Why is Labour accepting the help of someone “willing to use homophobia to get elected”?

The choice of helpers in a council by-election isn’t normally of wider interest, but Labour in Redbridge, London are showing very poor judgement in their choice of helpers today. For out campaigning for Labour today is Miranda Grell, the Labour councillor who was booted off the council after she was convicted of smearing her Liberal Democrat opponent.

As the Labour Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights put it:

We are furious that a Labour candidate, Miranda Grell, was willing to use homophobia to get elected.

Discussing the sexuality of her opponent and spreading innuendo about his relationship was a disgrace and made her unfit for office.

To also tell lies that he was a paedophile is completely unforgivable and not only affected her opponent’s political career but his personal life too.

Quite. As I wrote after her appeal failed:

It’s worth remembering the awful personal tragedy behind this case – the terrible effect on Barry Smith, the Liberal Democrat councillor who was defeated by Miranda Grell: “In the months after his defeat he was abused, threatened and spat at in the street and on one occasion two men followed him home from a shop and accused him of having sex with children.”

Since her conviction, Miranda Grell has commented several times on the events and in the comments I’ve read I have never seen her express any regret, remorse or acknowledgment that she did something wrong.

Given that she was convicted of smearing her opponent in comments she made when out talking to the public campaigning for Labour, to welcome her back to go out talking to the public campaigning for Labour shows shockingly bad judgement.

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13 Comments

  • The Labour Party will NEVER accept that Miranda Grell was guilty of a grotesque hompphobic smear campaign, because despite the fact that she was found guilty in a court of law and lost her appeal…she was and is and will be LABOUR and thus above suspicion of foul play.

    They will also never accept that a similar campaign was perpetrated against Charles Anglin in Princes Ward Lambeth during the same elections. No, that whole campaign was by some unidentifiable “other” with no motive. Maybe it was “Badge man”?

    This is, after all, the party that brought us Smeargate (TM).

  • Daniel Bowen 23rd Apr '09 - 2:17pm

    Now watch Labour spin and try and wheedle their way out of the facts of the smears against Barry Smith and Charles Anglin, as MBoy has stated.

    I see there is a by-election in Charles Anglin’s old ward. I hope the Lib Dems there stick it to them and make the Labour bigots pay.

  • {Gets back up off floor}

    Wow, a quite reasonable post from Chris Paul, with questions that deserve a fair response.

    The approach taken in the criminal system is that rehabilitation is not complete until there has been repentance and remorse. Grell has shown neither – she manifestly continues to promote the image of victim of a vast implausible conspiracy, and as such is clearly still not suitable for re-admittance to any decent organisation.

    To readmit her without any of the above is an insult to the legal system and to her victim, and to the all victims of homophobia. The message it would send is that if you just keep denying it, eventually you will get away with it.

  • I do not have a problem with people who have criminal records (even for serious crimes) joining political parties and holding elected office – provided they have left their offending behaviour behind them (and can demonstrate it).

    The difficulty with Miranda Grell is that she is unrepentant about what she did. She used honmophobia and homophobic libel to do down a political rival and win an election; and she doesn’t seem to think there is anything wrong with that.

    If Grell is allowed to be active in the Labour Party without having acknowledged her wrong, and without having apologised to her victim, then it gives the appearance that the Labour Party condones the use of homophobia as an electoral tactic.

  • Interestingly when I put a side comment about Miranda Grell to do with a posting on my website about Harry Cohen she responded saying that she was going to appeal.

    `I maintain my innocence and continue to fight to clear my name. Once I do I shall be seeking a retraction from you and the removal of my name from this article. Best wishes. Miranda Grell`

  • Why are people suggesting Grell was homophobic? As far as I’m aware she allegedly told a couple of voters that the LibDem had a younger boyfriend. This was untrue, but we cannot surely allege that any mention of another candidate’s homosexuality is homophobic? Presumably she didn’t say ‘…so don’t vote for that dirty faggot’. I think everyone deserves a second chance, and whether or not she’s actually guilty I see no reason why she shouldn’t hold office again in the future – and I say that as a gay man.

  • David Clarke 3rd Jun '09 - 1:36am

    Actually not surprising considering that if your a Labour Party Member you can literally get away with murder. In Hackney the Labour Party tried to cover-up the sexual abuse in Hackney children’s homes by Labour Party Activist Mark Trotter.

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