Liberal Democrats admit unlawful discrimination against David Campanale
The Liberal Democrats admitted several counts of unlawful religious discrimination against david campanale and agreed to pay damages after a judge sealed an order on 7 April in the Central London County Court. Campanale, an Anglican layman and former Liberal Democrat councillor and parliamentary candidate, brought the claim after he was deselected as the party’s prospective candidate.
The admission followed a legal case under the Equalities Act 2010 and ended with the party accepting that it had unlawfully discriminated against him over his protected beliefs. Campanale had been announced as the party’s candidate for Sutton and Cheam in January 2022, after first being approved as a prospective parliamentary candidate in 2017.
Sutton and Cheam selection
Campanale was deselected in August 2023, more than two years after he had been chosen for the seat. His claim said he had never hidden his faith or religious beliefs, and that his past association with the Christians People’s Alliance had been disclosed to the Liberal Democrats before his selection.
The claim also said local members had multiple opportunities before the selection to ask him questions and that he answered them openly and honestly. It said he was interrogated by about 30 members at a meeting at the home of the local party’s president, Lord Tope.
Protected beliefs dispute
Among the beliefs listed in Campanale’s claim were that marriage is exclusively the union of one man and one woman and that abortion is wrong. He said he was mocked and abused in relation to those beliefs, told not to campaign in certain wards, and excluded from meetings and party literature.
The claim named the chairs of the party at the local, regional and national levels as defendants, and it also named Luke Taylor, now the Liberal Democrat MP for Sutton and Cheam, for helping to lead the deselection campaign. Campanale said Taylor told him in a phone call that the Lib Dems were building a secular party, adding: “we are evidence based... you are religious.”
Lib Dem defence and damages
Before the deselection vote, information sent to local party members said Campanale was unable, or unwilling, to understand and address the concerns expressed to him. The same material said those concerns were in no way related to his personal and religious beliefs, a point he disputes.
In their defence, the Liberal Democrats denied his claim and argued that he had not been transparent about his beliefs and previous political history during the selection process. The Christian People’s Alliance had opposed same-sex marriage and called for repeal of the Abortion Act 1967. With the party now having admitted unlawful discrimination and agreed to pay damages, the dispute has shifted from internal selection politics to a sealed court order with financial consequences for the party.
