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Category: Oldham E & Saddleworth

Can anyone point to a campaign that was on par with this?

Can anyone point to a campaign that was on par with this?

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Does today’s judgement really impact on “free speech”? In his response to today’s judgement the ex-MP, Phil Woolas said the ruling had created uncertainty about what election candidates could and could not say about each other adding that “That is not good for a strong democracy”. But is this the case? For a close reading of the detailed judgement, which I recommend, shows the extraordinary lengths the judges went to distinguish between the rough and tumble of campaigning and what…

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Could Old & Sad be the making of Ed Miliband?

Could Old & Sad be the making of Ed Miliband?

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What will an emphatic victory do for his leadership? Parliamentary by-elections are generally a good thing for leaders under a bit of pressure. For in the run-up to such important electoral tests even the most dissident members of their own parties tend to hold their tongues. No one wants to be accused of saying or doing anything that could undermine their chances. So if today’s court announcement in the Phil Woolas case does open the door to an early contest…

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Will bribes of free chocolate attract by-election volunteers?

Will bribes of free chocolate attract by-election volunteers?

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Is Labour having problems getting phone canvassers for Old & Sad? While surfing this afternoon while trying to find what the main parties are doing in Old & Sad I came across the above on an official Labour site – an appeal to recruit volunteer telephone canvassers in order to get the message out. What struck me as odd was the illustration, a basket of assorted chocolate bars, and the secondary headline – “… we’re giving campaign callers free chocolate”….

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How will voters regard a pre-Christmas by-election?

How will voters regard a pre-Christmas by-election?

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Wikipedia Will it be down to who is best at fighting in the dark? The Old & Sad by election has been put on one side as everybody waits for the judges to give their verdict on Woolas’s appeal for a judicial review. That’s expected during the coming week and the verdict could trigger off the process in the commons of calling the by election. Dates being talked about are December 16th and even December 23rd when the hours of…

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Should it be okay to label your opponent as a “Paedophile”?

Should it be okay to label your opponent as a “Paedophile”?

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Miranda Grell – disqualified by the Woolas law in 2007 One of the things that has been said repeatedly about the Woolas case is that it is only the second instance in 99 years of this law being used to try to over-turn an election for a Westminster constituency. True. But there is a much more recent case involving a council election. The woman standing next to David Miliband in the picture is Miranda Grell who won a seat in…

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Is the plan for Aaron to be Labour’s by-election candidate?

Is the plan for Aaron to be Labour’s by-election candidate?

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Is this what the NUS president was hinting at? There’s been a lot of speculation that the NUS might be planning to run a candidate in the Oldham East & Saddleworth by election following strong hints by the president, Aaron Porter, in an interview on The Politics Show yesterday afternoon But surely the idea of a separate NUS challenge is a nonsense because the last thing that Porter, an aspiring career Labour politician, would want is to take any action…

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Is Harriet the one in tune with Labour voters?

Is Harriet the one in tune with Labour voters?

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Oldham E & Saddleworth decision – right or wrong? (YouGov) All voters CON voters LAB voters LD voters Right 71 82 65 82 Wrong 7 4 12 `8 Don’t know 22 14 23 10 Should there be laws to stop candidates lying about their rivals? (YouGov) All voters CON voters LAB voters LD voters “It is right that there should be laws” 74 86 69 77 “Such laws are a restriction on free speech and risk preventing robust debate” 9…

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Do Labour MPs think this campaigning was legitimate?

Do Labour MPs think this campaigning was legitimate?

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Do they need to put a lid on their fury – and quick? I’m travelling at the moment and have only just caught up with the reports of what happened at last night’s meeting of Labour MPs. According to the BBC’s John Pienaar the comments by Harriet Harman about Woolas have provoked what Labour MPs and ex-ministers call a “mutiny” against the Labour leadership at Westminster. You have to ask are they crazy? For their defence of Woolas can only…

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