Conservative MPs have condemned their own party’s new online adverts attacking Labour MPs over immigration, warning they will stoke hatred and put all politicians at greater risk.
Tory backbenchers have raised fears about personalised ads targetting Yvette Cooper and other frontbench Labour politicians – telling the public they voted “to keep illegal migrants in Britain”.
Some Tories criticised the potentially inflammatory ads in a private WhatsApp group where MPs share graphics on social media, according to Bloomberg.
“These ads lead directly to attacks on MPs and their families and they stoke up hatred of politicians,” Tory MP Miriam Cates wrote – calling the ads “very, very disappointing”.
Tory colleague Jackie Doyle-Price is also said to have raised concerns, saying the party should “hold ourselves to good standards of behaviour.”
However, their backbench colleague Jonathan Gullis reportedly said MPs should let Tory election campaign officials “do what they want to do, in what they believe is the best way to retain our seats”.
One of the Tory Facebook ads targeted Labour’s Jenny Chapman in Darlington, and said she had voted against the recent borders bill – but she has not been Darlington MP since 2019.
The new online Tory adverts have targeted certain Labour MPs in marginal seats, as well as members of Sir Keir Starmer shadow cabinet – including Lucy Powell and Jonathan Reynolds.
“Your MP voted to keep illegal migrants in Britain,” the ad state, along with a black and white image of the Labour MP’s face.
It comes as MPs share their growing concerns about the toxic culture in British politics and fears for their security following the murder of Sir David Amess.
The new ads highlight Labour’s opposition to the Nationality and Borders Bill, as the Tory party seeks to push its immigration agenda in a bid to move away from Partygate in the run-up to local elections on 5 May.
But several senior Tories have spoken out against home secretary Priti Patel’s plans to send asylum seekers who arrive by routes deemed “illegal” to Rwanda.
Two former cabinet ministers, David Davis and Andrew Mitchell, have condemned the radical move – with the latter describing it as “immoral” and involving “astronomic” costs. Former PM Theresa May has also been critical, saying the plan was impractical.
Meanwhile, Ms Patel has been accused of “hypocrisy” over her department’s plan to place asylum seekers in a Yorkshire village, two years after she claimed they should not be placed in her own constituency because it was not a “major conurbation”.
Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative MP who represents Linton-on-Ouse, wrote to Ms Patel this week pointing out this contradiction.
The Independent has contacted Ms Cates, Ms Doyle-Price, Mr Gullis and the Conservative Party for comment on the immigration ads.
