And another thing…

I look forward to your blogpost criticising Ben Bradshaw’s and Chris Bryant’s smears against the Tories yesterday. Apparently we’re all homophobes. It’s in our DNA. Pathetic.

Its a bit rich for Labour to complaining about smears. The whole ethos of Labour this last decade has been based on deceit and lies.

10% cuts? the latest rubbish about the tories being homophobic?

When compared to Gordon this tweet is pretty small beer.

Mmm, annoying when people try to smear by association isn’t it? Just remind the good people what Labour say about the new European Conservative and Reformists group and the attempted ’smear by association’ please.

It’s your party’s tactic. Now, I agree people shouldn’t try to smear by association but until you start condemning those in your party that do it then I won’t condemn Conservatives, however misguided, who try it (nor will I condone it, but that’s a different matter).

Hello Tom,

I echo the sentiments made by Iain Dale. Do you agree with Bradshaw and Bryant?

Yours,

ScottishToryBoy

I haven’t heard the alleged comment from Eccleston so please tell me what is factually inaccurate about what Bagshawe said.

Also, are you sure you wouldn’t do the same if a Conservative donor praised Hitler?

@Iain Dale/Simon_G_1

If you’ll read Ben Bradshaw’s response on LabourList, you’ll note that he does not call “all Tories” homophobes. He merely states that there are a proportion of the Old Guard as it were, who are still that way inclined.

Ah yes. I’ve also happened upon Ms Bagshawe’s tendency to speak/twitter first, think (possibly) later.

See http://www.bickerstafferecord.org.uk/?p=1031 for radio at its finest/worst, starring Ms Bagshawe.

Louise made a factually correct statement on Twitter. Your PM employed Damian McBride and do you think we’ve forgotten Alistair Campbell and: David Kelly; Rose Addis; The Paddington Train Survivors, etc? That’s before we get to Ben Bradshaw’s homophobic smearing, rightly alluded to by Iain Dale above. Quite the best facet of Labour’s forthcoming expulsion from office will be the termination of its morally disgusting approach to deliberate smearing.

real weak stuff tom…..this is a smear? And worth blogging about?

Very disappointing and not worthy of you, Tom.

I, too, echo Iain’s sentiments.

1. Bernie Ecclestone was a Labour supporter at some point in the past. Why else would he have given the party a significant donation, even if it was later returned in the wake of F1 being given an exemption from the tobacco advertising ban?

2. He said that Hitler got things done, and in the same interview, was complimentary about Saddam and said that Max Mosley would make a good PM.

I’m no fan of Louise Bagshawe, but where’s the smear?

So, Tories not disappointed in Louise Bagshawe at all. Obviously, this is how to get on on the political right.

Forgive me Tom but you normally have considerably more sense that to publish such rubbish.

Firstly both statements that Louise made are factually true. Ecclestone DID attempt to make a large donation to Labour. Secondly he HAS made a statement along the lines as reported.

So what is the issue?

As far as I am concerned Ecclestone is a copper-bottomed shit. (He also is historically inaccurate. As Sir Ian Kershaw has pointed out in his mastery biography of the dictator, Hitler was appalling at “getting things done” and his economic policy both pre-war was disastrous)

I don’t think it’s an apposite comparison, saying Labour have likewise smeared the Tories en masse as anti-gay. Ben Bradshaw & co weren’t saying that at all.

However, when the Daily Mail ran a piece about Cameron taking part in Gay Pride (along with PPC Margot James and others), there were loads of comments on the website from Daily Mailites saying Cameron had just lost their vote, and why did he feel he had to apologise for Section 28? They may not be typical of all Tory voters, but they would consitute a large minority.

Louise Bagshawe seems a bit of an airhead. According to her, she joined the Labour party in 1997, then her mother – who was standing as Tory councillor for her local council – asked her to canvass for her. La Bagshawe said she felt this might conflict with her new political allegiance. However, she says her mum told her not to be ridiculous, and so she switched back to the Tories. So one word from mumsy and her whole new political philosophy instantly disintegrates.

In fact she a political activist for the Tories at the age of 14 (in 1985) as she was a big fan of Maggie. So effectively, her political views are the same as they were when she was 14. Hmmmm.

And then there’s Dave’s new mates in the European parliament, the Polish Law and Justice party – whose leader believes that tolerance of homosexuality will lead to the destruction of humanity. Doesn’t quite go with the idea of the new and trendy gay-friendly Tory party.

