Andrew Gilligan Sunday Times Challenor Green Party

[WaddIelikeapenguin]

"A young politician and transgender activist who is running for deputy leadership of the Green Party was fighting for her political life last night after it emerged that she had used her father as her election agent even though he faced charges of raping and torturing a 10-year-old girl."

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rising-greens-star-aimee-challenor-will-not-quit-over-rapist-father-kngjwc8l5

I haven't had time to read everything here and I don't have a lot of time to comment, but I couldn't pass by without saying something.

I feel sickened and saddened by this. I read the BBC article first and then The Times (thank you for the token). Many, many layers to the onion here. The BBC are shameful.

The blatant, flat out lying is incredible. The trustees of Pride knew of DC's upcoming court case and (quite rightly) suspended him. AC was one of those trustees. Yet AC claims not to have known anything till "recently" about DC's impending trial.

Two years is not "recently" in this context. Maybe if one is discussing geology, but not in the context of using your father as an election agent after his impending criminal trial has been drawn to the attention of the board of trustees of which you are a member.

They seem to be letting us do the work for free, non?

LangCleg

parfois oui!

The thing I wonder about though is what is stopping them (not just journalists but other organisations) from doing the most cursory of questioning.

I nominate R0wan for next editor of BBC News. With a few honourable exception, she puts so-called journalists to shame.

Another handclap for ROwan

twitter.com/AimeeChallenor/status/1035526985643118592

I feel for Aimee. It must have been a dysfunctional childhood.

Sausage

It's a matter of public record that it was a terrible childhood. Really awful. Aimee was undoubtedly a victim of her parents' abuse and neglect. For child Aimee everyone feels sorry.

But Aimee is an adult now. Aimee has made really questionable decisions that have hurt other people. Aimee's judgement and boundaries are all over the place and Aimee knowingly employed her father. Aimee chose to attack women. Aimee has been given power by people who should know better.

Aw bless the Green Party. They may have taken back AC's twitter account but are still blocking 50,000 women.

Lol.

So Caroline knew about TerfBlocker....

Hang on - the Green Party is so in favour of flat structures / lack of hierarchy that when one Party member is creating and using softward to silence women's voices the co-leader is only able to say "I don't like that", not "this is against Party policies and must stop"?

Seemingly so....

the Green Party is so in favour of flat structures / lack of hierarchy that when one Party member is creating and using softward to silence women's voices the co-leader is only able to say "I don't like that", not "this is against Party policies and must stop

I don't actually mind that. What I do mind is that obviously a majority of voices within the Greens thought that it was ok.

What exactly is a leader for then? Why even bother?

Caroline Lucas wrote: My party is run on democratic principles though.

Caroline, those words do not mean what you think they mean. Democracy is not to blame for your inaction and what might be the GP's abuse of due process in re: Olivia. What's more, frankly, some of the GP's actions on this front are more closely allied to totalitarianism than democracy.

What exactly is a leader for then? Why even bother?

They need someone to take the fall when one of their more prominent members knowingly employs a child rapist and abuser?

The leader can't lead?

My previously high opinion of Caroline Lucas falls lower by the minute. Using the party's "flat structure" as an excuse for not doing anything about the Challenors and their Terf blocking software is so utterly pathetic that it beggars belief. Yesterday she showed herself to be cowardly and spineless; today she's adding to that by making herself look completely feeble as a leader. Why would you do that? It's essentially saying, "I'm not a bad person, just a useless one."

In all seriousness, I think that the position of leader in the Green party (E&A) is more of a facilitator. I think in Scotland we actually have co-conveners rather than leaders.

So I can believe that the terfblocker was discussed, arguments were out for and against, and that the party democratically decided that it was more good than evil. Of course this is utterly bonkers, but that's what you get at the extreme ends of politics

So who would have discussed it if this was a democratic decision?
Can any GP members help?

Honestly I don't know. I suspect that the Greens structures and policies and procedures are all a bit ad-hoc.

I suspect that the Greens structures and policies and procedures are all a bit ad-hoc.

So, this investigation - the independent one. Will it be practical to single out any deficient procedures or office-holders?

Will there be no way to suggest that people who aspire to local or indeed national political office need to adhere to Nolan principles?

Omfg, can you imagine if the Greens and their non-leading leaders ever got into actual government?

Where's the accountability if after the event people say 'this was shit' and the leader says 'yeah I said that at the time'?

I don't know how CL can call for respectful, civil discussion while shrugging her shoulders over the Terfblocker business.

How can you have a respectful, civil discussion if you deliberately set out to silence those people who have an opposing view?