Monday, November 06, 2006
Welsh connection
The latest blow to the credibility of David Cameron's attempt to create a more diverse and electoral Conservative Party has a Welsh connection. Ellenor Bland, who has been accused of sending out a racist e-mail, which features on a white supremicist website, fought Swansea East at the last General Election.
Councillor Bland blames her husband for sending the e-mail but nevertheless implies on the BBC website that it takes a light-hearted view of some serious issues. As well as the poem the e-mail contains a picture of the white cliffs of Dover with the words ‘piss off - we’re full’ on them. Hardly, an acceptable message from a serious politician or anybody else for that matter. Perhaps Councillor Bland should insist that her husband gets his own e-mail account.
Interestingly, Swansea East was one of the few Welsh constituencies to have a BNP candidate in 2005. As the Welsh Liberal Democrat agent I was anxious that they should not use the election platform to convey their obnoxious views so I set out to convince the other candidates to forgoe their right to address the counters and assorted observers after the result had been declared. The idea was that only the winning candidate would speak and that she would thank all the workers on behalf of everybody else.
Councillor Bland was the only candidate to resist this idea, even though it has been done elsewhere, notably in Oldham. In the end she was persuaded and the BNP were denied their platform.
I should make it clear that Councillor Bland did not demur for any reason to do with the BNP. I got the impression that she shared our objective of preventing their candidate from speaking. She was just concerned at the fact that she was being denied a platform herself. She was also worried that there might be trouble and felt it necessary to ask the advice of the local Police. It was to her credit that she overcame those concerns and allowed the plan to proceed.
Councillor Bland blames her husband for sending the e-mail but nevertheless implies on the BBC website that it takes a light-hearted view of some serious issues. As well as the poem the e-mail contains a picture of the white cliffs of Dover with the words ‘piss off - we’re full’ on them. Hardly, an acceptable message from a serious politician or anybody else for that matter. Perhaps Councillor Bland should insist that her husband gets his own e-mail account.
Interestingly, Swansea East was one of the few Welsh constituencies to have a BNP candidate in 2005. As the Welsh Liberal Democrat agent I was anxious that they should not use the election platform to convey their obnoxious views so I set out to convince the other candidates to forgoe their right to address the counters and assorted observers after the result had been declared. The idea was that only the winning candidate would speak and that she would thank all the workers on behalf of everybody else.
Councillor Bland was the only candidate to resist this idea, even though it has been done elsewhere, notably in Oldham. In the end she was persuaded and the BNP were denied their platform.
I should make it clear that Councillor Bland did not demur for any reason to do with the BNP. I got the impression that she shared our objective of preventing their candidate from speaking. She was just concerned at the fact that she was being denied a platform herself. She was also worried that there might be trouble and felt it necessary to ask the advice of the local Police. It was to her credit that she overcame those concerns and allowed the plan to proceed.
