A Conservative member of the House of Lords has used the C-word in Parliament as she laid out the how the abuse received by politicians risks damaging democracy.
Baroness Anne Jenkin was speaking during a debate on social media regulations when she pointed to research showing Tory parliamentary candidates - and especially women - were more likely to receive intimidation than candidates from other parties.
“This is worrying,” said Baroness Jenkin, who co-founded Women2Win, which was set up in 2005 to get more Conservative women into parliament.
“It is hard enough to get women to stand for public office, and all barriers need to be addressed. If they are not we will be left with a political culture that does not reflect the society it should represent, with serious implications for our democracy.”
The peer, married to Tory MP Bernard Jenkin, went on to give a “real world example”.
“During the election campaign in June, the Ealing Central and Acton Conservative candidate was met daily outside her home by a large group of Momentum and Labour activists yelling at her, and I quote, and please my Lords forgive the unparliamentary language, and block your ears if you are sensitive or easily offended, ‘fucking Tory cunt’,” she said.
“My Lords, this young woman has a young child. How can this be acceptable and how does this not deter other mothers from stepping up.”
She went on to say the candidate and her activists were “routinely spat at” and said an Asian activist was told she deserved to have her throat slit.
It’s thought to be the first time the C-word has been used in the upper house.
Earlier this week in the House of Commons, Labour MP Rupa Huq used the phrase “big swinging dick” as she criticised free schools advocate Toby Young amid calls for him to be fired from the board of the new universities regulator.