Labour candidate quits for ‘personal reasons’ after comparing Israel to child abuser

A Scottish Labour candidate has stepped down after a controversial blog emerged in which she compared Israel to a child abuser.

Kate Ramsden (pictured), who was standing in the Gordon constituency currently held by Conservative Colin Clark, had said Israel is like an “abused child” who then goes on to commit abuse.

Labour said the candidate had resigned for “personal reasons”.

Ms Ramsden’s resignation came at the same time as Labour lost another candidate – Frances Hoole in Edinburgh South West – following a controversial tweet.

Ms Hoole, who was running against SNP incumbent Joanna Cherry, posted a meme with the slogan “bang and the Terf is gone”.

Terf, meaning trans-exclusionary radical feminist, is considered an insulting term for those who are campaigning for sex-based rights.

Ms Cherry had shared tweet, saying she had received a death threat and a “storm of misogynistic abuse for defending #womensrights”.

Ms Hoole told the Edinburgh Evening News: “I am genuinely really sorry I posted it. I’m sorry about the violent content.

“Obviously it’s a controversial subject – not the violence, I’m completely explicit about that being wrong – but the subject attached to it has got confused in the issue.

“I apologised about the actual content of the meme. It was silly, I posted it without looking very hard at it.”

Both candidates were re-interviewed by the Labour Party, according to media reports.

It comes as former Labour MPs John Woodcock and Ian Austin on Thursday urged the public not to vote for the party.

Copyright (c) PA Media Ltd. 2019, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Kate Ramsden / Twitter.