Harman, dashing up to save her pet project, told to stay away
Having posted about the real news in Rotherham twice yesterday, The Slog has been sent a number of easily corroborated email stories about what’s happening on the ground there. Guido Fawkes alerted folks to the reality of Labour’s headless panic in sending every bigwig to the scene…but the story appears to be far bigger than Hattie hysteria.
Sarah Champion, the Labour candidate in Rotherham, pulled out of the Radio Sheffield debate last night. Protesting a little too much that it was “nothing to do with the Foster Parent issue, it’s just that the time would be better spend on valuable canvassing”, I nevertheless understand the Party was tipped off by local media that the other candidates plus phone-in audience were about to flay her alive.
Meanwhile, breaking elsewhere in the constituency is yet further grubby evidence of electoral fraud. Given complaints from other candidates, it now seems certain that an Electoral Commission will be demanded, and the result questioned.
Canvassers covering Broom, in Councillor Mahroof Hussain’s ward, are mystified by the reaction of some voters in this once Labour stronghold. Says a local source, “Some Asian voters are under the impression that [Mahroof] is standing as MP. They think they’re voting for Mahroof. When you tell them this is not the case they are mystified”
And this is confirmed by a rival Party canvasser: “Councillor Hussain is giving the impression to some naive constituents that they’ll be voting for him on Thursday. It is absolutely brazen and I have reported it as a clear case of electoral malpractice.”
Meanwhile, local Party officials – already angry at having a Harman-chosen candidate foisted upon them – are saying Harman’s appearance in the constituency campaign will make matters worse. The site Rotherhampoliticsreports that ‘Labour has reached the unenviable position of actually losing Rotherham on Thursday….Labour campaigning is now reported to be counter productive. All that labours party workers are doing is to serve to highlight Rotherham Labour Party’s special problems…We can reveal that the Trades Unions – CWU, GMB, Unite and Unison – are hopping mad about Sarah Champion’s selection: hardly ‘working class’ is she?’
The even loopier locals to the left of local Labour are relishing their time in the sun: TUSC are holding a pre election rally at the Unity Centre tonight at 7pm. Candidate Ralph Dyson, Dave Nellist, a former Workers MP on a Workers Wage, and Michael Lavalette, Preston socialist councillor are speaking.
Look for any of this in the mainstream media, and you will look in vain: for them it’s still a ‘UKip and three foster parents demand a reversal of decision’ story. Nothing wrong with that – in having already split up the three kids involved, the Stalinist Council shows yet again how little the Left’s care system model is really about humanity.
But the real problem in Rotherham – a One Party State condoning endemic paedophilia on ‘multicultural harmony’ grounds – is being ignored as usual. It’s a story that may well be about to turn into a ‘when the sheep refused to be driven to market’ story.
Stay tuned.
See also: Rotherham is the new story – but what about the old ones?
Lucas 2012 Infos 