Candidate uses expletive in attack on his own party

A Conservative candidate's campaign video features him using an expletive to attack his own party.

James Cracknell, a former Olympic rower standing for the Tories in Colchester, used a four-letter word in a video posted on his Facebook page.

He strongly criticised his own party, but he also insisted he still believed "the Conservative way is the best for the country".

Other election candidates in Colchester have hit out at Mr Cracknell's video, including the Liberal Democrat Martin Goss, who said it was "not appropriate".

In his video, Mr Cracknell said: "Two weeks out from the Olympics and if we are competing against the Conservative Party, my teammates and I would be saying they are a shower of shit."

And in an apparent reference to the gambling scandal engulfing the Tory campaign, he added: "And if one of my teammates got caught for cheating, they’d be dead to me.

"That abuse of trust is unforgivable."

Explaining why he was still campaigning despite his negative view of his own party, Mr Cracknell said: "I believe the Conservative way is the best for the country."

Mr Goss said he had seen the video and "wouldn't have done that myself".

He said: "I don't think it's very befitting of someone who would represent the city in Parliament," he said.

"The Tory vote is collapsing in Colchester and I'm picking up a lot of that vote.

"I wish him all the best for the future but he will not be Colchester's next MP. He knows it and we all know it."

In response to the video, Labour candidate Dr Pamela Cox said that if Mr Cracknell was elected "he would be supporting all the same people who have making a mess of the country for the past 14 years".

"Over the past few years, he has made several attempts to stand as Conservative candidate in different parts of the country," she said.

"If people want change here in Colchester, the only party that can beat James Cracknell’s Conservatives is Labour."

Reform UK's candidate Terence Longstaff said: "The Tories thought that Colchester was a safe seat so they arrogantly parachuted James in.

"He's realised that it won't be an easy win and now the stress is showing because he's swearing in his posts.

"The truth is that the city knows that Britain is broken because of the Tories."

The other candidates standing in Colchester - Sara Ruth from the Green Party, and James Rolfe, of the Climate Party - have also been approached for comment.

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