Crispin Blunt was forced to apologize and resign as chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for LGBT + global rights after condemning the sentencing of Imran Ahmad Khan as an “international scandal”. Elected a Reigate MP for the first time 25 years ago in 1997, Mr Blunt has been one of the strongest advocates for gay and trans parliamentary’s rights since its release in 2010. In a statement announcing his decision to resign, he said he would use the time left in parliament to “continue to cite long-held populist views on political vessels that continue to cause harm to our society and beyond.” her “. After serving as an army officer and then adviser to then-Secretary of State Malcolm Rifkind – whom he later backed in a battle for Tory leadership – Mr Blunt was selected to fight at Surrey’s home after Sir George’s predecessor. Gardiner joined the anti-EU referendum party. He served at the forefront of the Conservatives in the opposition under Iain Duncan Smith, but resigned in 2003, arguing that the leader was a “disadvantage” for the party’s fate. After serving as the scourge of opposition under Michael Howard, he joined the Democratic coalition government as prison minister in 2010. His separation from his wife and his decision to run as a gay man in 2010 are believed to have led to a vote by a local party official not to support his candidacy in the next election, but the decision was overturned by a postal vote of members. of the constituency. In 2016, he raised his eyebrows in parliament, declaring during a debate in the Commons on proposals to ban poppers that he was a user of the substance. In a post on his website, the 61-year-old Mr. Blunt – actress Emily Blunt’s uncle – said he wanted to “use this 25th anniversary to make public what my closest people have known privately for some time, that after seven years and more turbulent parliaments, this will be my last. “ Mr Blunt’s departure will spark a race between Tory lawmakers to run for the Reigate’s ultra-secure Conservative seat since 1910 – in addition to Gardiner’s brief tenure as Referendum MP – and recorded a majority of 18,310 in the 2019 elections.
