THE Labour candidate for the forthcoming Rixton & Woolston by-election, Trish Cockayne, has apologised for an inappropriate tweet labelling elderly Tory party members as “inbreds.”
The tweet sparked outrage on social media, with questions also raised about the Labour Party’s selection process for the by-election later this month.
Commenting on a tweet about how “normal Tory members get to choose the next prime minister” she tweeted “frightening that these inbreds have our future in their hands.”
The tweet has since been deleted.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “This post does not reflect the views or values of the Labour party and we have asked for the tweet to be removed.
Trish Cockayne said: “I would like to apologise profusely for any offence caused and will be taking time to reflect on the language used.”
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The selection process was fully compliant with the rules and regulations as set out by the Labour Party and was supervised by regional Labour Party staff. ”
A spokesperson for Warrington Conservatives said: “This is a vile, nasty Tweet which shows what Trish Cockayne really thinks of hardworking people in Warrington.
“It also reflects the fact she knows nothing about Warrington North where she’s been parachuted in to be a candidate in Rixton & Woolston.
“She should be suspended immediately.”
The by-election is set to take place on November 24th following the resignation of Tory Josh Dixon due to work commitments.
Labour select anti-poverty campaigner for Rixton and Woolston by-election
6 Comments
funny thing is she has apologised and they have passed it off as a “slip of the tongue”.
had it been the other way round they would have been baying for her to resign and be barred from holding any position in the party.
just another political sniper looking to get on the gravy train.
Dreadful quote from a lady that presents as a caring individual serving Warrington foodbank . Clearly she doesn’t understand democracy or voter representation and clearly dismisses any borers other than labour .
She should do the decent thing and stand down and labour should look to expel her . This demonstrates the one-way traffic that #Debatenothate means to labour – when will they walk their own talk ?
Typical Labour. What they mean by #Debatenothate, is they can say what they like irrespective of how offensive it is, but if a conservative voter raises a legitimate criticism concerning Labour’s management of the Borough’s finances then that is a personal unacceptable attack on an individual Councillor.
She should step down and should be suspended pending investigation. There is no place in the Labour Party for these kind of comments.
Needs no investigation. What she tweeted is in black and white. She needs to be deselected.
How Labour can have the cheek to continue with her as their candidate beggars belief. A hardworking, community focussed Labour councillor in another ward was recently expelled from the party for much less. What a sign of total desperation if she is allowed to stand. Does it mean they have no-one else prepared to stand?