LibDem response
As I have said on a comment here, I don't believe that voters really make political judgements on individuals like Mr Kennedy, Lord McNally or Mr Oaten. However they do help (like the Tories in the 90s) to form a general opinion of a party. The LibDems always saw themselves as above party politics and I fear that is no longer true. However, quite rightly, both the Sunday papers and the politics programmes today granted Mr Oaten his wish to sort out his issues in private. That is except the News of the World of course who go way over the top. Both Sir Ming and Chris Huhne have been exceptionally gracious in their response - I have heard nothing yet from Simon Hughes. The on-line community is always the worst on these occassions and I urge readers to get their news from Iain Dale rather than the vast number of annonymous nay-sayers who inhabit the world wide web.
5 comments:
It looks like Mark Oaten may not be the only leadership contender with skeletons in his closet, so to speak.
Visit Iain Dale's site to find out what Martin Popplewell said on Sky News, and this was in Krishnan Guru-Murthy's snowmail report:
"Question is: is that it? Or would any of the other leadership candidates like to go quietly before the knock on the door?"
I am sure he isn't, but papers can be quite responsible about these issues. One quite senior regional journalist said to me recently that the LibDems have to accept this after all they portrayed themself as the holier-than-thou whiter-tahn-white party. All parties have their interesting individuals. It's what makes British politics so interesting.
Nobody is saying this shouldn't be a largely personal issue for Mark and his family to deal with. However, when Lib Dems use doorstep tactics as they did in Leicester South, accusing the Conservative candidate Chris Heaton-Harris of homosexuality, paedophillia and declaring in favour of the Lib Dem candidate (none were true), or their conduct during the infamous Bermondsey by-election, it is difficult not to gloat just a little.
I'm beginning to wonder how the next issue of Focus is going to spin the latest Liberal Democrat poll slump to 15% into their bar charts? I'm sure they'll manage somehow. Tony Blair's words spring to mind though - "never underestimate the Tories, never overestimate the Lib Dems".
Mark Oaten was due to face face Michael Gove on Monday night at the Institute of Electrical Engineers in a debate organised by Policy Exchange entitled
"Kennedy's Liberal Democrats or Cameron's Tories: who are the true heirs of Gladstone?"
Vince Cable filled in, and all in all was rather a good evening, despite the presence of the large elephant in the middle of the room that everyone was too polite to discuss.
Nevertheless, Vincent did mention that Gladstone liked to visit prostitutes, as historians will tell you, to 'engage in strange and humbling pursuits'.
Guess who walked away with the award?
Post a Comment