Former Conservative Minister said British citizens have the right, as they please, to elect racists or misogynists.
Sir Desmond Swayne stated that he hopes his constituents will not select people who hold such views. However, he expressed concern about proposed standards reforms to MPs.
According to the Committee on Standards, MPs are expected to adhere the Code of Parliamentary Conduct and promote anti-racism and inclusion.
Sir Desmond, MP for New Forest West, told the Commons: ‘The principle of democracy is undermined by the requirement that we may be required to subscribe to behaviours to promote certain attitudes.
“I want my constituents to never vote for a racist or misogynist. But they do have a right.”
Sir Desmond (MP for New Forest West) told the Commons that the principle of democracy was undermined by the expectation that we might be asked to adopt certain behaviours in order to encourage particular attitudes.
He also said: ‘A debate would be very helpful in Government time because some of the aspects of the report, such as the potential extension of the jurisdiction of an official into what happens in the lobbies and in select committees, touches on the principles of the Bill of Rights that no proceeding in Parliament be questioned in any place or any court other than Parliament itself.’
The recommendations from the Committee on Standards also include a new requirement for MPs to have a written contract for any outside work, explicitly stating that their duties cannot include lobbying ministers, fellow MPs or public officials.
A proposal is made that the rules be tightened so MPs can’t claim they’re acting in order to prevent a serious wrong.
Sir Desmond, a former Minister of State for International Development under David Cameron and Theresa May, had earlier this year sparked fury after he told vaccine sceptics to ‘persist’ with their campaign against lockdown restrictions.
The Conservative Party did NOT suspend Del Bigtree’s lockdown-sceptic because of his comments.
Sir Desmond had apparently made remarks to Save Our Rights UK that suggested vaccines were being “rushed through safety testing”.
Later, the New Forest West MP clarified that he wasn’t aware of the movements position on jabs. He stressed that he He is “evangelical” in his support of the vaccine programme. However, he points out that the House of Commons has recorded him criticizing the presentation of data by the Government.
A 64-year old posted a photo on Twitter showing him receiving the injection from a nurse wearing jogging pants and a T-shirt.
When Sir Desmond received his Covid jab in March of this year, he seemed to be proving his evangelism.
He wrote on Twitter: ‘I’ve just had my jab: make sure you can get yours, so that we can all get back to normal life.’
Sir Desmond told MailOnline he had the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine at St Thomas’s Hospital in central London.