Tory Tamworth by-election candidate defends Facebook post

Andrew Cooper defended his Facebook post from 2020

A Conservative candidate in a forthcoming by-election has defended his social media post that featured an expletive to refer to parents who struggled to feed their children.

The Facebook post from 2020, as first reported by the Daily Mirror, came from Andrew Cooper, who is standing in Thursday's by-election in Tamworth.

He told the BBC he felt there were too many unemployed people on benefits.

The Labour Party said the post showed a lack of understanding of issues.

• The full list of the candidates standing in Tamworth

In the post, Mr Cooper shared an image of a flowchart titled "can you feed your kids?"

The chart used an expletive directed at parents detailed as being out-of-work and asking for help but while having a phone or TV contract.

When asked about the content, Mr Cooper told the BBC there needed to be better incentives to get people into work.

"Both the prime minister and chancellor have spoken about the need to get people off welfare and into jobs," he explained.

Labour's political lead for the by-election, Stephanie Peacock, said: "It shows a complete lack of understanding of the challenges facing families in Tamworth."

The by-election on Thursday comes after the resignation of MP Chris Pincher.

The former Conservative deputy whip resigned after losing an appeal against a proposed Commons suspension for drunkenly groping two men.