Former British Conservative Party MP Lee Scott, a Jew targeted by antisemites, believes the Jew-hatred he faced contributed to him losing his seat in Parliament. Photo: Conservative Party.

Former British Member of Parliament Lee Scott believes that antisemitic abuse he faced during his campaign contributed to his loss during last week’s elections in Britain, the UK’s Jewish Chronicle reported on Sunday.

“There’s no question in my mind,” he said. “At the end of the day I said I would stand by my support for Israel and my beliefs – I paid the price. But that’s life … I’d been through a lot with the death threats and other stuff going on.”

The British Conservative Party politician, who is Jewish, lost to the Labour Party’s Wes Streeting by 589 votes. Scott admitted that the defeat left him “pretty distraught,” according to the Jewish Chronicle.

In December, Scott said that he had received five death threats over the past year because of his Jewish background, and was called a “dirty pig” by two individuals who also threatened to kill him. Islamists called Scott an “enemy of Muslims,” and others targeted him for his Judaism as well as his defense of Israel in Parliament, the Jewish Chronicle reported.

Scott has said that an antisemitic death threat while campaigning for re-election in 2010 had brought him to tears. He also revealed during a Parliamentary debate on antisemitism that he received a phone call in which he was told he should be “stoned to death.”

The former MP said he has received job offers since leaving Parliament, “but I’m not thinking of anything at the moment.” He said he plans to “take a break” with a vacation before deciding his next steps.