Lib Dems admit to breaching human rights over deselecting candidate because he is Christian
The Liberal Democrats have admitted violating the human rights of an award-winning former BBC journalist by de-selecting him as a parliamentary candidate because of his Christian views.
In a landmark case, Sir Ed Davey’s party has agreed to pay compensation to David Campanale after he admitted multiple charges of unlawful religious discrimination made against him by a rival he had clearly defeated in the race to run for Sutton and Cheam ahead of the 2024 election. It is also tracking expenses, which it now claims total more than £250,000.
Accepting the allegation in its entirety, the Liberal Democrats accepted all allegations that MP Luke Taylor, who came third in the election process but replaced Mr Campanale on the day of the election after sacking him and went on to win the seat, had repeatedly breached the law.
Mr Taylor, now the party’s London spokesman, is named several times in court documents.
But a party source said it was local party members, not Mr Taylor, who deselected Mr Campanale.
The issue was raised by the bishops of Winchester and Guildford as well as former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams during the general election.
Former MP and former deputy leader Sir Simon Hughes protested the treatment of the former journalist, sparking criticism within the party.
The drama took place in the South London target seat for the Liberal Democrats, which borders Sir Ed’s own Kingston constituency.
Mr Campanale’s lawyer is Alasdair Henderson, a commissioner of the Equality and Human Rights Commission who led the investigation into antisemitism in the Labor Party.
He said the Liberal Democrats’ failure to enforce the law over such a long period was “extremely disappointing”.
In the party’s defense document, the Liberal Democrats took the extraordinary step of abandoning their traditional Christian roots, declaring that this was a “statement of fact” that “the party of past leading Liberal Democrats of Christian faith, such as Shirley Williams and Charles Kennedy, is over”.
The party also initially claimed that it “had the right to deselect” candidates who “expressed their religious beliefs.”
Mr Henderson said: “The Liberal Democrats accepted that Mr Campanale had suffered a number of significant unlawful direct and indirect discrimination because of his Christian beliefs and that he had been victimized when he tried to engage the party’s internal processes to defend himself. “It is extremely disappointing to see any political party failing to enforce the law in this way.
“I hope the Liberal Democrats will learn from this case and clearly confirm that they will welcome members of all faiths, prohibit all forms of unlawful discrimination and protect freedom of conscience at all levels of the party.”
In his response to the party admitting all the allegations to the court, Mr Campanale said: “I know Sir Ed Davey well, as deputy leader of his own neighboring constituency party. Despite criticizing ‘growing intolerance within progressive, liberal parties around the world’, Ed oversaw shameful discrimination in his own party and on his own doorstep. His so-called party of MPs has been unmasked as arrogant lawbreakers.”
A Liberal Democrat spokesman said: “This is an ongoing legal case so it would be inappropriate to comment.
“The Liberal Democrats are home to people of all faiths and non-faith, including many Christians. Three Liberal Democrat MPs sitting in the neighboring seats of Sutton and Cheam are practicing Christians, including party leader Ed Davey.”
