Select Page

LibDem MP candidate who opposed sex-selective abortion deselected for wrong ‘values’

The Liberal Democrats have deselected former Stoke-on-Trent South MP, Rob Fello, over his wrong ‘values’ just 36 hours after his candidacy was announced.

The former Labour MP represented the people of Stoke South for 12 years. 

During his time in Parliament, Mr Flello voted to give woman considering abortion a legal right to independent counselling from a source that has no financial interest in her decision and supported an amendment to ban sex-selective abortion. He also voted against introducing assisted suicide and a bill that would have introduced abortion for any reason up to birth in the UK. 

Polling from BBC pollster ComRes shows that the vast majority of women agree with Mr Flello on his positions on abortion and that these are not fringe positions to take.

The polling, which was one of the most extensive UK polls done on abortion, shows that 91% of women agree that gender-selective abortion should be explicitly banned by the law and 93% of women agree that a woman considering abortion should have a legal right to independent counselling from a source that has no financial interest in her decision. Only 1% support of women support introducing abortion up to birth. The polling also showed similarly strong support for these positions from Liberal Democrat voters.

330 MPs joined Rob Flello in opposing a Bill to introduce assisted suicide, many of whom were Liberal Democrat MPs. Only 118 MPs supported that Bill which was voted down at second reading.

Mr Flello is also well known for his extensive work on animal welfare.

Mr Flello, the owner of rescued german shepherd dog Diesel, introduced a parliamentary debate which backed the creation of a Code of Practice for dog breeding to strengthen the Animal Welfare Act and has called for action to stop an annual dog meat festival in south-west China. He also chaired the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Dog Welfare

During his time in Parliament, Mr Flello was also a shadow minister for Justice and chaired both the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Adult and Childhood Obesity. He has also held positions on the Science and Technology Select Committee and the Transport Select Committee, among others. 

Before becoming an MP, Mr Flello was the chief executive officer for a charity that supports parents, carers, young people and professionals in schools through a range of counselling. 

The Liberal Democrats intolerance of pro-life views is not likely to go down well in London target seats where they are expecting to get their most gains. Recent polling shows that over 41% of Londoners believe abortion should be illegal in almost all circumstances. This is more than 10% higher than the nation as a whole of which 31% agreed with the statement. 

A Liberal Democrat spokesman said:

“We do our best to screen candidates in our approval process. In this case it only became clear over the past few days how greatly his values diverge from ours.”

Rob Flello said the following in a statement:

“I feel utterly misled by the Lib Dem Party who claim in their constitution to acknowledge and respect the right to freedom of conscience.

Not only do I feel betrayed by the false promises of the Lib Dems but I am profoundly concerned that people of faith who adhere to their religious beliefs are not welcome in their Party.”

Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said:

“We are now calling on the Liberal Democrats to declare whether there is a place for candidates who oppose sex-selective abortion and abortion up to birth in their party? How many LibDem MPs who voted with Rob Flello to oppose abortion up to birth and ban sex-selective abortion will be deselected for their wrong ‘values? These are not fringe viewpoints. These are views that polling shows the vast majority of the public and the vast majority of Liberal Democrat voters hold.” 

In 1992, Lord David Alton announced that he would not stand again as a Liberal Democrat candidate following the party’s decision to make abortion a policy issue rather than a matter of conscience. Lord Alton, who has spent over 40 years tirelessly championing the pro-life cause in parliament, was the youngest Member of Parliament, aged 28, when he was elected for the Liberal Party in 1979.

Critical appealto protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

The Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill can still be defeated at Third Reading, but only with your help.

Dear reader,

As you already likely know, the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill sadly passed Second Reading at the end of last month.

While it is very disappointing that the Bill passed Second Reading, an analysis published in The Independent shows that at least 36 MPs who supported the Bill did so only to allow further debate or because they had concerns that meant they won’t commit to supporting the Bill at Third Reading. Since then, our Public Affairs team has identified a number of other MPs who share these reservations.

With the vote passing by a margin of 55, just 28 MPs switching their stance to oppose the Bill would ensure it is defeated at Third Reading, so there is a clear path towards this Bill being defeated. We can still win this.

The assisted suicide lobby are fully aware that support for the Bill is very fragile. They will fight fiercely to prevent 28 MPs from switching their votes to oppose the Bill.

For the sake of the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable lives that will be put at risk, we must win the vote and defeat this dangerous Bill.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Our campaign in the run-up to Second Reading was the biggest and most expensive we have ever run and so it has made a significant dent in our limited financial resources.

We are now working on an even bigger campaign to defeat this dangerous Bill at Third Reading.

To ensure we effectively defeat this extreme assisted suicide Bill, we are aiming to raise at least £100,000 by midnight this Sunday (15 December 2024).

Every donation, no matter the size, will mean YOU can make a crucial difference in saving vulnerable lives from this extreme law change.

Will you make a donation now to help protect vulnerable lives from this major threat?

Critical appealto protect vulnerable lives

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

The Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill can still be defeated at Third Reading, but only with your help.