Labour rejects calls for Oldham grooming gang inquiry

[Signalbox]

Are Labour right to push the responsibility for carrying out a public inquiry back onto Oldham Council?

I don't understand how it is considered acceptable for local authorities to carry out their own inquiries when they are often part of the institutional failure that allowed these crimes to be carried out on such a large scale over decades. Councils, police and social services were/are all implicated in the failure to act (or to actively obstruct) in some way or another.

"Phillips’ letter to Oldham Council, seen by GB News, claims it is for the the local authority ‘alone to decide to commission an inquiry into child sexual exploitation locally, rather than for the government to intervene.’ Reports have previously been commissioned and produced in Rochdale, Rotherham and Telford; Oldham now plans to launch its own Telford-style inquiry. Given the strength of feeling – which Phillips acknowledges in her letter – it seems inevitable that there will be questions or debate in the Commons when parliament returns next week."

"Yet for the hundreds of victims and those invested in bringing perpetrators to justice, this will seem pitifully inadequate. In each town where grooming gangs operated, similar patterns emerged: victims were ignored, law enforcement complicit and political officials more concerned about reputational damage than lives affected. Local authorities can hold their own inquiries, of course. But given the scale of these crimes, the fact they took place over decades, in many towns, suggests a level of institutional complicity requiring the attention of central government."

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/labour-rejects-calls-for-oldham-grooming-gang-inquiry/

Archive...

https://archive.ph/3greC#selection-1667.0-1759.570

Indeed. He has the same total lack of self awareness, as meghan markle. It’s particularly odd, given his position. Or perhaps he is just a spectacularly shit politician, so used to harping against the tories, on the side lines. As evidenced by his description of Sunak as PM, when he himself was in fact PM.

The misinformation is from Musk, who pretends the opposite of what really happened.

Keir Starmer went after the "grooming gangs" hard. (Child sex abuse gangs is a better name). Changed guidelines at the CPS and brought in a new prosecutor and started prosecuting and jailing the rapists.

These are inconvenient truths to Musk. So he claims the opposite. Loudly.

"Are you sure you want to press this? Pakistani grooming gangs? Sounds like something Tommy Robinson would say. Are you sure you want to support his pet cause...?"

Supreme confidence in the institutions, media and legal system to get his way regardless of what people think?

As "getting his way" appears to mean prosecuting and jailing rapists from Asian child sex abuse gangs, I'll be very glad if he – and we – get that.

I suppose you’re correct. He knows they can do whatever they like, in these initial 1-3 years of power.

Ah well, this will probably be the last time we see a Labour government, they need to make their toxic hay whilst their sun shines.

but I don't know what lies he's talking about and who he means.

Yes his meaning was not entirely clear. Has Musk been telling lies specifically about Rayner? Or was that in reference to comments about himself. Was he referring to lies from Musk or just the “far right” in general. And was he calling Musk far right or just others who are spreading “disinformation”?

It worked during Covid. Many called people who didnt agree with all the restrictions far right. I got called it on here. So of course they will try the same tactic again Why change what works?!

That’s their MO now - anyone who isn’t ’far left’ is called ‘far right’. Actually it’s disgusting. Shutting people down by calling them bigots etc - when most of the time, it’s just not true.

Specifically with Jess Phillips Musk has been referring to her as a "rape genocide apologist" .

He is now asking his supporters whether they think the US should overthrow the "tyrannical" British government - should be noted th\at he has no problems with actual tyrannical governments as we can see by his support of Putin.

He thinks that Starmer should be jailed for his time at the DPP - he can't name any actual cases that Starmer should have prosecuted but didn't and in fact Starmer was praised in an independent report for his work at the DPP which resulted in more prosecutions.

He claims the grooming gang failures were the "worst crime in British history" - presumably the multiple deaths (and of course, rapes) involved in the slave trade were less serious for some reason which of course couldn't be anything to do with the ethnicity of those affected.

Naturally Starmer did not say that anyone concerned with child abuse was from the far-right. He said that the targeting of Jess Phillips, and the exploitation of the issue by Yaxley-Lennon ( currently receiving donations from alleged rapist and sex trafficker Tristan Tate) and his ilk, was coming from the far-right. He worked with Nazir Afzal to prosecute grooming gangs, why should he take seriously Tory politicians who did nothing useful in office but now jump on the bandwagon?

As to whether there should be another inquiry Badenoch has not explained what was wrong with the one commissioned by her own party or why she never mentioned the issue during her own leadership campaign. She has not told us what another inquiry is expected to reveal that we don't already know and apparently thinks one can be done cheaply and without the involvement of lawyers.

Musk supports the German AFD, is a Putin apologiast. wants the overthrow of a legitimately elected UK government and claims that hundreds of thousands of white girls are right now being raped by "migrant gangs". If you don't think that makes him far-right then I'm not sure what definition you would use.

Being called far right is boring now.

If the alternative is turning a blind eye to the systematic abuse/rape/torture/murder of children, I’ll be far right all day long.

claims that hundreds of thousands of white girls are right now being raped by "migrant gangs". If you don't think that makes him far-right then I'm not sure what definition you would use.

Where’s the lie?

People from those areas are saying it’s still going on.

I believe them, and trust them far more than I do you.

Far right is the new transphobic.

Yep, it's definitely eaten itself by now.

If claiming girls were raped by ethnically Asian sex abuse gangs, and wanting to hunt them down and jail them and protect girls from future abuse is far right, then Starmer's far right.

Being called far right is boring now.

It's like the shepherd boy who cried wolf.

Or perhaps more accurately, the shepherd boy who decided to refer to his sheep as wolves, and then wondered why people rolled their eyes every time he cried wolf.

Sure, that's definitely Starmer's number one priority

He claims the grooming gang failures were the "worst crime in British history" - presumably the multiple deaths (and of course, rapes) involved in the slave trade were less serious for some reason which of course couldn't be anything to do with the ethnicity of those affected.

The rape gangs happened recently and are still happening. I appreciate that you're refuting his point, but I also think it's unfair to the many living victims to use whataboutery here.

Of course you do.

For anyone genuinely interested in what Starmer said today and what he meant by it (including a clip to the actual speech) then there's a very good piece here.

https://goodallandgoodluck.substack.com/p/starmers-best-moment-as-pm?r=4i04j3&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true

If you read it and STILL believe that Starmer said anyone concerned about child abuse was from the far-right then further argument is pointless.

Yes, of course I do.

What sane person would listen to the likes of you over the victims and their families/communities?

It would be laughable if it wasn’t so abhorrent.

They have lived experience.

You have what? Sanctimony and Whataboutery?
A false sense of moral superiority?

Please tell me what light you can shed that should mean more to me than those affected, past and present?

I don't listen to the likes of Musk and alleged rapist Tristan Tate that's for sure.

Where are these people's concerns when it's white men doing the raping?

I watched the whole thing and he totally fucked it.

Whataboutery again. 🙄 No-ones buying what you’re selling any more.

You're the only person to mention Musk or Tate?

Are those genuinely the people you think I’m referring to, when I say ‘victims and their families/communities’.

Because, I don’t think you did think those were the people I was referring to.

I think you’re just using it as an excuse mention their names. To somehow align me with them.

Explains a lot about your thought process.

Absolutely fucking desperate.

IOf course you did.

I did. Sorry you don’t like that but tough.