UKIP cancel plans for anti-gay preacher to stand in UK election
By Ryan Love
UKIP has reportedly scrapped plans to name anti-gay preacher Reverend George Hargreaves as the party’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate in Coventry South.
It had been previously been claimed that the party had asked existing candidate Mark Taylor to stand aside, to allow Hargreaves to run.
However, Taylor has now been reinstated following widespread criticism, while the party has quietly abandoned its plans for Hargreaves, who co-wrote Sinitta’s chart hit ‘So Macho’, to stand in the General Election.
The preacher attracted criticism for his strong anti-gay manifesto during 2007 elections in Scotland, which saw him run against bisexual candidate Patrick Harvie.
Coventry UKIP chair Colin Stubbs told the Coventry Telegraph that the situation had “not been handled the best way”, adding that he did not know how Hargreaves “got involved with the party of how he was chosen”.
Taylor described the events as an “unnecessary distraction” but said that he was “pleased” to be able to continue with his campaign.
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