Sally-Ann Hart

Sally-Ann Hart (born 6 March 1968) is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hastings and Rye since 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, she succeeded former cabinet minister Amber Rudd, who did not seek reelection.[2]

Sally-Ann Hart

MP
Member of Parliament
for Hastings and Rye
Assumed office
12 December 2019
Preceded byAmber Rudd
Majority4,043 (7.5%)
Personal details
Born (1968-03-06) 6 March 1968[1]
Tynemouth, England
NationalityBritish
Political partyConservative
Websitewww.sallyannhart.org.uk

Hart is being investigated over antisemitism and Islamophobia by the Conservative Party, over content which she shared and comments that she made on social media.[3][4][5]

Political career

Hart stood as the Conservative Party candidate for North West Durham in the 2017 general election. Receiving 16,516 votes (34.5%), Hart failed to be elected by 8,792 votes, finishing in second place behind Labour candidate Laura Pidcock.[6]

During the 2019 general election, Hart was selected as the Conservative candidate for Hastings and Rye. In the campaign, Hart suggested that people with learning disabilities should not be guaranteed a minimum wage. Saying that "it's about the happiness to work",[7] Hart was condemned by some at the Hastings Independent Press Hustings for saying that "they don't understand money".[7]

In December 2019, an inquiry was initiated by the Conservative Party into Hart after it was discovered that in 2017, she shared a video which contained the conspiracy theory that Jewish billionaire George Soros owns the European Union. She liked a comment on the video which said "Ein Reich" ("One Empire"), a Nazi slogan.[8][3] A second investigation was opened days later over her sharing a blog post in January 2017 by the anti-Islam activist Cheri Berens. Hart described the blog, in which Berens condemned the 2017 Women's March against U.S. president Donald Trump as being used to promote a "Muslim agenda", as an "affecting read". Berens claimed that the U.S. media is controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, and that they wish American women to have abortions so as to limit the non-Muslim population.[3]

Hart was not suspended pending either of these investigations and was elected on 12 December as MP for Hastings and Rye with 26,896 votes (49.6%) and a majority of 4,043 votes.[9] Conservative cabinet minister Michael Gove said of the investigation: "It is a cause of concern but what I cannot do is pass judgment here until that independent investigation has concluded." It is not clear whether Hart will take the Conservative whip.[10][11] Following the election she was named by The Guardian as one of the seven "most controversial" new Conservative MPs.[12]

Electoral performance
UK general elections
Date of election Constituency Party Votes % of votes Result
2017 general election North West Durham Conservative 16,516 34.5 Not elected
2019 general election Hastings and Rye Conservative 26,896 49.6 Elected

References
  1. "Members' Names Data Platform query". UK Parliament. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  2. "Conservatives win Hastings and Rye General Election as Sally-Ann Hart increases majority". Hastings and St. Leonards Observer. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  3. Proctor, Kate; Syal, Rajeev (2019-12-11). "Tories open second investigation into Hastings candidate". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
  4. "General election 2019: Lib Dems lose Eastbourne to Conservatives". BBC News. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  5. Sharman, Jon (11 December 2019). "Tory candidate faces Islamophobia investigation days after saying disabled people should be paid less". The Independent. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  6. "Durham North West parliamentary constituency". British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  7. Busby, Mattha (6 December 2019). "Tory candidate defends low pay for people with learning disabilities". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  8. Proctor, Kate (7 December 2019). "Tories investigate three candidates over alleged antisemitism". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  9. "Hastings & Rye parliamentary constituency". British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  10. Smyth, Chris (16 December 2019). "Two new Tories facing prejudice inquiries". The Times. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  11. Phillips, Aleks (15 December 2019). "Michael Gove says allegations of antisemitism against new Tory MP 'a cause of concern'". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  12. Syal, Rajeev; Mason, Rowena (16 December 2019). "Who are the Conservatives' most controversial new MPs?". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Amber Rudd		 Member of Parliament for Hastings and Rye
2019–present		 Incumbent


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.