Tag Archives: miranda grell

Chuka Umunna, the recently selected Labour candidate in Streatham, has been the object of some fairly wild comparisons with Barack Obama (one is yet to become an MP, and if Chris Nicholson has anything to do with it, certainly won’t become one for a good many years yet; the other is running for President of the United States and is down to the final three).

Sam Coates on the Red Box blog questions Chuka Umunna’s judgement regarding the way he’s responded to these comparisons, but this seems to me to miss the real questions over his judgement. They are over Umunna’s …

Two updates:

• Andrew Pelling – the Conservative MP arrested on suspicion of assaulting his wife – has announced he is standing down at the next general election.
• Miranda Grell – the Labour councillor convited of smearing her Liberal Democrat opponent as a paedophile – has quit as an aide to Labour London Assembly member (and Deputy Mayor) Nicky Gavron.

Full credit to Katie Hanson and LGBT Labour for these comments from the Waltham Forest Guardian:

The Labour Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (LGBT) has issued the following statement: “The Labour Party has a proud record of equal rights and promoting gay equality.

“Over the last ten years the Labour government has transformed Britain into a more equal and tolerant place.

“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

…

Waltham Forest Labour councillor Miranda Grell lost her appeal today over her conviction for falsely smearing her Liberal Democrat opponent in the 2006 elections. The smears involved painting her opponent as a child abuser.

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.

Hat tip:

Well, well, here’s a puzzle.

In response to my previous blog posting about the Labour councillor convicted of smearing her opponent, Joanne made numerous comments defending Miranda Grell, including this one:

Rubbish. I have read the transcript of the trial and Grell said during that trial that she thought Mr Smith’s partner was 19 because she had seen him with her own eyes and that is the age he looks. She said nothing about knowing or not not knowing about him being 39. Read the transcript before sounding off.

and also:

Read the transcript.

not to mention:

I have read the transcript

and then:

I have just had

…

Waltham Forest Labour councillor Miranda Grell has been found guilty of falsely smearing her Liberal Democrat opponent in the 2006 elections as a paedophile. She has been fined £1,000, ordered to pay £3,000 in costs and banned from public office for three years.

The police have been gathering in new witness statements for the forthcoming trial of Labour councillor Miranda Grell. She has been charged with making false statements about her Liberal Democrat opponent, Barry Smith in the May 2006 elections in Waltham Forrest. The trial is expected in September.