As well as Deputy Chair of the local group, Natalia Awasty was a candidate in the Church Street ward at Westminster City Council’s May elections
An Instagram post apparently shared by a Westminster Conservative member is being investigated by the party due to it featuring an ableist slur.
Natalia Awasty, Deputy Chair of the Tories’ West End group and a candidate for Church Street at the May council elections, is alleged to have shared the post to her story more than two months ago.
It featured content from a separate account in which it was stated: “I miss when the Green Party were tree huggers instead of r**ards.”
The post, which the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has been told is dated to May 8, has only now come to the attention of the Tories due to it being recently published by Nilton Rodrigues, a Green Party member and recent candidate in Westbourne.
Mr Rodrigues shared a screenshot of the post on X, writing: “Using an ableist slur to attack political opponents has no place in public life. Disabled people deserve better, and so does our politics.”
A spokesperson for the Cities of London and Westminster Conservative Association said the post does not reflect the views of the group or the wider party, and that they were only made aware of it after Mr Rodrigues shared the screenshot publicly.
They added Ms Awasty is a current member and so her post is being reviewed in accordance with their internal complaints process, and that she does not wish to comment.
This is not the first time Ms Awasty has gotten into hot water due to posts she has apparently made online.
In the run-up to the May elections the Daily Mail reported that Ms Awasty had allegedly uploaded two videos to her Instagram profile in Arabic, despite a call from party leader Kemi Badenoch to ban the use of foreign languages to target voters. The posts were subsequently removed.
When the results for Church Street were announced Ms Awasty was recorded as securing a total of 273 votes, behind both the Green Party and Labour’s three successful candidates, Aicha Less, Fiona Parker and Abdul Aziz Toki.
While Church Street was ultimately not particularly fruitful for the Tories they were successful in taking back control of the council, with Westminster having gone to Labour for the first time in 2022.
Ms Awasty’s apparent share of the post from May, in which she reportedly shared content from the British Metaverse Quest page, was raised by Mr Rodrigues last week.
He told the LDRS: “Sadly I’m not shocked when Tories show their regressive attitudes.
“Whenever we see harmful attitudes and highly offensive language, it must be be called out. I send my solidarity to our disabled community and wish all a happy and powerful disability Pride month.”
The LDRS asked a spokesperson for the local Tory group what the potential implications are for Ms Awasty and if there is a rough timeline.
They said: “This matter is being considered under the Conservative Party’s confidential internal complaints process, which is now underway.
“In line with the confidentiality of that process, it would not be appropriate to comment further on the process itself, those involved, or any potential outcome. We will not be commenting further on this matter while the process is underway. We understand Natalia does not intend to provide comment at this time.”
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