Apology call as thrashed Lib Dem blasts town

Dominic Carman, who was beaten into sixth place in the poll, said he had encountered racism and was spat at while on the campaign trail and suggested Barnsley was the “town political correctness forgot”.

Writing in a national newspaper, he claimed that anybody from outside the town is treated as a “foreigner” and said residents repeatedly hark back to the Miners’ Strike of 1984 and 1985.

Mr Carman said even the victorious Labour candidate Dan Jarvis, a former Army major, was referred to as a “scab” because he comes from Nottinghamshire, where miners went back to work in defiance of the NUM.

Barnsley Council’s Labour leader Steve Houghton described Mr Carman’s comments as “astonishing” and added: “I would refute all his allegations – Barnsley is just not like that at all. People welcomed all the candidates who came to town for the by-election.

“Dan Jarvis was taken to the hearts of voters – nobody has more respect than someone from the military. This is taking sour grapes to the extreme.”

Coun Houghton pointed out that Mr Jarvis had increased Labour’s majority in the town and said that made “a nonsense” of Mr Carman’s “scab” claims.

He added: “Mr Carman should apologise to the people of Barnsley, because he has insulted them, and he should apologise to Dan Jarvis. The Liberal Democrats should throw him out immediately.”

A Liberal Democrats spokesman said last night: “This is a personal account by our candidate of what happened to him over a short space of time.

“Dominic stands by that account which is a accurate reflection of the experiences he had in Barnsley.”