A woman who previously labelled people 'benefits scum' on Facebook will stand for election

The Darlington Green Party has defended its decision to allow Sue Morley to stand in the upcoming local election despite previously being blocked by another party due to the historic social media post.

Ms Morley is due to stand as a candidate in the Eastbourne ward in next month’s Darlington Borough Council elections.

The Green candidate was previously in line to represent the Labour Party in 2019’s election but was blocked from standing after she referred to “benefits scum” in social media posts.

In a Facebook post in 2014, Morley could be seen referring to a disabled person as “benefits scum” and referring to the area she hoped to represent as a “s***house” estate in a post about dog fouling in the area.

The Northern Echo: How The Northern Echo reported the incident in 2018How The Northern Echo reported the incident in 2018 (Image: The Northern Echo)

The local Labour Party investigated after being made aware of the comments in 2018 and told Morley she could not appear on the ballot paper. In response, she said she didn’t blame Labour for its decision – but believed the posts weren’t a fair reflection of what she said on social media.

"I have always been proud of where I am from and will always fight to do my best for the area whether I am a councillor or not,” Morley added at the time.

And when contacted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Darlington Green Party defended one of its three candidates for the Eastbourne ward.

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A spokesman said: “This is evidence of a growing concern by rivals in every Darlington ward that the Green Party is poised to make significant gains on election day.

“To be clear, Sue Morley, having switched from Labour, is totally committed to the ethics and standards of Darlington Green Party. These include civility, honesty and engaging in political debate without muck-raking, distortion and innuendo.

“It’s unnecessary for us to comment on two, nine-year-old, two-word phrases, presented to the readers four years ago and to us now with zero context despite our request for the full quotes. No evidence has been presented of any wrongdoing by our candidate. 

"Nor can we comment on the reasons for another party deciding to change candidates.

“The Green Party is a nurturing organisation and does not contribute to unproven, damaging, distressing and probably defamatory slurs on its supporters or anyone else.”