A Conservative local election candidate in Nottinghamshire has posted on social media about “stoning migrants” and complained of an “invasion of Islam”.
Stuart Peach is running in this year’s election for Ashfield district council, based in the constituency of the party’s deputy chairman, Lee Anderson.
In a series of Facebook posts dating back to 2019, Peach made a number of comments about small boat crossings and frequently called on the government to “stop the invaders”.
In one post he asked: “What would happen if 200,000 Englishmen marched down to Dover and started stoning the migrants?”, in reference to British people “taking the law into their own hands”.
In another, he said: “We have never been asked if we want this invasion of Islam.”
More recently, in 2022, he described the home secretary, Suella Braverman, as a “fine lady”, saying she was “defending our shores”, and again called on politicians to “stop the invasion”.
The Conservative party declined to say whether Peach was being investigated or would face any disciplinary action.
A party spokesperson said: “The Conservative party has an established code of conduct and formal processes where complaints can be made in confidence. This process is rightly confidential.”
Peach is listed on the ballot paper for the ward of Leamington in Ashfield, where Anderson has been an MP since 2019.
Anderson has sparked controversy with a number of his views, including that those crossing the Channel in small boats should be deported the same day, and he has had to deny any links to far-right groups.
All seats are up for election at the district council, which has been under the control of Ashfield Independents since 2019. They took a large number of seats from Labour which has previously been the largest party on the council.
Complaints about Peach’s social media posts come as a Conservative councillor in Wales was suspended last week after a recording surfaced that appeared to show him stating that “all white men should have a black man or a black woman as a slave”.
Andrew Edwards, who sat on Pembrokeshire county council, released a statement on Wednesday saying he had referred himself to the public services ombudsman.
