Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Shaun Bailey information sought

Many will be aware that Shaun Bailey is the conservative candidate for Mayor.

He has made a number of statements that could at the very least be described as controversial.

He repeatedly cites his '20 years as a youth worker' which gives him some credibility, despite his right wing views. My internet search reveals a few years with My Generation youth charity which he helped found. However it was shut down after a few years with the Charity Commission questioning its funding.

So apart from helping to run a dodgy charity I'm unable to find any clear evidence of his youth work! If anyone can fill in the gaps I'd be obliged.

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Permalink Reply by Gordon T on March 3, 2021 at 15:11

This claim adds up - perhaps try some other avenue to criticise him and his policies I'd suggest.

1) Edited extract from his entry at the Operation Black Vote site:
"Two months have passed since Bailey, 35, was selected to be a Conservative parliamentary candidate for Hammersmith ... For the past six years Bailey has worked as a youth worker, presently working for an organisation in West London."

2) Wikipedia: "Following selection as Conservative PPC for Hammersmith in 2007, Bailey and his immediate family..."

Doing the maths, that places the start of his youth work in 2001.

3) And:
"When Bailey was twelve years old, his mother sent him to join the Army Cadet Force in White City. When he was about nineteen years old, he became a Sergeant-Instructor and stayed in the Cadets for another ten years." That to me also counts as youth work.

That said, he certainly can mislead: see https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/18831961.watford-met-station... in which he claimed that Watford tube station is under threat of closure. It's not. Nor is it even in Greater London. And searching 'Shaun Bailey fake news' leads to reports from neutral journalistic sources about the misuse of the City Hall logo and so on.

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Permalink Reply by Shar on March 3, 2021 at 15:28

I'm probably going to regret entering a political discussion but I'm feeling reckless today so here goes.

Always OK to fact-check but there's so much to pick apart in things he's actually said. For example:

'Bailey also questioned whether [universal basic income] could “drive prices up for basic goods when we know people could just buy them because the money’s there”'.
(From: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/mar/02/tory-london-mayor-.... DISCLAIMER: Yes this is a link from the Guardian but as I am routinely pejoratively called a "Guardian-reader" I would like to point out that I'm not necessarily aligned with any particular political party, point of view etc)

Surprising that he couldn't see that as an incentive for producers to produce more and instead assumed that supply is constant. Keeping aside the bit where he's concerned about more people being able to afford food, that is.

He also suggested that UBI would result in people simply buying drugs. Previously he has (indirectly) suggested homeless families could save up a £5,000 as a deposit for a mortgage.

I don't know what impact the colour of skin should have on any debate about how nonsensical or otherwise his notions of basic economics are. Surely in an equal society one should be able to scrutinise anyone in the public eye.

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Permalink Reply by Will on March 3, 2021 at 16:09

Are you still the Philip Foxe from Enfield Southgate constituency Labour Party who agreed here with the principle of fair disclosure just a few months ago?

This pre-election nonsense is as pointless as it is transparent. Shaun Bailey has about the same likelihood of claiming victory in the coming election as you did when you ran as a candidate for the Socialist Alliance in Haringey's Alexandra ward.

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Permalink Reply by HoL Site Admin on March 3, 2021 at 16:28

Since you're asking, Will, do you have any background of holding or standing for a political office?

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Permalink Reply by Will on March 3, 2021 at 17:05

No.

If I did, I would state it.

Will there now be a poll of the other respondents to this thread?

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Permalink Reply by Gordon T on March 3, 2021 at 17:14

I responded above. I have no political affiliation - I judge each election (Haringey, London, national) on the policies offered and their proponents' previous history and vote accordingly.

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Permalink Reply by John D on March 3, 2021 at 16:10

I don't see why " having right-wing views " should disbar someone from doing youth work. Or if you mean you think he's a dangerous fascist you should say so.