Sparks fly in Sparkbrook
Apparently still blind to the seriousness of the Election Commissioner's remarks about a "scurrilous" Lib Dem city council cabinet member and a candidate who submitted "dishonest" disability grant application forms, the Birmingham party's power-behind-the-throne John Hemming has been caught out spreading unfounded rumours about a Respect Party candidate in Sparkbrook.
Cabinet member Ayoub Khan and failed council candidate Saeed Aehmed had their claims of electoral malpractice against a Labour rival in Aston thrown out of court two weeks ago, but instead of immediately disciplining the two, Hemming has fudged the issue in the hope an internal inquiry will make the scandal go away.
Then on Monday, he posted this on the Stirrer blog site:
"It is being said that the Respect candidate for Sparkbrook is a youth worker on the council payroll.
Does it sound right that someone employed by the city council should also be a councillor?".
The Post's own investigations quickly established this was no more than wrong-headed innuendo, and after observing three days of heated debate on the Stirrer forum drag Respect candidate Nahim Khan's name through the mud, Hemming started to meekly claim he was only interested in having an open debate.
He just wanted to clear it up one way or the other, see. He'd heard this rumour and, well, it only made sense to investigate. Better to get these things out in the open straight away.
Labour blogger John O'Shea, formerly known as Political Hack, was equally quick on the scene, suggesting that although Mr Khan had resigned from his job with the council in Janaury he might still be owed back pay and could therefore be disqualified from standing.
Both the Lib Dems and Labour face a near certain trouncing by Respect in Sparkbrook, who are on course to win all three seats in the ward.
But I am sure that has absolutely nothing to do with Hemming's search for the truth.
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Ha ha ha.
Hemming is at it again..!!! the Lib Dems are desperate.
I think the tories should join Labour and kick these wannabes into touch..!!
John O Shea's point is that he could be disqualified from being elected, not that he would be taken off the ballot paper.
is it any wonder election turnouts are so low these days.
Who would want to vote for any of that shower, all obsessed with their own petty squabbles as if they are of great importance.
Balsall Heathen you need to vote mate just not for these crooks
It was Andre Gide - a French philosopher - who said something like...great men don't go ino politics, but men wanting greatness almost invariably do! A generalisation perhaps, but there's a certain truth in that, don't you think?