Opposition urges Tories to cut ties with rightwing group over ‘culture war’ comments
Opposition parties are urging the Conservatives to cut ties with a rightwing student group, Turning Point UK (TPUK), that has been described as a far-right group promoting divisive and dangerous rhetoric.
Although the group has no formal links with the Conservative Party, Conservative MP Marco Longhi is TPUK’s honorary president, and former ministers Priti Patel and Jacob Rees-Mogg have praised the group in the past, along with deputy party chair Lee Anderson.
TPUK, which advocates free markets and small government, has increasingly focused on “culture war” issues, including holding protests against drag acts, which it has described as “groomers”.
Pastor Rikki Doolan, who argues that women “should always be subject to the man” in marriage, is a regular speaker at TPUK-organised events.
TPUK has also called for Labour MPs and Channel 4 bosses to be jailed and described UK schools as “Maoist indoctrination camps”.
Anneliese Dodds, the chair of the Labour Party, called it the return of the “nasty party”. The Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran urged Longhi to remove himself from his position and take action to prevent TPUK’s rhetoric from being given a platform in society.
A TPUK spokesperson said the group had no formal link to the Conservative party, and that Longhi’s role had “no day-to-day involvement with the running of TPUK”.