A NORTH West Tory MP remained defiant today over an offensive joke about the Chinese cockle pickers who drowned in Morecambe Bay.
Congleton MP Ann Winterton stunned an audience at a dinner when she told the joke about sharks eating the victims.
Tory Leader Michael Howard has withdrawn the whip from her which means she won't be able to take part in any party activities in the Commons.
The sacking also puts a question mark over her future in Congleton where she has been MP for more than 20 years.
But Lady Winterton, wife of Macclesfield MP Sir Nicholas Winterton, remained defiant today as the row over her comments continued - and vowed to continue serving the people of Congleton.
She said: "The decision by my party's leadership will not impact on my ability or determination to represent my constituents. I do not intend to comment about recent events other than to say it has never been my practice to discuss publicly conversations which took place at a private dinner party in a private flat."
A spokesman for the Conservative party said that since she had had the whip withdrawn from her she could no longer have any of the normal backing given to Conservative MPs.
Although she has not technically been thrown out of the Conservative party, she is no longer effectively a Tory MP. It is understood that in any case her membership may have lapsed anyway.
But it is understood that officials will make attempts to resolve the issue - if Lady Winterton apologises for the remarks.
Sentiments
It is the second time she has been rebuked for making an arguably "racist" joke. Mr Howard, who attacked the British National Party last week for racist policies apologised and said he deplored her action.
"Such sentiments have no place in the Conservative Party," said Mr Howard, who visited Morecambe last week.
Former Cabinet minister Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the new Tory candidate for Kensington and Chelsea, called on Lady Winterton, 62, to apologise for the "offensive" remark.
He said: "It doesn't help when someone makes a very stupid remark like that and then refuses to apologise.
"If you apologise people will understand that all of us make silly remarks from time to time and that can't be helped in some ways.
But you should acknowledge it and apologise properly and unambiguously."
The row broke as the Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw arrives in Morecambe to discuss safety issues after the incident last month when 20 Chinese cocklers were drowned by a racing tide.
The right-winger, made her latest gaffe at a dinner in Whitehall intended to improve Anglo-Danish relations. Two years ago she was sacked as shadow rural affairs minister after she joked, at a rugby club dinner, about Pakistanis being thrown out of a train window.
Labour MP Peter Bradley said that to make two racist jokes was "rank bigotry".
He added: "Mr Howard didn't have to go to Burnley to fight the racists. He should have stayed in Westminster and dealt with his own MPs."
Should Ann Winterton have been sacked for telling the cocklers joke?
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Sarah, Hulme (26/02/2004 at 12:12)
dave, stockport (26/02/2004 at 12:22)
Scott Durairaj, Whalley Range (26/02/2004 at 12:46)
I find it remarkable that with the increase in racial tension, problems with Greater Manchester Police and their image they portray to the Black Multi Ethnic Community, and the increase in hate crimes of all types that politicians can now be joining the fold of this form of acceptable prejudice.
As a society who fought against this a regime of prejudice in two world wars, and lost many lives in that fight, yet we can wear a poppy on one lapel and a BNP badge on the other.
A zero tolerance of this sort of behavior carried out by politicians is needed as these comments are cancerous to our society.
To keep Britain Great is not to keep it White or to close our borders, but to keep Britain Great is to understand and respond to the needs of those people who find themselves on the outside of the majority. We need to look at how we live our lives and where our everyday products come from and ask the question, would our lives really be better without being multicultural?
John Hacking, Chorlton (26/02/2004 at 16:07)
Try as the Tories might there is always some idiot who will show them in their true light, and this time that idiot is anne Winterton. She should have the decency to resign and apologise to the families and relatives of the people who died in Morecambe. But you, know what? She won't , because the arrogance of Tories like her is quite breathtaking.
mr white, salford (26/02/2004 at 17:14)
stephen, glossop (26/02/2004 at 22:46)
Samantha, Manchester (27/02/2004 at 02:02)
"She screams, stares across the water,
The loneliness grows and slowly fills her freezing body,
Sliding downwards, one by one her senses die,
The water drowns her, at it's ease."
How can anyone joke about such a horrific death. Please take a second to imagine, the agonising terror and pain of drowning. Ann Winterton in her luxurious, opulent surroundings. A poor wafer-thin chinese girl, already frozen to the bone. Quite possibly, trying to earn a little money to send home. What absolute sadness, she was probably screaming her heart out for her mum and dad, both unaware of her dying moments.
Two earnest requests, M.E.N., please have the courage and decency to print this in full. Ann Winterton, just reply. samantha@manchesterpaul.net
Steve, Manchester (27/02/2004 at 13:21)
AHMED, CENTRAL MANCHESTER (27/02/2004 at 14:22)
Sarah, Hulme (27/02/2004 at 15:41)
LAU CHING, GLOSSOP (27/02/2004 at 16:52)
derek, manchester (27/02/2004 at 18:27)
had the same reaction had it been about British Cockle picker's.
the politically correct and racist wichfinder general's have wrecked this country if they
could not tag comments as racist poor old Trevor Philips and his cronie's would be out
of their higly paid jobs
jim holloway, longsight (28/02/2004 at 01:34)
Well done for a touching moving comment which brings us to the heart of the matter: those people, like all the other easy racist targets, asylum-seekers, Gypsies, whatever, are human-beings with families like anyone else.
JIM
Michael Gian, South Texas, USA (28/02/2004 at 01:46)
This is a good joke. It is well constructed and to the point.
Humor over tragedy is the best face of humanity.
The pathetic are those who don't care enough about the circumstances and impact of the real event to expend all of their outrage on a sideline.
Derek Wilkinson, Waroona, Western Australia (28/02/2004 at 06:27)
Shame on all you muckrakers.
Jolyon, Blewbury (28/02/2004 at 09:52)
derek, manchester (28/02/2004 at 12:19)
had the same reaction had it been about British Cockle picker's.
the politically correct and racist wichfinder general's have wrecked this country if they
could not tag comments as racist poor old Trevor Philips and his cronie's would be out
of their higly paid jobs
S. Main, Turriff (28/02/2004 at 13:02)
Her lack of good judgement is evident in that she recounted the joke in a potentially hostile environment - and indeed so it turned out to be with the Labour clipe in attendance - but it's well known that people turn to a form of humour which seems pretty horrendous IF one doesn't understand the need to protect oneself from the pain of empathising with the victim/sby using crummy humour to distance oneself.
Remember all the jokes about what shampoo the astronauts had used - "they found their Head & Shoulders on the beach"?
The type of joke Ann Winterton told are undoubtedly offensive to some people, but if every politician was to be expelled by their party for mouthing offensive nonsense we'd be in the happy position of clearing out the lot of them.
Jenifer Penfold, Sandy (28/02/2004 at 18:29)
Pete, Huddersfield (28/02/2004 at 21:06)
Not only should she be thrown out of politics entirely, but she should also be made to live like one of those poor people for at least a month, and work all day for a pittance.
Shelagh, Johannesburg, South Africa (01/03/2004 at 11:40)
Carol Greene, Manchester (01/03/2004 at 14:58)