James Daly, the MP for Bury North, was elected in 2019. He is a member of the New Conservative group in Westminster.
From Tim Baker, political reporter
Friday, December 29, 2023, 12:25 p.m., UK
A Conservative MP claimed most of the children struggling in his city are “products of shitty parents”.
James Daly, the Tory The Bury North MP made the claim while speaking to the i newspaper.
He was first elected as an MP for the region in 2019. Bury North has alternated between Labor and the Conservatives since 1997.
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James Frith, the Labor MP whom Mr Daly unseated, is aiming to win back the seat at next year's election. The current majority is only 105.
Mr. Daly is a member of the “New Conservatives“Group which includes Lee Anderson, Jonathan Gullis, Brendan Clarke-Smith, Danny Kruger and Miriam Cates.
Mr Clarke-Smith appeared to defend his colleague, posting on X: “Good parenting leads to better outcomes for children.”
“Who would have thought?”
Speaking to the i, former lawyer Daly said: “I think the New Conservatives very much represent working-class conservatism.”
“We are not a strange right-wing sect. They are simply people who want to give people the best chance to succeed and thrive in life.”
“When you think about family, it’s about stability.
“Most of the children who are struggling in Bury come from crappy parents and so what can we do to tackle this problem?”
“On the left it would just be like this: we throw money at it and hope something sticks. Someone like me thinks about it more fundamentally.”
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Mr Frith told Sky News: “I was amazed and I think the people of Bury North will be amazed too.”
“It was quite eye-opening to see what he really thinks about families and parents in Bury North when he speaks candidly to a reporter.
“At a difficult time for everyone, I think it is a really disappointing state of affairs that he should be given such a judgment by his so-called representative and he should apologise.”