A Conservative general election candidate in a key marginal seat wrote on social media that she believed people on the reality TV show Benefits Street needed “putting down”.
Francesca O’Brien, who was selected last month to stand in the target constituency of Gower, in south Wales, wrote a series of inflammatory comments about the Channel 4 programme on her Facebook page.
In posts that have since been deleted, she wrote in January 2014: “Benefit Street..anyone else watching this?? Wow, these people are unreal!!!”
In response to a friend’s comment, she wrote: “My blood is boiling, these people need putting down.”
In further comments under her post, O’Brien apparently endorsed a friend’s suggestion for “twat a tramp Tuesday” to “take your batts [sic] to the streets”.
After being approached by the Guardian, O’Brien apologised for the comments which she said were “off the cuff”.
The comments, which have drawn condemnation from O’Brien’s rival for the seat, are likely to anger the thousands of people in Gower who rely on benefits. They will also strike a blow to the Conservatives’ hopes of winning the seat, with the constituency being a key marginal.
O’Brien’s rival for the seat, Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi, said she was dismayed at the comments. “These are disappointing comments from Francesca, and I’m sure lots of people will find them really insensitive,” she said.
“Much of the work of an MP is helping people, who through no fault of their own, find themselves in difficult situations.
“This lack of empathy should worry anyone who isn’t born with a silver spoon in their mouth.”
The shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, called for the prime minister to remove O’Brien as a candidate. “This is absolutely disgusting and reveals the cruelty at the heart of the Tories’ benefits cuts. Universal credit was deliberately designed to punish people who are out of work,” she said.
“Many of us have relied on social security support at some point in our lives and it is nothing to be ashamed of. This person is not fit to be an MP and Boris Johnson should remove her as a candidate.”
Benefits Street, which highlighted the lives of benefits claimants on a road in Birmingham and made a star of one of its participants, Deirdre Kelly or “White Dee”, prompted controversy when it aired in 2014.
The programme attracted 4 million viewers but also more than 100 complaints to regulator Ofcom relating to unfair, misleading and offensive portrayals of benefits claimants, alleged criminal activity and excessive bad language.
O’Brien’s comments came after the first episode aired in January 2014. When she wrote that people on Benefits Street need “putting down”, a friend replied: “and im the man for the job and tomorrow is twat a tramp Tuesday take your batts to the streets lol”.
They added that they had “just swam 1000m and i cant move so i might have to just shout abuse.”
In response, O’Brien wrote: “I’m liking that idea… haha, made me laugh!”
O’Brien, 32, was selected by the Conservatives to run for the seat only last month after an open primary at a local golf club. She works as a manager at a car mechanic business ran by her family in Gower.
After being selected, she said: “I have lived and worked in Gower all of my life, so I know the challenges people face here. I have a real passion for this area. It is a fantastic place to live, but I want to make it even better.”
Marginal seats are parliamentary constituencies that have had a history of changing hands between parties, or in which the incumbent MP has a very small majority. Eleven seats were won by fewer than 100 votes in 2017. Often parties will target marginal seats with extra campaigning resources, as they are the places where they feel they are most likely to affect the balance in the House of Commons.
There are several seats, including Kensington, Dudley North, Southampton Itchen and Newcastle-Under-Lyme, where the 2017 margin between the Conservatives or Labour winning the seat was between 20 and 30 votes. The most marginal seat in the country, though, is North East Fife, held by the SNP over the Liberal Democrats by just two votes.
A three-way marginal, where the vote has recently been close between three parties, is much rarer.
Gower was won by Labour by little more than 3,000 votes at the 2017 general election and is a key marginal that the Conservatives will be targeting in order to win a majority. It was won by the Tories in 2015 by just 27 votes.
According to figures produced by Swansea council in January, more than 3,000 people in the Gower constituency area claim incapacity benefits and more than 2,500 receive disability living allowance. Meanwhile, 2,150 people are on pension credit and 1,110 are on universal credit.
O’Brien said: “These comments were made off the cuff, a number of years ago. However, I accept that my use of language was unacceptable and I would like to apologise for any upset I have caused.”