As pathetic as your (and your colleagues) disgusting attempts to get tory and the bnp in the same sentence. Im not sure we deserve politicians so obviously wanting of common decency!

Do you know Tom all Labour are doing is smearing anyone and everyonf who is opposed to them.
You have nothing to offer or tell us what you are going to do, just to smear other people.
its quite sad to see you are doing this as well it is just what Labour are made of.
The Nasty Party.

What is so dissapouinting is that you Tom have joined in. I thought better of you but no when it come to the crunch you are all the same and cannot be trusted.
Just tell us how you are going to pay back all this debt.

Governments do not create wealth the people do. all you have done is spend and taxed.

I see you have signed up for GB Master Plan no 2394 in which its back to the nasty Tories time. I said this yesterday on my blog
Don’t worry though Brown has another Master Plan on the go. Now it is to blame the Tories for all the problems as they are being nasty to him and exposing his lies by telling the truth. In this article from Channel 4 News he explains how the Tories are being nasty by exposing his lies It would help if at the same time he didn’t then straight away come up with yet another lie as explained here.

With most smears likelihood is a big component in their success.

If I said Tom Harris killed his own mother for fun, I think only a very few, mostly on this blog, would believe it.

In the same way, no sane person would believe that the Labour Party is an avid supporter of Hitler.

But would a sane person believe that it was likely A PROPORTION of the Conservative Party was still appalled by homosexuality?

I think many would.

I happen to believe that Cameron is completely sincere in his wish to expunge his party’s more unpleasant aspects.

But it’s not necessarily smearing to point out that they do exist.

Incidentally, a proportion of the Labour party is not entirely happy with the concept of homosexuality, either.

And as that adds hypocrisy to bigotry it’s somehow worse.

Re: Iain’s comment. Whilst sadly acknowledging that there will be homophobes in both the Labour and Conservative Parties, it would be interesting to hear his view’s on Lord Waddington’s (and Baroness O’Cathain’s) opposition to clause 61 of the Coroners and Justice Bill:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldhansrd/text/90518-0005.htm

Will David Cameron now prove that he means what he says, and openly criticise his colleagues in the Lords for their outdated and (I would argue) offensive views?

Bernie Ecclestone really is a complete moron isn’t he.

They do say you can tell a lot about a man by the company he keeps…

Nothing like accusing your enemies wives of having sexually transmitted diseases and mental illnesses, or, as Gordon Brown did, saying the Tories are the ”party of unemployment” because unemployment is going to increase because it is a lagging indicator of recession. I assume you’ll be mentioning those smears too Mr Harris. No, thought not.

Nicky
Saturday 4 July 2009 at 2:33 pm
And then there’s Dave’s new mates in the European parliament, the Polish Law and Justice party – whose leader believes that tolerance of homosexuality will lead to the destruction of humanity
………………………………….

Psst, Poland is a Catholic country. Do you have any clues of the attitude of the Catholic church to homosexuality?

A persistent Labour heckle.

And as they say in the glasgow halls – there’s nuthin wurss than a heckler wi nae pa’er.

”And then there’s Dave’s new mates in the European parliament, the Polish Law and Justice party – whose leader believes that tolerance of homosexuality will lead to the destruction of humanity. Doesn’t quite go with the idea of the new and trendy gay-friendly Tory party.”

Nicky, are you a fool by nature or do you practice? This stuff you say is just spin from the Labour spin machine. They say the Tories are isolating Britain because they aren’t in the same group as Merkel and Sarkozy. Aside from the fact that the tone of Brown’s language implies he already knows the next election is lost, does the Labour Party sit in the same group as Merkel or Sarkozy’s party? No he dosen’t. Yet has Brown been marginalised in Europe?

The Labour Party in Europe sits in a group that contains the former Polish communists, who oppressed millions of people for decades! Are you ashamed of sitting with this party?

How about this for a smear? (I think it’s really rather good)

“Tories cut inheritance tax for billionaire Hitler fan”

It’s not big, but it certainly is clever.

It is (or used to be) a law of the internet that the first person to bring Hitler into the argument had lost, and was booed, hissed, genarally disparaged and deservedly ignored.

Ms Bagshawe deserves contumely and contempt for her commenst and is, on the evidence of her own statement, a prat and a pariah.

[...] Harris has taken great exception to chick-lit novelist and Tory candidate Louise Bagshawe slagging off Bernie and reminding us all of [...]