Cllr Tony King, Chairman of the Erewash Conservative Association, has this morning confirmed that Mr Paris Coulson has been suspended from The Conservative Party with immediate effect and will no longer be endorsed by the Party as a candidate at the forthcoming Local Elections.
Cllr. Tony King, Chairman of The Erewash Conservative Association said:
Following a number of social media posts that were brought to the attention of our Association’s Executive Committee yesterday evening (Tuesday 25th April 2023), the decision has been taken to immediately suspend Mr Coulson as a member of The Conservative Party.
The Association has now opened a full disciplinary investigation into the comments made by Mr Coulson, which is the first step to expelling him from The Party.
This means that Mr Coulson will no longer be endorsed by the Conservative Party or The Erewash Conservative Association as a candidate for the Borough Council Elections on 4th May.
I trust that the speed at which we have acted to deal with this matter demonstrate that discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated by our Party.
Cllr. Carol Hart, Leader of The Erewash Conservative Council Group said:
The Erewash Conservative Council Group is immensely proud of its diverse and inclusive membership, and we wholeheartedly condemn anyone who seeks to discriminate against others or who distributes false propaganda online.
As soon as I was made aware of Mr Coulson’s comments, I acted swiftly, in consultation with Cllr. King and Maggie Throup MP, to ensure that his Party membership was suspended, and he could no longer stand as a Conservative Candidate.
Our record in rooting out this type of behaviour speaks for itself, and I want to assure residents that, as Leader of the Conservative Group, I will always challenge prejudice of any kind, regardless of Party loyalties.
Maggie Throup MP, Member of Parliament for Erewash said:
As the former Vaccines Minster, I am acutely aware of the threat that COVID misinformation poses to the public and condemn anyone who pushes this type of baseless propaganda online.
Whilst ultimately decisions regarding the vetting of local government candidates and the disciplinary action taken against Party members, are a matter for The Erewash Conservative Association, the comments made by Mr Coulson are wholly unacceptable.
I am clear that anyone holding the kind of views expressed by Mr Coulson are not welcome in The Conservative Party, and so I am pleased that Cllr King and Cllr Hart have acted at the earliest opportunity to suspend his membership with immediate effect.
