I was only calling the sick child’s PARENT a ‘pathetic cretin’, insists former Tory MP

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Outrage has erupted after former Tory MP and chief of staff to David Davis, Stewart Jackson, was accused of calling a hospitalised remainer child a “pathetic cretin”:

His defence: I was talking about the child’s step dad…

But the former Conservative MP fired back, insisting he was targeting the sick child’s stepfather.

Either way, it’s a not a classy look and Twitter has been merciless:

Read on...

Owen Jones kept it simple and direct:

Others wondered how this squared with the Tories’ ‘Respect Pledge’:

Blocking out the truth

But Jackson is made of sterner stuff. First he seemed to go on a blocking rampage against his accusers (the author included):

Although apparently, this is an old habit of Jackson’s…

Rupert Myers summarised the blocking perfectly:

Double down, attack and dig a hole

Jackson then initiated ‘operation double down and attack’.

He boldly concluded that the real villain wasn’t him (AKA: the guy actually calling a sick child’s stepfather a “pathetic cretin”) but was the child’s stepfather:

 

So according to Jackson, the child smiling in hospital with his EU flag is actually a victim of evil remainer indoctrination and exploitation.

But, as far as The Canary understands, Jackson did not ask the child whether he shared his opinion.

Jackson, as a Conservative, presumably believes in taking personal responsibility. But apparently he had no control over the situation and his only available choices were:

a) attack a sick child’s step dad
b) patronise a sick child as unable to hold political opinions of their own.

Option c) ‘don’t reply and offend a family going through a difficult time’ wasn’t an option for Jackson, apparently.

No stranger to controversy

Despite thinking the family of a sick child is fair game on social media, Jackson doesn’t like the same scrutiny himself.

According to the Independent, after his election loss in 2017, Jackson found time to berate his former constituent, Christian Stanley, saying:

Not many benefits of losing the election but one of them is probably not having to engage with thick chavs like you Stanley…

…and then added:

“If you print any shit about me on Facebook in the future you will regret it.”

Stanley’s crime was holding Jackson to account online. And judging by some of Jackson’s record, that seems legitimate.

Holding him to account, for his accounts

As the Telegraph documented, in 2009 MP Jackson claimed £66,000 pounds in home expenses. Part of this was for a swimming pool, which even Jackson eventually claimed “could be construed as excessive”.

Then, in May 2015, Jackson gave one of the most ungracious victory speeches in political history, berating his losing Labour opponents – as any dignified MP would:

Why the anger at youth?

Perhaps the real source of Jackson’s anger is what the child and his father represent.

As David Lammy pointed out:

Also, as Jackson’s dream of a hard Brexit slips away, the People’s Vote campaign gathers momentum. And young people pose a significant threat to Brexit in a possible referendum. As an analysis of census data shows, millions more young people will now be eligible to vote, with a majority favouring remain.

This guy was negotiating Brexit…

One of the scariest aspects of this whole affair was pointed out by Kevin Maguire of the Mirror:

All in all, the incident highlights that Brexit really does bring out the worst in the Tory hard right.

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