ANOTHER day, and yet another Tory council candidate has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Highland Council hopeful Fergus MacKenzie has come under fire after pictures emerged of him dressed up Donald Trump, wearing a blond wig and red cap, with his hand near the crotch of a friend in a cheerleader’s outfit.
The 19-year-old Edinburgh University student, pictured below, then posted the snap on social media with the caption: “The Donald doing what Donald does best #lockerroomantics.”
MacKenzie’s jokey reference to the 2005 “grab them by the pussy” recording, in which Trump boasted about sexually assault women and getting away with it because he’s famous, sparked a furious reaction.
An SNP spokesman said: “Donald Trump’s disgusting boasts were universally condemned — but this Tory candidate thinks that sexual assault is just a hilarious joke.
“The Tories have to ditch him as a candidate — or what message will they be sending to women and to victims of sexual assault?”
A Tory spokesman said: “Fergus recognises that this post was in poor taste and regrets his actions. He has taken down the photo in question and apologises for any offence it’s caused.”
Other scandals to emerge over the weekend include the revelation that Midlothian Tory candidate Kieran Munro shared a Katie Hopkins post calling for a million foreigners living in England and Wales to “go home”.
Meanwhile, Tory MSP Murdo Fraser has come under fire after telling people he’d rather they supported Ukip than the SNP.
In a letter sent to voters, and seen by the Sunday Herald, Fraser urges the electorate in Fife to “back anyone but the SNP” and support other Unionist parties in order to fend off a second independence referendum.
The senior Tory says the local authority elections on May 4, where voters rank their candidates, should be used to “send a message to Nicola Sturgeon”.
Fraser writes: “Whilst local issues are always important, overshadowing this election is Nicola Sturgeon’s irresponsible threat of a second independence referendum. This is your chance to send her a message.
“Every advance for the SNP at these local elections will be taken as an endorsement of a second referendum. Remember this is a preference voting system with no wasted or tactical votes. To stop the SNP use your first vote 1 to back the Scottish Conservatives and subsequent votes (2,3 etc) to back anyone but the SNP.” He adds: “Don’t give Nicola Sturgeon’s plans a boost by voting the SNP back into power in Fife.”
A SNP spokesman said: “The council elections are about local communities and local services. Every SNP vote will be a vote to protect the vital services we all depend on."
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