Tory flyer claims Labour brought hepatitis to Dudley
Council candidate Kamran Razzaq suspended as party investigates ‘bizarre’ campaign leaflet
A Conservative party candidate for Dudley Council has been suspended over a campaign flyer claiming that Labour had brought “hepatitis” to the area.
Leaflets promoting Kamran Razzaq as a candidate for the Cradley and Wollescote ward in the 3 May local elections compared the local Conservative party’s achievements in office with those of Labour.
Regenerating Cradley, building a new leisure centre and introducing two hours of free parking in council car parks are among the Tory majority’s supposed triumphs.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Meanwhile, Labour councillors are credited with two less-wholesome achievements: “hepatitis” and the “decline of our area”.
The allegation “appears to refer to an outbreak of the disease at a primary school within the Cradley and Wollescote ward”, HuffPost reports. The ward’s three current councillors belong to the Labour party.
The unorthodox missive quickly went viral on social media, where it was met with incredulity:
Pete Lowe, leader of the local Labour party, told HuffPost the leaflet was “the most bizarre I have ever seen in 30 years in politics”, adding: “Words fail me.”
Razzaq has now been suspended pending an internal party investigation.
The news comes weeks after Conservative party literature once again made the headlines for the wrong reasons when south London pensioners received a letter from the party addressed to “Mr Fuckingjoking”.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Can AI tools be used to Hollywood's advantage?
Talking Points It makes some aspects of the industry faster and cheaper. It will also put many people in the entertainment world out of work
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
'Paraguay has found itself in a key position'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Meet Youngmi Mayer, the renegade comedian whose frank new memoir is a blitzkrieg to the genre
The Week Recommends 'I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying' details a biracial life on the margins, with humor as salving grace
By Scott Hocker, The Week US Published
-
Will Donald Trump wreck the Brexit deal?
Today's Big Question President-elect's victory could help UK's reset with the EU, but a free-trade agreement with the US to dodge his threatened tariffs could hinder it
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Britain's Labour Party wins in a landslide
Speed Read The Conservatives were unseated after 14 years of rule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published