SHOULD offensive words written by a young blogger scupper his chances of becoming a pillar of the community in later life?

Peter Cuthbertson, the Conservative candidate to be MP for Darlington, says he’s different from his younger self - a young man of voting age who spouted abhorrent views on homosexual rights, rape and believed in the bonkers idea that more guns boosts social morality.

No right-thinking person would defend these opinions, and after they were exposed by a national newspaper, Mr Cuthbertson suggested he no longer believed such tripe either. Worryingly he didn’t make it crystal clear he’d changed his mind on all these subjects, however.

Speaking to the Echo on Thursday he said: "I definitely don’t have all the same views as my adolescent self". This leaves the lingering concern that he might still hold some of those views, which is a very troubling thought indeed. 

His party appears to  be satisfied with his stance. Such distasteful opinions are not openly endorsed by the current Conservative leadership nor were they 15 years ago when Mr Cuthbertson – a student Tory activist in his late teens and early 20s – shared his thoughts on the worldwide web.

If he still held such extreme views in 2017 then the party should banish him from its ranks.  

The calling of a snap election meant that all parties had to make some snap decisions on candidates. That will undoubtedly have cut the time usually spent on in-depth checks into people’s backgrounds to root out any skeletons in closets. At the age of 33 Mr Cuthbertson is among the new crop of Westminster hopefuls who grew up with the internet as a place where people shared their views with the world. He will not be the last politician to have their idiotic web posts or embarrassing social media pictures come back to haunt them.

We all have a right to change our opinions as we grow up but the fact that the Tory candidate thought such things at all can be considered troubling and the thought that he hasn't completely jettisoned his hateful opinions will be in the minds of some voters when they enter polling stations on June 8. 

They say that as you get older your opinions become more (small c) conservative and less dogmatic. Part of the challenge that faces Mr Cuthbertson over the coming week is to convince the electorate of Darlington that he has become more (small l) liberal and less judgmental than when he was at university.

Darlington deserves to have an MP who inspires respect and pride not a small-minded bigot.