BY Ryan McDougall | November 22 | 
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Concern over ‘hostiliy’ to Christians as pro-life candidate deselected
The Church in Scotland has called out 'hostility' shown towards religious political candidates as a Catholic Liberal Democrat candidate was deselected by the party for his pro-life views.
Rob Flello, right, a former Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent South who lost his seat in 2017, was standing for the same constituency in the forthcoming general election for the Liberal Democrats.
Last week the Liberal Democrats’ press office announced he had been removed. A party spokesperson said: “We do our best to screen candidates in our approval process. In this case it only really became clear over the past few hours how greatly his values diverge from ours.”
Views
It is understood that Mr Flello, a practising Catholic, was deselected for opposing same-sex marriage, euthanasia and abortion.
Mr Flello said he felt ‘utterly misled by the Lib Dems who claim in their constitution to acknowledge and respect the right to freedom of conscience.’
“Not only do I feel betrayed by the false promises of the Lib Dems, I am profoundly concerned that people of Faith who adhere to their religious beliefs are not welcome in the party.
“The Lib Dems have not followed [their] own procedures and I will continue to take advice on further action.”
Critique
His deselection has been challenged by the Catholic Church and the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), who described it as ‘an appalling act of discrimination against a pro-life Christian.’
A spokesperson for the Church in Scotland said: “Politicians and candidates face a significant degree of hostility from many quarters, including ordinary members and office bearers of their own parties, when they pledge to uphold the right to life of the unborn, the most fundamental and inviolable human right.
“Voters should support candidates and parties who will cherish freedom of conscience in the public square, and reward those in public life who remain true to their conscience, even at the expense of personal popularity or political advantage.”
‘Fearless’
A spokesperson for SPUC added: “Mr Flello, a Catholic, was a prominent opponent of abortion and same-sex marriage during his time as an MP, and his votes on the issues are a matter of public record.
“It seems that the Lib Dems were reacting to a number of tweets denouncing Mr Flello as a ‘homophobe’ and an opponent of women’s rights.
“In fact, Mr Flello was fearless in standing up for the rights of unborn babies and natural marriage.”
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