Express & Star

Right royal row over Tory election leaflet

Candidates battling it out for a seat in Parliament are rowing over a leaflet that shows a sitting MP with the the Queen and the police.

Published

Gavin Williamson used the photographs on his leaflet to send out to homes in South Staffordshire, where he is defending a majority.

But his Labour opponent Kevin McElduff has accused him of breaking 'unwritten' rules about not using the Queen in election literature.

Mr McElduff's own leaflet has also been a source of amusement after he misspelled his constituency on the front, South Staffordshrie rather than shire.

Mr Williamson said he was proud of having helped to secure a grant for Jaguar Land Rover that brought it to the i54 business park on the edge of Wolverhampton where it is creating 1,400 jobs at a £500 million engine plant, opened by Her Majesty last year.

Mr McElduff said: "I am shocked that the Conservative candidate has used these photos in his election material.

"The Queen plays an important part in our Parliamentary democracy and there is a very clear, unwritten rule that images of the Royal Family should not be used in election literature. Mr Williamson appears to have blatantly disregarded this and he should be challenged to explain himself.

"I would be surprised if the Conservative Party had approved of this and I would astounded if the Palace has agreed to them being used.

"Furthermore, it is highly inappropriate to include a photo of serving police officers in election material, unless permission had been obtained in advance.

Mr Williamson said: "One of my proudest achievements has been persuading the Government to give £10 million to Jaguar Land Rover the bring half a billion pounds of investment to South Staffordshire.

"I've spent five years as an MP and have been out in a patrol car with the police. It gives a flavour to constituents of what I have been doing and what I will continue to do if they agree to let me represent them again."

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