I say “most” because there is one Liberal Democrat who is celebrating openly on his blog: Matthew Harris, who was the party’s parliamentary candidate for Hendon in the 2010 general election and is vice-chair of Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel.
His blog post begins:
My heart leapt with joy at the news that, according to the BBC, two prominent members of my party had resigned over the issue of secret courts. There is a long list of colleagues whom one could imagine leaving the party over such an issue – a veritable smorgasboard of people who, since they are not at all my kind of liberal, I would be quite happy to see the back of. Nothing personal, and wishing such people no ill will, but if they want to go, I certainly won’t miss them – goodbye. Please all charter a bus and leave together.Harris goes on to link to an article in the Jewish Chronicle published in April 2009 in which Tory MP James Arbuthnot claims the Liberal Democrats are “little better than the BNP”. And it is here that we discover why Jo Shaw has earned Harris’s eternal enmity:
In January [2009], at the height of the Gaza conflict, Jo Shaw, Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Holborn and St Pancras, met Bangladeshi community members and criticised the government for not doing enough to stop “Israel’s assault”.Harris refers in his blog post to “my kind of liberal” but one wonders who this small category of people might be. Only those who are prepared to offer uncritical support to Israel, presumably.
This is the not the first time Harris has been deeply unpleasant towards other Liberal Democrats. He has been at the forefront of nasty vendettas run against party members who dare to criticise the Israeli government’s conduct.
What a vindictive little man.
Later...
Around 9.30am today (Monday), Harris’s blog post was removed. Funny old world.
This guy is yet another of the political corporate lobbyists who have been so good at being entryists into the party since it started gaining more power.
ReplyDeleteHe is trading commercially on his Lib Dem contacts - if any breed of member should be kicked out of the party, it is this breed of political prostitutes.
Here is his Linked In professional profile extract seeking to hawk for money the fact he has "dealt with Deputy Prime Ministers Office". Also seeking to capitalise commercially on his deputy chairmanship of Lib Dem Friends of Israel:
"Media relations manager, also experienced at corporate communications, public affairs and stakeholder engagement. Excellent writer of media releases, features, briefings and speeches. Experienced at writing and delivering communications plans, selling in stories and fielding media calls. Experienced organiser of fringe meetings, media launches and other events. Often interviewed for print and broadcast media, including twice on BBC Radio Four’s Today Programme. Blogger invited to write on politics for Huffington Post’s UK site. Currently consulting, and seeking an in-house role (temporary or permanent).
Specialties
Expert on London government, having been Thames Water’s Local and Regional Government Liaison for central London from 2006 to 2009. Knowledgeable about foreign policy and the Middle East, including as a Vice-Chairman of Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel (liaising with the offices of Cabinet Ministers including Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg).
I think this piece is very misleading. The original piece was definitely ill advised but you have not acurately represented it.
ReplyDeleteFirstly (from recollection since the piece has been taken down) he said that Jo Shaw was NOT on the list of people he wanted to leave the party.
Secondly the main complaint in the JC article was not about Jo meeting the Bangldeshi community but about a leaflet in a by election blatantly appealing to anti Israeli Muslim voters.
You also misrepresent the quote from Arbuthnot by omitting 'in this respect' from his comparison of the party with the BNP.
@Donnachadh - what an unpleasant person you are.
@Simon McGrath – Your attempt to defend Matthew Harris is disgraceful and is itself misleading.
ReplyDeleteFirst, Harris’s blog was “accurately represented” – most of it was re-posted here verbatim.
Second, it is clear that Harris DID mean Jo Shaw. He said that his “heart leapt with joy at the news that... two prominent members of my party had resigned over the issue of secret courts.” Only two prominent members of the party fit this description, Jo Shaw and Dinah Rose QC.
Third, I did not say that the main complaint in the Jewish Chronicle article was about Jo Shaw meeting the Bangladeshi community nor did I misrepresent James Arbuthnot. The article is linked to so anyone can read the whole thing for themselves.
Finally, your gratuitous insult to Donnachadh McCarthy is uncalled for. Readers can judge for themselves who is being “unpleasant”.
@simon - as I said I think matthew's piece was ill advised. But in fact he specifically said that Jo was not on his list.
ReplyDeleteYour piece says " And it is here that we discover why Jo Shaw has earned Harris’s eternal enmity:
In January [2009], at the height of the Gaza conflict, Jo Shaw, Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Holborn and St Pancras, met Bangladeshi community members and criticised the government for not doing enough to stop “Israel’s assault”.
But the original article makes it clear that the issue was the local election leaflets.
Donnachhadh's attack on Matthew job is deeply unpleasant. To say "This guy is yet another of the political corporate lobbyists who have been so good at being entryists into the party since it started gaining more power." of someone who has been a party member for years is untrue.
As you and I both know there are plenty of long standing party members who work in public affairs and to single Matthew out is absurd.
@Simon McGrath – “in fact he specifically said that Jo was not on his list.” You are wrong. In fact, Harris said his “heart leapt with joy” at Jo Shaw’s resignation. The verbatim quote from his blog post leaves readers in no doubt, since only two prominent Liberal Democrats resigned over secret courts at the weekend and Jo was one of them.
DeleteRegarding the Jewish Chronicle article, at no stage did I say it was mainly or only about Jo Shaw. I merely quoted the paragraph about Jo to explain why she is one of Harris’s “not my kind of Liberal”. Indeed, I suspect that is why Harris linked to the article in the first place. I repeat, anyone can click on the link and read the whole article for themselves.
Regarding Donnachadh’s comment, yes I agree that people who work in public affairs are not necessarily “entryists”. But it is possible to respond to his comment in a civil manner without calling him names.
Finally, why are you so keen to defend Matthew Harris and muddy the waters on his behalf?
BTW, to those who lump all "the Jews" together, it should be pointed out that Dinah Rose is Jewish.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's me told! Thank you. Sorry. As soon as I saw the comments on my blog this morning, I realised that last night's post about Jo Shaw had been a mistake and so I deleted it.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to be funny - along the lines of "If you think I'm sorry to see these people strop out of the party, then please think again!" - and I am sorry to have offended people, and I wish I had not written it.
I threw in the link to that JC piece in an effort to say: "Since Jo and I clearly disagree on issues that matter a lot to me, that's another reason why I won't mourn her departure from our party." That has clearly offended some colleagues. I am all for criticism of Israel's government, as of all other governments, and a glance at my blog will show that I have never engaged in 'vendettas' or personal attacks. I do comment on allegations that some people have used language about Israel/Palestine that is either antisemitic or islamophobic, but I don't see that as amounting to 'vendettas'. I would be keen to see evidence that I have ever done such a thing.
As for entryism, I first entered the Liberal Party aged fifteen in 1986 and I don't see anything wrong in including one's Lib Dem experience in Linkedin. I am not engaged in the sort of 'commercial' activities that some imagine, and if someone in my position puts the things that Donnachadh refers to, it's merely intended to be one bullet point among many aiming to demonstrate that I have some knowledge of a branch of public relations known as Government Affairs - it certainly does not mean what Donnachadh suggests! Ah well. Onwards!
Thank you for your apology, and for your politeness in expressing it.
DeleteI'll now consider this matter closed and accept no further comments on this post, since to do so is more likely to add heat than light.