Election round-up: a bumpy 24 hours for Liberal Democrat candidates
Well, that’s been a bumpy 24 hours for Liberal Democrat candidates.
After the suspension of the Luton South candidate for antisemitism, the same again happened in Bradford East, but with the extra publicity this time of the candidate dropped being the former MP, David Ward. He was dropped as a candidate under the party’s rules for snap election selections and has also had his membership of the party suspended. Before this action was taken, Tim Farron had said:
I am fully aware of the comments David Ward has made in the past and I find them deeply offensive, wrong and antisemitic. I think his decision to stand again, and the local party’s decision to select him, is wrong and I disagree with it completely.
What can at least be said in both cases is that the party reacted fairly quickly in deciding to take action and then seeing it through, although there will be questions to ask after the election about how both cases arose in the first place.
Meanwhile, I previously reported that the Liberal Democrats were going to stand a candidate against the Speaker. No more, as Lib Dem Voice reports:
Today, Sarah Lowes took the decision to stand down in accordance with the convention that the main political parties do not oppose the Speaker.
Why was the party standing against the speaker in the first place?
Can the leader sack an elected candidate? Whilst there’s undoubtedly inappropriate language that may reveal someones innate racism when describing anger over such as Israeli war crimes against the Palestinians, I want to be assured it’s the rules that disqualify someone, not an embarrassed leader.
The rules for snap election candidates in England do provide a mechanism for this. Strictly speaking it was, if I recall correctly, the chair of the English Candidates Committee who formally took the step but of course such decisions are not made in isolation.
I trust this is the last banana skin we are slipping on. We seem to be in chaos, not efficient. Non of this helps our campaigning. I hope that as things come in 3s this is the last banana!
I have received a lot of positive feedback from non-LibDems as well as members about the positive action taken by Tim and the Party.
I personally believe that we will have won more friends and supporters over this than lost.
As Chair of the Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats and personally I find Antisemitism along with all other forms of Racism and bigotry abhorrent and I praise such robust action on the part of Tim and the leadership.
If we are, and I believe we desire to be, the Party of ‘Equality, Fairness and Justice’ then we are required to ‘walk the talk’ and Tim certainly did this!
How am I supposed choose who to vote in the local elections Whitton & Whitehouse, when the only flyers through my door are from Labour. HELP it’s next week.
Pauline: you can find out more about the local Liberal Democrat team here: https://ipswichlibdems.org.uk/en/