The Guardian reports:
The Conservatives last night withdrew a leaflet targeted at Muslims that claimed Labour was complicit in “a whole saga of atrocities” in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and Lebanon.
The leaflet, published by Tories in Blackburn, where their candidate, Michael Law-Riding, is up against the justice secretary, Jack Straw, also predicted Straw would be likely to criticise Muslim beards and caps, after he asked Muslim women to remove the veil in his constituency surgeries.
It was distributed carrying the name of the Blackburn Conservative party agent…
A spokesman for the Conservatives stressed the leaflet had not been sanctioned by headquarters and later said it was asking the local party to remove it.
You can read the full story here.
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6 Comments
I love this political talk about “withdrawing leaflets”. How exactly can you withdraw a leaflet that you’ve already delivered to thousands of homes?
Political parties should be honest and say that they are going to stop distributing any more copies because they’ve been caught with their pants down.
He is partially deaf so relies on visual clues more than others. Plus, speaking for myself of course, I consider revealing the face to be a basic common courtesy in this society.
Although this reminds of the 1992 GE when the Tory candidate for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (cf. Western Isles) who decided to fight on a ticket of “saving Britain from the papist intrigues of Europe”, and promptly alienated the Roman Catholic southern half; other candidates and Parties ain’t adverse to bringing those conflicts into their campaigning.
Not least the LibDems.
The Telegraph has noticed:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/geraldwarner/100037711/why-is-philip-bad-but-philippa-ok-and-are-the-tories-accusing-our-troops-of-atrocities/
Unless I’m mistaken, weren’t the Tories fully supportive of the Iraq war (until it got near the election and they needed something to attack about Labour)?
It’s called opportunism, Marianne.
That said, I recall the LibDems (or, at least, many individual members/MPs) were supportive of Afghanistan, but is there not now a moral imperative to withdraw?
@Alec
>>>Afghanistan, but is there not now a moral imperative to withdraw
Disagree, but now is certainly not the time to have that debate, either.