Phil Woolas GUILTY

[longfingernails]

His whipping up of racial hatred was pretty disgusting.

Ed Miliband, of course, decided to make him a Shadow Home Office minister.

I can't believe other politically engaged MNers aren't talking about this!

This is the biggest election court case since Jeremy Thorpe, probably.

Quiet on here today? A BBC link for anyone interested:

Phil Woolas Election rerun

The Woolas leaflets were really vile

images.newstatesman.com/woolas-leaflet.jpg

I met him, had lunch with him, showed him round Hull when he was Floods Minister in 2007, after the big floods in Yorkshire (and elsewhere, but I am in Yorkshire). Thought he was an idiot and none-too-bright then.

I hope the other guy wins the by-election that will follow.

Not many things shock me, politically, but Woolas's election leaflets left me slack-jawed. Trouble is, in any re run of the election, I think both the Lib Dems and the Tories will suffer because of the coalition and Labour would probably be re elected, but at least it would not be Woolas. Oldham East and Saddleworth is a very strange constituency.

Since when was Woolas strong on immigration anyway? I do believe it was on Labours watch that London became 'Londonistan'. This man is a complete hypocrite!

It will be interesting to see who wins this election, as of course it will be open for all.

Oh, I think Labour will win quite easily.

I love the fact that Woolas is trying to make this judgement out to be damaging to democracy. What a charlatan. I can't think of anything better for the democratic process than something that forces politicians to base campaigns on the truth.

Woolas has always been a morally questionnable character. I know one of the several your researchers he has hired and then shagged. Never have I seen anyone behave so unashamedly with a mistress in public.

Avocadoes. The researchers he has 'shagged' is more interesting than the above story! I didn't know it. .

What is more fascinating is why ANYONE would want to shag him, he's hardly Brad Pitt!

Are you local Longfingernails?

No, I'm a Londoner!

I have name changed for this specific thread. Knowing someone who stood in Oldham East and Saddleworth some very very odd things have happened during past elections. It is curious that Woolas became so "strong" on immigration in this year's election, because some years ago my contact was accused of being a racist for expressing concern about immigration.

Phil Woolas's leaflets were indeed vile and disgusting. I thought whipping up racial hatred was the preserve of the BNP. How wrong I was.

Equally interesting, was that the Labour Party paid Gerald Shamash (of Shamash and Steele solicitors) to defend him. This is the same firm that Labour councillors pay (via membership subscriptions) to advise and represent them in the event of their being accused of a Code of Conduct breach (under the soon-to-be-abolished Standards Board regime).

Steele and Shamash refused to represent me when I faced such an allegation (of which I was later cleared) on the grounds that defending 'bullying' allegations contravened the firm's ethos.

But telling lies about someone's personal life and inciting racial hatred is apparently just the sort of conduct that they wish to endorse.

I'm glad he's been found guilty and I hope it makes anyone think twice before engaging in such vile race-baiting.

But I'm not surprised. We live in a political climate where being 'tough' on immigration is seen as a good thing, children of asylum seekers are imprisoned, suicide rates of asylum seekers are sky high.