Reform MP was once jailed for attacking ex-girlfriend outside nightclub

I think if this had been known before the election, he would not have been elected.

Whilst I do not think he should be disqualified from standing, there should be a requirement that convictions of candidates are declared when they stand. Let the electorate decide.

He didn’t deny it at all.

I absolutely agree that people should not be judged in the present for historic offences for which they have served the time. We should always give people a second chance to demonstrate that they have learned from their mistakes and made amends. And we should absolutely judge them on how they live their lives now.

And given that this individual has chosen to align himself with a repugnant party that is known for its misogyny, racism and homophobia etc, it is abundantly clear that he didn't learn much at all and he is still a vile human being. I judge him accordingly.

Exactly.
There would be potential unintended consequences about making rules about who could stand as an MP.

My issue is with Reform, who selected this man as a candidate, and the voters who elected him. Can't say that though as apparently voting for misogynist racists is a reasonable response to "the left" making racist misogynists politically homeless.

Isn't this exactly the sort of thing that Reform voters are voting for?

Reform haven't exactly made any secret of what sort of people they are or what they stand for. I have no idea why people seem to like their particular brand of misogyny, racism and homophobia etc, but the past behaviour of this MP is surely entirely in keeping with what anyone might reasonably expect of a Reform Party member - it is bang on brand.

So I am not at all shocked that this MP has a criminal record involving violence against a woman. I'm much more shocked that a significant proportion of the electorate actually voted for this shit.

I think this guy is a prick and I wouldn't have voted for him (although I wouldn't vote Reform anyway).

I disagree that a criminal conviction should disbar you from standing as an MP. I think in a democracy it's important that people can vote for who they think best represents them, even if I find their choice repugnant.

I’m not minimising anything. I know what he did and what the consequences were.

98 votes.

And Reform have said they were aware of the conviction when he was selected.

Youth is a daft age, all sorts of things happen. He doesn't strike me as a generally violent man and there have been no similar occurrences. Are we saying that anyone, at any time who does anything to land them in jail should carry that stain with them for the whole of their lives

I was as much of an idiot as any teenager and managed not to assault anyone. Most people don't assault their partners.

He is also minimising the assault, in a way that contradicts witness statements.

I think it would have been interesting to see what would have happened had his information been made public before the election. Isn't this the MP that won by a tiny margin? Did Reform suppress this information deliberately, or they just don't vet their candidates? And would voters have been put off by a conviction for violence against women? I would have but I'm not sure about voters as a whole.

I do not like Reform. I think the chances of misogynists in their ranks is extremely high. VAWG is a terrible thing and too much of it around. However, I do think we need a bit of level headedness. Youth is a daft age, all sorts of things happen. He doesn't strike me as a generally violent man and there have been no similar occurrences. Are we saying that anyone, at any time who does anything to land them in jail should carry that stain with them for the whole of their lives.

Should an Hamas supporter be an MP, after all it's a banned organisation in the UK and is diabolical on the rights of women.

I have strong feelings on VAWG but he served his time and I think justice has been served. Should his crime continue for life?

You are minimising the attack a lot, he went to jail for it.

No i don't think so. Shocking, isn't it? I think the assumption is that people with such criminal pasts would self-exclude from public service. Obviously this MP doesn't think like that.

It makes me think of the Blackadder election episode when Baldrick wants to become an MP and Blackadder advises him to make up several convictions as it's essential for the job. Hilarious episode and it seems quire apt sometimes

Gerry Adams, Martin McGuniess ? You could not have thought very hard.

It was something he deeply regrets. It was outside of a nightclub, both of them drunk. She was pushing him and he pushed her back. There were no marks on her body though. He admitted it there and then, that he pushed her, and accepted the consequences. He’s gone on to live a good life, happily married and is a great dad.

This is not true I don’t like the woman and think her vile but she was not convicted of threatening to throw acid this was proven to be untrue.

No, Bobby Sands was elected when he was in prison.

I presume this was a reaction to Republican hunger strikers being elected while serving long sentences for terrorist offences.

i don’t believe previous convictions should disbar someone from election. If people want to elect someone who has convictions surely this how democracy works.

The 'HATE' on this site is appalling.

He committed the crime 20 years ago, served a short jail sentence and is therefore no longer bared from getting on with his life
I do not condone what he did of course - but a teenager can do the most stupid things in a fit of anger.

Judge the person NOW regardless of whether you 'hate his politics', everyone deserves a second chance.

Was the same with UKIP. Farage treated as a folk hero and the face of the party but their candidates were bottom of the barrel.