. I know the electorate in Pudsey will take a different view to the selectorate in Pudsey Labour Party.

“I don’t think the party members in Pudsey are representative of the community.”

Apology over language

The MP added: “She’s ultra-left, once people know what that means they won’t vote for it. “People from Leeds aren’t radical revolutionary socialists, some of them are Labour, some of them are Conservatives but they’re not revolutionaries and they don’t believe in revolutionary politics.”

Ms Aitchison later apologised, and said: “I recognise that the language used in some tweets I made years ago is unbecoming of a parliamentary candidate and I apologise.

“I’m thrilled to be selected as Labour’s candidate in this important seat and I am putting forward Labour’s positive message of hope and optimism here, with the aim of becoming the MP for the many not the few.”

Labour backing

Meanwhile, concerns were raised about the selection process as some members felt debate about Ms Aitchison was shut down in a Facebook group for the constituency party which banned posts that “disparaged” any of the candidates.

One active Labour member in Pudsey, who did not want to be named, said: “There was a real attempt in the constituency to shut down any discussion about the candidates which could be construed as being negative.”

A Labour Party spokesman said: “Jane Aitchison has been democratically selected by members in Pudsey in line with Labour’s rules and procedures.

“Jane is looking forward to putting forward Labour’s message of hope.”

The original source of this article is our sister title Yorkshire Post