Bunbury who had just celebrated her 21st birthday, is one of the youngest elected party councillors, entering politics when she was 19. Her hobbies include rock climbing, kayaking, surfing and video games. She noticed that her bikini photos were copied by trolls from her private Instagram account and chose to post them first “to take control over the narrative.”
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.
— Cllr Elena Bunbury (@CllrBunbury) September 21, 2018
So I thought I’d beat them to it.
Enjoy these photos of a stupid slutty Tory bisexual who loves Brexit 🤷🏼♀️ pic.twitter.com/ZorIccRDIX
Bunbury came under fire on social media after she appeared on BBC’s Question Time panel, telling the audience “no deal isn’t a bad deal” and making other pro-Brexit comments. The West Yorkshire councillor then began to receive death threats on her private Instagram account, calling her a lesbian and a “stupid slut who should be put down.”
“After Question Time I did not think I had said anything controversial,” she told the Sun, noting that she just googled ‘blonde,’ ‘woman’ and ‘Brexit’ – and discovered hateful comments and two photos stolen from her Instagram account that had been posted by anonymous users.
“They posted the bikini photos with the message 'Why should we listen to this slut?' That’s when I thought I needed to do something. They were also writing I was bisexual, which is not something I am ashamed of, but did not feel the need to publish.”
@LeedsLabour2018 We found a load of “Never Kissed a Tory” stickers whilst lining up for the parade. Firstly, thank you for not kissing us, we ain’t interested 🤷🏼♀️ Secondly, please don’t litter 😘 @LGBTCons #LeedsPride2018 #LeedsPride pic.twitter.com/YwEubU5vly
— Cllr Elena Bunbury (@CllrBunbury) 5 августа 2018 г.
Normally Bunbury is photographed in a baggy jumper and jeans, saying that this is her preferred “relaxed dress code.”
Sushi Update
— Cllr Elena Bunbury (@CllrBunbury) 28 августа 2018 г.
I LOVE sushi!
(I can’t use chopsticks so @etdn12 is feeding me for the duration of the meal) pic.twitter.com/CoOVbjNjEo
Looking forward to #LeedsPride with the @Conservatives pic.twitter.com/rBaGYkXxFU
— Cllr Elena Bunbury (@CllrBunbury) August 5, 2018
All conservatives are rich old white men… 🤷🏼♀️ pic.twitter.com/phkrJMzdv9
— Cllr Elena Bunbury (@CllrBunbury) June 19, 2018
Bunbury said she was astonished by the backlash and hateful comments. She reported to West Yorkshire police that one of the tweets was a death threat and blocked the sender. Since posting her photos she has received almost 3,000 likes from followers with messages of support, adding: “I thought I was on my own, but people obviously feel this extreme bullying behavior is not acceptable.”
Bunbury speaks openly of her sexual preferences and being different from the stereotypical picture of “an old white male” member of the UK Conservative party. She also has a Twitter thread on her experiences on Tinder.
Still not a rich old white man, and still in politics 🤷🏼♀️ pic.twitter.com/1OHolxq64R
— Cllr Elena Bunbury (@CllrBunbury) September 1, 2018
I’m fighting them off on #ToryTinder pic.twitter.com/nQFCjOxylc
— Cllr Elena Bunbury (@CllrBunbury) August 14, 2018