Restore Britain councillor says Church has turned Jesus into ‘timid woke wimp’
Emily Price
A Restore Britain Councillor has hit out at the Church of England claiming it has turned Jesus into a “timid woke wimp”.
Owain Clatworthy, a councillor in Bridgend’s Pyle, Kenfig Hill and Cefn Cribwr ward, published a post to Facebook on Wednesday (July 8) saying that “real Christianity” was built in the west.
He wrote: “The Woke Church of Wales/England have become utterly embarrassing.
“They’ve turned Jesus….the bold, truth speaking Son of God who flipped tables and called out sin into a timid woke wimp who just wants everyone to be nice and affirm every ideology.
“I wouldn’t even consider them branches of Christianity anymore.
“Real Christianity built the West. This diluted version is helping tear it down.
Go to a Bible believing church!”
He later published another post stating that people with drug or alcohol addictions should be moved to the back of housing queues, adding that veterans should be prioritised.
Cllr Clatworthy wrote: “Working families should come first.
“If you get up every morning, go to work, pay your taxes, and genuinely need social housing, you should be at the front of the queue.
“Anyone actively abusing drugs or alcohol, you’ve never worked a day in your life, and you refuse to contribute to society……you should be at the very back of the line.
“My time working in social care showed me firsthand how the current system is being gamed and exploited.
“Meanwhile, veterans who served our country can struggle to find a place to live, and genuine local families in Bridgend remain on housing waiting lists for years while they feel others are prioritised ahead of them.
“This is completely backwards.
“We need real housing reform that rewards contribution, supports those with genuine need, and puts working families and those who have served first.”
Veterans
Around 11 per cent of UK veterans experience harmful or dependent alcohol consumption – nearly double the rate in the general population.
A survey by charity PTSD Resolution found that 46 per cent of the 500 UK armed forces’ veterans who responded used alcohol or drugs to manage the symptoms of trauma.
The Restore councillor’s latest remarks come amid a series of disputes with Bridgend’s ruling Labour group and several Independent councillors, who have branded his views “divisive” and “racist”.
Cllr Clatworthy argues that his “opinions on immigration, integration, and British values are lawful expressions of political speech”.
Several Bridgend councillors have told Nation.Cymru they had sought to support the young councillor, recognising the challenges and vulnerabilities he has faced after spending much of his childhood in the care system.
But earlier this week, the 22-year-old threatened Bridgend Council’s deputy leader with legal action after she raised concerns about his presence on the local authority’s corporate parenting committee.
Muslims
The position would require the Restore councillor to act in the best interests of all children in the council’s care, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
Her intervention came after Cllr Clatworthy published a series of Facebook posts about Muslim people, including one in which he wrote: “Islam is not compatible with Western civilisation”.
In a letter to council leader John Spanswick about asylum seekers, the Restore councillor also wrote: “I do not want these people in our area”.
The practising Christian published another Facebook post stating: “Multiculturalism is a failure. The silent majority has had enough of the lies.”
Cllr Clatworthy defected to Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain in April after becoming Bridgend’s youngest-ever county councillor at 20-years-old.
He had won the seat under Reform UK’s banner but it later emerged that weeks after his election, he had tried to join the council’s ruling Labour group, saying he couldn’t stand Nigel Farage.
Cllr Clatworthy resigned from Reform UK in March following a dispute over its candidate selection process for the Senedd election.
Although he initially said he intended to remain an independent councillor in Bridgend, insisting “it isn’t about politics, it’s about our community”, he later announced that he had joined Rupert Lowe’s party.
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I guess we are always going to be prey to the outlandish & weird element in political life, it certainly adds to the comedic facet of Welsh politics buts it’s also very worrying that good people voted for this moron? I imagine they must feel they’ve been conned like so many Farage/Brexit voters?
Sad to see someone thrashing around in search of an identity in public. He also needs to be reminded that compassion has a much older and deeper legacy than being woke.
It is the Church in Wales not of Wales
I don’t know which branch of Christianity he purports to know, but the devil is smiling at his new disciple.
Just a rage-baiting neanderthal but us Christians can take it and, of course, forgive him (and yes, Life of Brian is brilliant). However, be thankful that we still (just about) live in a country where you can say what you like about any religion, any sky fairy, any religious founder, any religious leader etc. That is a precious democratic gift.
Did he clarify what the housing priority should be for traumatised veterans with drug or alcohol addictions?
The poor kid just needs to get laid
If someone making a comment can’t get their facts and history correct, they’re obvious unintelligent and rather silly publicity seekers. There’s never been a Church OF Wales; after Henry VIII’s split from Rome, there was the Church of England IN Wales, then at the disestablishment, which came into effect in 1921, after delays etc due to World War I, the Church IN Wales was born. If anyone cannot get it right, they should shut up.