Brexiteer Tory councillor, 21, who posed in bikini to beat Question Time trolls wins party approval to stand as an MP
A YOUNG brexiteer Tory councillor who posted pics of herself in a bikini to hit back at cruel trolls has been approved to stand as an MP, it emerged last night.
Elena Bunbury, 21, has reportedly been given the green light by the Conservative Party after passing its MPs selection process.
She is now quickly seeking a constituency to represent amid growing feeling in Westminster that the Brexit deadlock could lead to a snap election within weeks.
Delighted Elena told MailOnline: “I know so many MPs who are saying ‘go for it’.”
Ms Bunbury made headlines last September when she was the target of online abuse after appearing as a pro-Brexit audience member on Question Time.
But in an act of defiance, bi-sexual Elena – who become one of the youngest elected parish councillors in 2017 – hit back by posted a series of near-nude snaps on Twitter.
BARE-ALL PICS
The West Yorkshire councillor had been horrified to find critics had been perving over pics on her private Instagram account and calling her a “stupid slut who should be put down”.
So she retaliated with the brave bare-all pics.
Elena posted one photo of herself in a red bikini applying fake tan in her university accommodation and another of her a black bikini which was taken on holiday in Cape Verde.
‘TAKE CONTROL OF THE NARRATIVE’
Both pics had already been raided from her Instagram account by trolls who were sharing them with vile messages – so she decided to put them out herself to “take control of the narrative”.
She wrote: “Following my appearance on #bbcqt, the ]#FBPE are sending death threats, labelling me a stupid slut, posting private photos of me and outing me as bisexual online.
“So I thought I’d beat them to it.
“Enjoy these photos of a stupid slutty Tory bisexual who loves Brexit.”
I feel that a lot of people have connotations with ability and age. I was a young carer when I was 11, people need to stop focusing on age and look at what people have actually done
Elena Bunbury
With the approval to stand as an MP, Elena could become one of the youngest ever politicians to take a Commons seat.
If she stands for election, she predicts she will face criticism for her age – but she has already prepared a counter-argument.
The recent University of Central Lancashire graduate said: “I feel that a lot of people have connotations with ability and age.
“I was a young carer when I was 11, people need to stop focusing on age and look at what people have actually done.
‘I completely accept that people will say that being an MP, you have to have life experience, but you don’t need to have done absolutely everything.”
Elena added that she still receives online abuse from sick trolls.
She said: “‘I get weird stuff, lots of which are from old men, saying things like ‘politicians shouldn’t be sluts’.”
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Were she in Parliament now, Elena said she would not vote to back Theresa May’s EU withdrawal deal.
She said: “I’m a Brexiteer, I always have been and I respect Theresa May but she hasn’t come back with a good deal for the country.”
The current youngest Conservative MP is 30-year-old Tom Pursglove – while the ‘Baby of the House’ is 24-year-old SNP politician Mhairi Black.
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