Latest news I hear is that following his resignation as Conservative candidate for Watford, Ian Oakley has now also resigned from the Conservative group on Hillingdon Council and will sit as an independent. All this follows the news at the weekend that he had been arrested by the police as part of investigations in to a long-running hate campaign at Liberal Democrat members in Watford.
(As before, if you comment on this please remember that he has been arrested, which is not the same as being convicted.)
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13 Comments
Is it the same as being strongly suspected of doing something wrong then?
If the man is innocent it is odd that he would feel it necessary to take action like this, unless it wasn’t a voluntary action, of course. In which case it would be evidence that his (former) party is highly sensitive to the whiff of allegations – which isn’t the behaviour of an innocent conscience on their behalf.
I disagree with people who assert that his various resignations are somehow an admission of guilt, or bordering on one. He could just be falling on his sword to distance his party from the allegations.
This story is all very strange.
It would not be unusual for a Councillor facing serious allegations to be suspended from their party until the allegations were investigated more fully.
So it would be wrong to read anything into his resignation.
I just despair when people of whatever party do things like this.
There are no winners as all politicians are tarred with the same brush.
I don’t think whether this man is guilty or not is the important point from our perspective – despite any tasteless propaganda points which could be made.
The facts remain that these events ocurred and it must be said that we stand resolutely against dirty politics, because that is what is in the public interest.
Whoever is the guilty perpetrator and for whatever reason, this behaviour and the motivating impulse behind it needs to be rooted out of our society.
While we might be tempted to crow in vindication we must also remember to use this and similar cases (one thinks of Miranda Grell) as examples to avoid should we ever be lead into temptation ourselves.
That said, we need as a party and as a public to understand the motives which lead to undesirable and illiberal events of this nature so that we can inform ourselves adequately how to prevent them in the future.
It may be lacking in tact to highlight how politics underpins thinking but it would also be to refuse to take political leadership by failing to draw the link between intelligence (or lack thereof) with party representation (albeit in infinite variation). It is wrong to spring to conclusions about guilt, but we can point decidedly and assuredly to our philosophy and principles as the correct way to go.
But Colchester Pete, that’s the whole point. All politicians are tarred with the same brush and Labour and Lib Dem supporters will stay at home disillusioned, while the Tories can always get their more elderly supporters out. That’s why, deep down, I don’t think they really care.
Martin, I suppose that is why so many of the under 25’s are supporting the Conservatives these days. Until the case is heard it is hard to pass judgement accurately. It is sad that Jo seems to suggest that just because someone has been arrested that they must be guilty of something (and, IIRC, on the other thread on this many others put forward similar views). I suppose people like her were all for laying into Robert Murat – after all there is no way that someone could be completely innocent after having been fingered by the law, is there?
Clearly we should wait until the legal process is over before making judgemnet on the individual who has been arrested.
But we can all sympathise with the many victims of this campaign of intimidation against Lib Dem supporters in Watford.
No activists of any democratic party should have to put up with that.
This campaign has been pretty extreme – I can’t think of another recent example like it.
Whoever is behind it I suspect it is more down to their flaws as an individual than whichever party they belong to.
And now he’s been charged.
http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/localnews/3546069.Police_charge_Oakley/
Ian Oakley has now been charged with five counts of criminal damage and two of harassment:
http://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/3546069.Police_charge_Oakley/
Just seen report on BBC websitethat he has pleaded guilty http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7542549.stm
Am I being too cynical in bracing myself for a concerted Tory inspired campaign to smear some opposing politicians for whatever to deflect damage arising from this case?
Dear passing Tory – the under 25s are voting Tory because they are too young to remember how shit the last Tory Government was – from putting 3 million on the dole to putting Mugabe in charge in Zimbabwe they really were very bad at running the country, but strangely similar in their policy and performance to the Tories in the 20s & 30s.