Charles Kennedy to join Ed Miliband on a pro-electoral reform platform

It’s hardly surprising that Charles Kennedy and Ed Miliband (thankfully taking a different line from his brother David) would be appearing together to promote electoral reform. Kennedy has long been a supporter of electoral reform and by virtue of not being in government is seen by many in Labour as an easier figure to campaign alongside (even though one of Kennedy’s first acts on becoming party leader was to end the party’s then work in government with Labour). Ed Miliband in turn is the author of Labour’s general election manifesto which not only pledged a referendum but also called for a change in the electoral system to follow from the referendum.

But it is newsworthy that this will happen thanks to one of the odder by-ways of the AV referendum campaign from the last few days over the question of which Liberal Democrat Ed Miliband would share a campaigning platform with. What has been odd about it is the erroneous story run in The Guardian about Nick Clegg ordering Charles Kennedy not to appear alongside Ed Miliband (for the latest version of which see here).

Nick Clegg’s team are adamant that neither he nor anyone on his behalf issued such orders to Charles Kennedy, and anyone well acquainted with the personalities involved would know that issuing such a direct order is not the way to get Charles to do, or not do, something.

A conspiracy theorist at this point would point out that of course that is very much the culture of doing things in the Labour Party and so it’s just the sort of story someone from Labour might make-up thinking it sounded plausible; that some of The Guardian journalists involved have very strong contacts with the Labour Party; and that the story perfectly fits any anti-AV Labour mischief maker who both wants to knock the Liberal Democrats and undermine their own leader’s pro-AV campaigning at the same time.

And indeed The Guardian originally reported,

Labour claims Clegg’s office subsequently ordered Kennedy not to attend … The Lib Dems categorically deny vetoing Kennedy’s appearance.

It’s only subsequently, without even providing any sources or quotes, that The Guardian’s story has become one of citing the Labour claim as fact with,

Former Lib Dem leader to stand with Ed Miliband at joint alternative vote campaign rally after Nick Clegg drops objection.

Or in other words, it’s only subsequently that The Guardian has gone for printing untrue Labour claims as if they were facts.