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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Migrant row Tory candidate quits | Migrant row Tory candidate quits |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A Conservative Party candidate has stepped down after a row over his comments that Enoch Powell was "right" on immigration. | A Conservative Party candidate has stepped down after a row over his comments that Enoch Powell was "right" on immigration. |
| Nigel Hastilow, who was candidate for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, made the decision after meeting party chairman Caroline Spelman. | Nigel Hastilow, who was candidate for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, made the decision after meeting party chairman Caroline Spelman. |
| His comments, made in a newspaper column, were criticised by senior Tories David Davis and George Osborne. | His comments, made in a newspaper column, were criticised by senior Tories David Davis and George Osborne. |
| Labour minister Peter Hain said they showed the Tories' "racist underbelly". | Labour minister Peter Hain said they showed the Tories' "racist underbelly". |
| Enoch Powell was sacked from the Conservative shadow cabinet after a controversial speech in 1968 against uncontrolled immigration. | Enoch Powell was sacked from the Conservative shadow cabinet after a controversial speech in 1968 against uncontrolled immigration. |
| 'Explain himself' | 'Explain himself' |
| Mr Hastilow made the comments in a column for the Express and Star newspaper in Wolverhampton - where Mr Powell had been the MP at the time of his 1968 speech. | |
| The Parliamentary candidate, a former editor of the Birmingham Post, wrote: "When you ask most people in the Black Country what the single biggest problem facing the country is, most say immigration. | |
| I have been here once before when William Hague was party leader and I have no wish to go there again Nigel Hastilow | I have been here once before when William Hague was party leader and I have no wish to go there again Nigel Hastilow |
| "Many insist: 'Enoch Powell was right'. Enoch, once MP for Wolverhampton South-West, was sacked from the Conservative front bench and marginalised politically for his 1968 'rivers of blood' speech, warning that uncontrolled immigration would change our country irrevocably. | "Many insist: 'Enoch Powell was right'. Enoch, once MP for Wolverhampton South-West, was sacked from the Conservative front bench and marginalised politically for his 1968 'rivers of blood' speech, warning that uncontrolled immigration would change our country irrevocably. |
| "He was right. It has changed dramatically." | "He was right. It has changed dramatically." |
| Following his meeting with Mrs Spelman he said he was "very sorry" if his remarks had undermined "the progress David Cameron has made on the issue of migration". | Following his meeting with Mrs Spelman he said he was "very sorry" if his remarks had undermined "the progress David Cameron has made on the issue of migration". |
| 'Great caution' | 'Great caution' |
| He has been in the news before for his outspoken comments - in 2001, when he was the Tory candidate for Birmingham Edgbaston, he wrote on his website that the party was a "lost cause" - and was quoted by then Labour PM Tony Blair in the Commons. | |
| In his resignation statement on Sunday, Mr Hastilow said: "I have been here once before when William Hague was party leader and I have no wish to go there again." You cannot just stumble around throwing out comments which are insensitive or inflammatory David Davis,Shadow home secretary | |
| "So, with regret and my continuing support for the future, I hereby tender my resignation as parliamentary candidate for Halesowen and Rowley Regis. | "So, with regret and my continuing support for the future, I hereby tender my resignation as parliamentary candidate for Halesowen and Rowley Regis. |
| "I thank my friends in the constituency association for their support." | |
| A Conservative spokesman said: "We have accepted Mr Hastilow's resignation and wish him well for the future." | |
| 'Public views' | 'Public views' |
| Asked about Mr Hastilow's comments earlier, shadow chancellor Mr Osborne told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: "I don't agree with what he said." | Asked about Mr Hastilow's comments earlier, shadow chancellor Mr Osborne told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: "I don't agree with what he said." |
| He said: "Candidates of any party - Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat - have to exercise great caution in the language they use about immigration." | He said: "Candidates of any party - Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat - have to exercise great caution in the language they use about immigration." |
| Really in the undergrowth of the Tory Party, its grassroots, including this candidate, there are all these backwards reactionary sentiments Peter Hain | Really in the undergrowth of the Tory Party, its grassroots, including this candidate, there are all these backwards reactionary sentiments Peter Hain |
| And speaking to ITV1's Sunday Edition, shadow home secretary Mr Davis said the comments were "very unwise" and the constituency party should "think very hard" about how they expected their candidate to behave. | And speaking to ITV1's Sunday Edition, shadow home secretary Mr Davis said the comments were "very unwise" and the constituency party should "think very hard" about how they expected their candidate to behave. |
| "You cannot just stumble around throwing out comments which are insensitive or inflammatory," he said. | "You cannot just stumble around throwing out comments which are insensitive or inflammatory," he said. |
| But Mary Docker, chairwoman of Mr Hastilow's local Conservative association, said earlier she did not think he had done anything wrong. | |
| She told BBC News 24: "He's basically just raising issues that have been raised with him when he has been canvassing the area. | She told BBC News 24: "He's basically just raising issues that have been raised with him when he has been canvassing the area. |
| "All he is doing is just relaying the views of the public, which is what a politician should do." | "All he is doing is just relaying the views of the public, which is what a politician should do." |
| Peter Hain, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, told the BBC: "This Conservative candidate really exposes the racist underbelly of the Tory party." | Peter Hain, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, told the BBC: "This Conservative candidate really exposes the racist underbelly of the Tory party." |
| He said leader David Cameron had "been very clear himself" in being against racism, but "in the undergrowth of the Tory Party... there are all these backwards reactionary sentiments". |