UKIP candidate questioned if storms were ‘God’s reply’ to same-sex marriage

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A second UKIP politician questioned whether storms that battered the country were caused by same-sex marriage, it has emerged.

UKIP councillor David Silvester infamously claimed last year that widespread flooding was as a result of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act – and was eventually suspended from the party for the comments.

However, it has emerged that one of the party’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidates, Ted Strike, made near-identical comments in a Facebook post – but remains a key UKIP figure.

Mr Strike, who is standing for the party in Stockton South, wrote in December 2013: “Britain is being battered by storms yet again, not long after the worst storms in over 100 years, whilst I feel for those affected by these ‘Acts of God’, is it God’s reply to Cameron’s Coalition Government’s un-Godly change in the law on marriage?”

However, a UKIP spokesman appeared to rule out any action against Mr Strike, accusing opponents of “trawling Facebook” to embarrass candidates.

He said: “After this posting on Christmas Eve 2013, it was investigated internally and the post was taken down.

“It does seem that there are those that spend more time trawling old Facebook posts rather than campaigning for a better Britain, that is a shame.”

Labour PPC Louise Baldock told the Mirror: “He is expressing out-of-date, out-of-touch and homophobic views.

“These are views from the 19th Century and it isn’t the way a modern parliamentarian who represents a diverse community should be speaking.”

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