Andrew Bridgen, a conservative member of parliament in the U.K. has been permanently expelled from the party after posting a tweet comparing the use of Covid-19 vaccines to the Holocaust.
Bridgen had remained vocal about his anti-vaccine stance on social media, some of which allegedly backed “conspiracy theories.” The tweet, which linked to a libertarian and conspiracy theory website, caused outrage and calls for Bridgen to be stripped of his conservative whip.
Two hours after the tweet was deleted, the Conservative chief whip announced that Bridgen would be losing his position. Anti-vaccine protesters at Westminster tube station held up a sign thanking Bridgen for his actions.
The CEO of the Holocaust Educational Trust called Bridgen’s tweet “highly irresponsible, wholly inappropriate and an elected politician should know better”.
In a statement, Bridgen said his expulsion “only confirms the culture of corruption, collusion, and cover-ups which plagues our political system”. He continued, “I have been a vocal critic of the vaccine rollout and the party has been sure to make an example of me. I am grateful for my newfound freedom and will continue to fight for justice for all those harmed, injured and bereaved due to governmental incompetence.”
Bridgen’s loss of the whip means there are now 15 “independent” MPs in the Commons who have lost their respective parties’ whip. If Bridgen does not regain the whip, he would be very likely to lose his seat. Bridgen is already serving a five-day suspension from the Commons over a separate issue, in which he breached rules on paid lobbying and declaring interests.
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