Tory flyer claims Labour brought hepatitis to Dudley

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.

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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”.