‘I Stand By My Statement Absolutely’: Scottish Candidate Sacked by Conservatives for Opposing Gay Agenda

It is a sad portent for the future of Britain when, even within the Conservative Party, Christians of principle and character cannot seek public office. At the national level, Britons are offered little choice and less hope.

From LifeSiteNews
By Hilary White

Being sacked by the UK’s Conservative party as their candidate for the Ayshire and Arran riding in Scotland has not led Philip Lardner to back away from his stand supporting traditional Christian moral values, nor has it stopped him from running in the riding as an independent, even though he says it may cost him his job.

Lardner told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) today that since being dropped by the party yesterday for defending traditional Christian views on homosexuality he has been threatened by homosexualist activists and placed on “cautionary suspension” by his employers.

But even in the face of possible loss of his livelihood, Lardner remains adamant. “Absolutely I stand by my statement absolutely,” he told LSN.

Lardner, a primary school teacher who has also expressed his skepticism about the “climate change” political craze, fell foul of the party just days before the May 6th general election after writing on his campaign website of his support for the rights of parents and teachers not to be forced to teach children that homosexuality is normal and acceptable.

“The vast majority of my local membership of the Tory party have been resolute on support for my opinion,” he said. “And you might be interested to know, this includes a member whose own daughter is a lesbian.”

Conservative party leader David Cameron has said about the decision to axe Lardner, “I couldn’t have acted quicker – decisive action in minutes of finding out about this.” A Tory spokesman said Lardner’s views were “deeply offensive and unacceptable.”

But Lardner told LSN, “I’m definitely still running. My name is on the ballot.”

All this, he said “shows what happens when you stand up for free speech,” against the “politically correct bullies” in and out of the Conservative party.

His sacking, he told LSN, is an indication of deep problems in the UK’s Conservative party. Lardner noted Cameron’s habit of presenting himself as a Christian “when it suits him,” but said, “If I’m unsuitable as a candidate for holding [traditional Christian] views, then what of the majority of the membership who are Christians?”

“I think David Cameron must make clear whether or not he wants Christians to vote for the Conservative party. By suspending me, he has effectively said there is no place for Christians in the party. Does he or does he not want the vote of Christians who share my views?”

Lardner’s comments have been removed from the Tory party campaign website, but they have been retrieved by the homosexualist news website PinkNews.

Lardner had written: “I will always support the rights of homosexuals to be treated within concepts of (common-sense) equality and respect, and defend their rights to choose to live the way they want in private, but I will not accept that their behaviour is 'normal' or encourage children to indulge in it.”

He went on to question the government’s attempts to force churches to accept homosexuals as ministers, an example of the same “equalities” ideology that has also created legal conflicts for Christian teachers, nurses, policemen and schools. “Why should Christian churches be forced by the Government to employ homosexuals as ‘ministers’ against all that the Bible teaches? They are being forced by the Government to betray their mission,” Lardner wrote.

“Christians (and most of the population) believe homosexuality to be somewhere between ‘unfortunate’ and simply ‘wrong’ and they should not be penalised for politely saying so — good manners count too, of course. The current ‘law’ is wrong and must be overturned in the interests of freedom as well as Christian values.”

Lardner indicated little surprise at the response to these comments, saying, “I thought there would be a reaction, but I did it to inform of my local constituents of my opinion.” The point of making the comments was “openness and transparency,” he said.

Nevertheless, running as an independent is going to be difficult, Lardner said, although he added that he is confident that he has the support of constituents.

“Ideally if I had the funding I’d put out a letter explaining what has happened.” At the moment he says is hoping that those who “believe in the same values I’ve expressed” will come forward with offers of financial help. “I’m confident that the people of Arran will back me,” he added.

Lardner, a member of the Tories since the mid-1980s, said that with its “modernizing” program and recently acquired dedication to the homosexualist agenda, the Tory party has cut itself off from the majority of its own membership and from the general voting public.

“It’s my party,” Lardner said, “and my local members’ party as much as it’s David Cameron’s party. The Conservative party is one of the most important social institutions of the United Kingdom. It has contributed hugely to the success and development of the United Kingdom. One or two people shouldn’t be allowed to highjack that from the party’s roots.”

The problem the Conservative party is facing, he said, is that it “does not respect the public and the public’s views.”

With even the homosexualist movement admitting that the homosexual population constitutes only between 3 and 10 per cent of the voting public, Lardner is not the only one questioning the emphasis the Conservative Party has placed on the movement’s ideologies.

James Delingpole, a columnist for the Daily Telegraph, wrote recently, “But gays aren’t normal. Some of my best friends are gay and I don’t think any of them would describe their sexual preferences as ‘normal’.”

Delingpole wrote that the sacking of Lardner by the Tories is a bad sign for the party.

“Conservatism is a broad and tolerant church – and that ought to include toleration of the mild intolerance of free citizens like Lardner…. [W]hen the Conservative party starts playing the game of ‘offence-taking’, ‘victimhood,’ ‘minority grievance’ and so on, it is doing so on terms entirely dictated by the false values of the liberal-Left.”

Tim Montgomerie of the blog Conservative Home said, “I see no evidence for hatefulness in Mr. Lardner’s remarks, even though I disagree with his choice of words.

“Although he’s probably wrong to say ‘most of the population’ share his views, they are shared by many conservative Christians and people of other faiths. His suspension by the Scottish Conservative Party seems a disproportionate response.”

To contact the Conservative Party
Scottish Conservative Central Office
83 Princes Street
Edinburgh EH2 2ER
info@scottishconservatives.com
Phone: 0131 247 6890
Fax: 0131 247 6891

To contact Philip Lardner:
philiplardner@aol.com

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Only Hope for a More Conservative Britain is a Tory Loss: Conservative Insider
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http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/feb/10021908.html