News / Politics
Reform candidate says ‘eugenics agenda being foisted upon us’
The Reform candidate for Bristol Central has said “there is a eugenics agenda being foisted upon us” and also appeared to link vaccinations with autism.
Robert Clarke (pictured above, far left) was speaking at a deaf and disabled people hustings organised by WECIL and Bristol Reclaiming Independent Living.
It is scientific consensus across the world that vaccines are safe and effective, and that there is no link between vaccinations and autism.
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Bristol Central candidate and Party of Women leader, Kellie-Jay Keen, had not been invited to take part in the hustings on Tuesday afternoon but was sat among the audience in the Lantern Hall at Bristol Beacon.
Clarke said: “I think it is extremely unwise to think that a so-called vaccination programme is going to help us or help disabled people.
“I would be very very wary of the new brand of mRNA injections which they’re including across the board in the NHS… there is something pernicious afoot.”
Clarke added that he wants to know “exactly what is going on and exactly what med they are suggesting you put into yourself, so when we are talking about autistic people, we know that the MMR injection is very very controversial”.
The official Reform website says that Clarke received 8,500 votes in the 2021 mayoral election. He actually received 806 votes in the first count.
Green candidate for Bristol South, Jai Breitnauer, has two autistic children. “It was largely my experience of getting my children’s basic rights met that drove me to stand in this election,” she said.
“That and the climate because I am worried that social care provision will be one of the first things to suffer in a society under climate change stress.”
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Read more: These are the 61 general election candidates in the Bristol area
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The Conservative candidate for the new seat of Bristol North East, Rose Hulse, borrowed a line about “change” from Labour’s general election campaigning.
She said: “As a businesswoman and as a mother of two children, putting my head above the parapet during an election time when everybody wants to just hate the Tories is a very difficult thing.
“I’m here as a Conservative despite what is going on because I believe in change.”
Kelvin Blake, Labour councillor for Filwood and election agent for incumbent Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy, was literally holding his head in his hands as Hulse spoke these words.
Blake said that in the last 14 years under a Tory government, “disabled people’s rights have been taken backwards”.
He added: “I’m glad the Conservative candidate is here because it’s all very well talking about the future, they want to talk about the future constantly, but they ought to be accountable for the past as well and I think she needs to respond to where the Tories have taken us.”
Lib Dem candidate for Bristol East, Tony Sutcliffe, spoke about how he had worked in a care home for two years during the pandemic.
He said: “The big thing that’s going to affect everybody is making sure that the care sector and the NHS are working more closely together.
“The problem has been in the past that you would deal with the NHS and then be thrown out into the care sector and things would not be working, information would not be passed over.
“This has to change as a matter of some urgency.”
All of the candidates on the ballot paper for Bristol Central are due to take part in Bristol24/7’s hustings at the Bristol Beacon on Monday, July 1. For those unable to attend in person, the event will be livestreamed via the Bristol24/7 YouTube channel from 7pm. If you want to ask a question, please email editor@bristol247.com
Main photo: Martin Booth
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