Celebrity Conservative-backers in the UK have been few and far between, and seldom sympathetic figures – think Jim Davidson, Michael Winner and Kenny Everett kicking Michael Foot’s stick away. But could the Tories be about to lure a new household name into their fold?
The party is urging Sharon Osbourne – TV personality, businesswoman and widow of late rocker Ozzy – to stand for them in May’s local elections in Birmingham after she expressed outrage that a former jihadi was running.
In a since-deleted social media post Osbourne commented on a video featuring Shahid Butt and suggested she would stand against him. Butt, who is standing in the inner-city Sparkhill ward, is a convicted terrorist who was sentenced to five years in prison in Yemen in 1999 for terrorism after being found guilty with five others of plotting to blow up the British consulate, an Anglican church and a hotel in the city of Aden.
“This has nothing to do with racism. I think I’m gonna move to Birmingham and put my name down for the ballot to be on the council,” former X-Factor judge Osbourne, who currently resides in Buckinghamshire, said, before adding: “I’m serious”.
Now Osbourne – who in 2010 claimed she had been contacted by every major UK political party asking her to endorse their election campaigns – has been urged by the Tories to stand as their candidate. The calls have been led by Andrew Mitchell, a short-lived deputy foreign secretary under Rishi Sunak, who cheered: “I hope she stands as a Tory! To help restore Birmingham civic pride and competence after Labour bankrupted our city.” (Osbourne has experience in this area, with Ozzy reportedly leaving significant debts behind.)
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Robert Alden, leader of the Conservatives on Birmingham Council, meanwhile, has written to Osbourne, inviting her to discussions to explore the possibility of her standing as a candidate, saying that the local Tories would be “honoured” if she did.
“Your forthright response to the concerning news about a candidate with a past conviction for serious terror-related offences has struck a chord with many Brummies who want to see our city represented with integrity, common sense, and a firm stand against extremism exploiting local politics”, he wrote.
“Your voice, with its no-nonsense style and global profile, could be a powerful force for positive change here. Moreover, your family’s deep roots in our city, through your late husband, the Aston-born legend Ozzy Osbourne, and Black Sabbath, make you part of Birmingham’s story in a way few others can claim.
“It was our own Clir Matt Bennett who first called for Black Sabbath to receive the Freedom of the City over a decade ago. We were proud to be a part of that push to honour the band’s immense contribution to our musical heritage and put ‘the birthplace of heavy metal’ firmly on the map.”
The Conservatives have yet to receive a response from TV star, leaving the party on tenterhooks to see if the Home Counties-based multimillionaire really will up sticks at the age of 73 to sit on a council’s Licensing and Public Protection Committee.
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