A Westminster Conservative member is being investigated by the party after an Instagram post she apparently shared featured an ableist slur.
Details of the Post
Natalia Awasty, Deputy Chair of the Tories’ West End group and a candidate for Church Street at the May council elections, is alleged to have shared the post to her story more than two months ago. The post, dated May 8, came from a separate account and read: “I miss when the Green Party were tree huggers instead of re***ds.”
The post only came to the attention of the Tories after being recently published by Nilton Rodrigues, a Green Party member and recent candidate in Westbourne. Mr Rodrigues shared a screenshot on X, stating: “Using an ableist slur to attack political opponents has no place in public life. Disabled people deserve better, and so does our politics.”
Party Response
A spokesperson for the Cities of London and Westminster Conservative Association said the post does not reflect the views of the group or the wider party, and they were only made aware of it after Mr Rodrigues shared the screenshot publicly. They added that Ms Awasty is a current member, so her post is being reviewed in accordance with their internal complaints process, and that she does not wish to comment.
This is not the first time Ms Awasty has faced controversy over online posts. In the run-up to the May elections, the Daily Mail reported that she had allegedly uploaded two videos in Arabic to her Instagram profile, despite a call from party leader Kemi Badenoch to ban the use of foreign languages to target voters. Those posts were subsequently removed.
Election Results
When the Church Street results were announced, Ms Awasty secured 273 votes, behind both the Green Party and Labour’s three successful candidates: Aicha Less, Fiona Parker and Abdul Aziz Toki. However, the Tories regained control of the council, after Westminster had gone to Labour for the first time in 2022.
Mr Rodrigues raised the matter last week. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Sadly I’m not shocked when Tories show their regressive attitudes. Whenever we see harmful attitudes and highly offensive language, it must be called out. I send my solidarity to our disabled community and wish all a happy and powerful disability Pride month.”
A spokesperson for Westminster Conservatives said: “This matter is being considered under the Conservative Party’s confidential internal complaints process, which is now underway. In line with the confidentiality of that process, it would not be appropriate to comment further on the process itself, those involved, or any potential outcome. We will not be commenting further on this matter while the process is underway. We understand Natalia does not intend to provide comment at this time.”
