TEHRAN The British Conservative Party suffered fresh embarrassment on Wednesday after a millionaire businessman quit the party, saying it had become "more intolerant and frankly, just plain nasty." Ivan Massow, 32, a Tory advisor who at one point sought the party's nomination for mayor of London, wrote in The Independent that he was defecting to the governing Labour Party because the Tories "simply cannot be trusted to run Britain", AFP said from London.
Massow strongly criticized conservative leader William Hague, ridiculing his attempt to embrace the "compassionate conservatism" Credo pioneered by U.S. republican candidate for President George W. Bush.
"I could only laugh when Mr. Hague stood up at the Republican Party convention ... to talk about compassionate conservatism," Massow wrote.
"I've never heard a more cynical use of words without meaning," said Massow. "The sad truth is that under William, the Tories have become less compassionate, more intolerant and frankly, just plain nasty." Massow's defection comes as a blow to the conservatives, who have started to find their feet again after three years in the political wilderness following their disastrous 1997 election defeat at the hands of Labour.
A Conservative spokesman said the party was "sorry" that Massow had "decided to abandon the beliefs and principles which he has apparently supported in recent years."