The race to replace disgraced former minister Owen Paterson exploded into life today as it was revealed the Lib Dem by-election candidate once compared Boris Johnson’s Brexit plans to tactics used by Adolf Hitler.
Helen Morgan spoke out at a Remainer rally held in Shrewsbury, August 2019, and made some amazing comments.
The Government was involved in an argument over attempts to corrupt Parliament and thwart Johnson’s Brexit plans.
Cambridge-educated accountant Ms Morgan told the crowd that the plans would set a ‘dangerous precedent’, adding: ‘It’s what Hitler did in 1933… this is a shameless power grab by a right-wing elite.’
The race for the North Shropshire seat, currently held by the Tories at 23,000 in 2019, was about to get ugly.
Helen Morgan’s astonishing remarks – which were captured on camera as she spoke at the August 2019 Remainer rally, Shrewsbury
In an effort to derail Mr Johnson’s Brexit plan, the Government got into a dispute with Parliament.
Tories locally are convinced that Labour has essentially abandoned the battle to give the Lib Dems a clear run – in an echo of the de facto pact that overturned the huge Conservative majority in Chesham & Amersham earlier this year.
MailOnline was told by one campaigner that there would be lots of mudslinging between all parties, despite the background of the Westminster sleaze rows.
They said, “This is going to turn very ugly quickly.”
The Tory candidate for the seat was also accused, along with former Army doctor Dr Neil Shastri Hurst of attacking the NHS.
The Mirror discovered a 2015 opinion piece for Conservative Home in which he claimed that the NHS ‘cannot exist as a bottomless pit’ of money and resources.
He stated that last year he also found the Covid “clap for Carers” to be somewhat embarrassing.
The Lib Dems called the comments ‘callous’.
A Conservative Party spokesman told The Mirror: ‘When the pandemic struck, as a doctor Mr Shastri-Hurst stepped up to the plate and volunteered on the frontline of the NHS in trauma care.
“His articles frequently praise the talent, dedication and brilliance that is the NHS, its staff, and passionately advocates the case, based on experience, to ensure that NHS resources reach the frontline.
At the time Ms Morgan made the comments about Mr Johnson she was the Lib Dem candidate running against Mr Paterson at the 2019 general election.
Her final finish would be a distant third to the Labour candidate and former environment secretary.
Ex-Army medic Dr Neil Shastri Hurst is the Tory frontrunner to the seat. He has been accused in the past of attacking the NHS
Mr Paterson resigned his North Shropshire seat following criticism of his paid lobbying for firms paying him more than £100,000
She has been chosen to have another go after Mr Paterson resigned his seat following criticism of his paid lobbying for firms paying him more than £100,000.
MailOnline was told by a Tory activist that the Lib Dem candidate thought Brexit was akin the rise of Hitler’s Third Reich. It’s not surprising, therefore, to find her whitewashing her history to conceal her enthusiasm for the outcome.
“These are their dirty tricks in by-elections. It looks like they will continue to use them.
A Liberal Democrat spokesman said: ‘Helen Morgan did not compare Boris Johnson to Hitler and she is sorry if that is the impression given.
She said, “She is passionately committed to standing up against this Conservative administration which takes people in Shropshire as granted.”