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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Hornsey & Wood Green election candidate to issue retraction letter after publishing … a lie

A Hornsey & Wood Green election candidate is expected to issue a retraction letter after publishing untruth.

This, in one of the country's most marginal electorates. The consequences of breaching Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act (1983) can be severe:

Guardian story.

If a retraction letter is not sent out to those residents whom her Party sought to mislead, there's likely to be a visit to libel lawyers, tomorrow (Monday).

Clive Carter
Liberal Democrat Councillor

Tags for Forum Posts: Representation of the People Act (1983), dirty tricks, false, information, lie, smear, spin, untruth

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If it was the first time it happened, that'd be one thing.

But the false claim was made by Labour previously at a hustings meeting, and corrected. Then it was made by Labour again at a second hustings meeting, and corrected again. And then for its third appearance it was put in a Labour leaflet.

Perhaps the first time was an innocent mistake. But how come the repetition, not just a second time but then a third time too?

Lib Dem member

Nobody reads those things anyway - my recycling bin is bursting with them. I think it's just a mistake, to be fair - nothing malicious.

Nobody reads those things anyway

Well, maybe a Judge will. And maybe a Judge will also give a verdict on it's fairness and extent of malice.

Here's  an account in today's Evening Standard.

Attachments:
Can someone tell me wtf is going on?
Personally I think the OP is WAY more guilty of deliberate misleading and deception than the error made by the candidate. Shall we start listing the direct lies Ms Featherstone has made to the electorate between running for parliament and now? That would be a far longer list.
Can't wait to see the back of the liberal turncoat myself.

Ms F will lose her seat on Thursday, not because of any personal record, but because the Lib Dem vote nationally is going to crash to single percentage figures, she'll be taken down with it.  No-one denies that's she's done a few good things in the past five years.   The only way she'll keep her seat is if the green surge in H+WG results in thousands of LibDem voters switching to Green instead of Labour.  The only way H+WG voters can prevent another five terrifying Tory years is to vote for Catherine West.  Pragmatism before principle, as in all marginal elections.  (Many Labour voters in Tottenham have registered to VoteSwap to Green, so Green H+WG voters can vote Labour and still have a Green vote counted. Just sayin'.)

Pam, against my expectation (above) Haringey Labour and Catherine West have admitted lying and will spend the next two days printing, stuffing and delivering a full retraction. Local Liberal Democrats have demanded:

  • To see the retraction in full before it is printed
  • That the retraction be delivered by 17:00 tomorrow (12 PM Tuesday at the latest)
  • That the retraction be sent to every single resident who received or may have received the letter

Only if the above conditions are met in full will legal action be stayed. Some of the contributors to this thread appear not to care tuppence for the truth, but I hope you'd agree that the eventual victor should win fairly and squarely.

Alex there are mistakes made in good faith and mistakes that are made in bad faith and you will take your pick. Incidentally, do you have any views about doping in sport?

However I much doubt that you'd accept anything further I could say on the matter so I simply invite you to read the recent legal-political background described in the Guardian story (link at top of page) that you may find less unpalatable.

What about LD dirty tactics? We had a horrible leaflet through the door slagging off the Labour Party. The leaflet was Green Party green and gave the impression it was a Green Party leaflet but on closer inspection, in tiny writing at the bottom it stated it was printed on behalf of L. Featherstone but with no mention of it being a LD leaflet anywhere else! Incredibly misleading and obviously an attempt to get Labour voters to vote Green and split the Labour vote. We've contacted Lynne's office to tell her how disappointed we are and that it has lost her at least one vote (my husband usually votes LD but not this time!

Sounds like the leaflet from March "from" the Tories encouraging tory voters in H+WG to vote LibDem rather that waste tory votes.  Written and signed by the chair of the Tottenham Tories but in tiny type, published by, guess who? H+WG LibDems.  Did the author ever get reinstated into the party after Grant Shapps, that glowing example of rectitude, suspended him?

We had one through the post today - looked for all the world like a Green Party leaflet, attacking Labour for not being left enough. But in the very very small print it says "Published & promoted by C. Jenkinson on behalf of L. Featherstone (Liberal Democrats)". Seems sneaky to me...

It's ok to criticise another party's record, but unless you say what you are going to do better its just the kind of negative campaigning that people are sick of. As a Green member, I do think it's duplicitous. We would have said we need to control the banks, raise pensions, and raise the minimum wage. 

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