Tag Archives: orpington

Tory councillor suspended over “foreign names” slur

By The Voice | Published 20th November 2009 - 9:01 pm

Orpington Conservative Councillor Peter Hobbins has been suspended resigned from the party after criticising candidates with foreign names – and Central Office for picking them.

As News Shopper reports, Councillor Hobbins wrote:

“Not one of them has a ‘normal’ English name.

“They want to be the PPCs for Orpington and asked me for my personal advice on how they would be the best candidates for the Orpington Constituency. My view? For hells sake.

“Why are the Candidates Department so keen on these foreign names?!!!!

“The candidates department are simply rushing these names through.

“They have absolutely no idea about how Associations are organised

…

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Posted in Local government, Opposition watch | Also tagged | 5 Comments

Will the Conservatives deal with racism in the Orpington PPC selection?

By Mark Pack | Published 20th November 2009 - 9:15 am

Leaked emails published by Duncan Borrowman reveal a dismal state of affairs in the Orpington Conservative party, with Councillor Peter Hobbins writing comments such as, “Why are the Candidates Department so keen on these foreign names?!!!” and criticising members of the Conservative Party’s list of approved candidates for not having “a ‘normal’ English name”.

Duncan’s post says,

Racism is alive and kicking in Orpington Conservatives, as revealed in a couple of emails sent on the Bromley Council email system to their local councillors and constituency chairman in the early hours of this morning, and leaked to me today.

You can read the full …

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Posted in Opposition watch | Also tagged , | 4 Comments

YouTube ‘cos we want to: by-election special

By Stephen Tall | Published 25th July 2009 - 8:00 am

Welcome to the weekend edition of our LDV feature, rounding up some of the best/worst/most curious political videos doing the rounds. What could be more approrpiate today than to take the theme of by-elections?

First up, let’s cast our minds back some 47 years: to Orpington, scene of perhaps the most famous Liberal by-election victory of all, when Eric Lubbock was elected the Liberal party’s sixth MP:

And now a slight change of tack – BBC2′s Mock The Week’s take on ‘Bad Things For a By-Election Candidate to Say’:

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Posted in YouTube | Also tagged , , , | 5 Comments