General Election 2024: General UK Politics Discussion here

[Delbow]

On 25/06/2024 at 11:02, Bellatrix said:

Here's Joan Smith, former Guardian, New Statesman and Independent columnist, and until 2021 co-chair of the Mayor of London's  Violence Against Women and Girls Board:

 

 

I hope she also told him about the death threats and rape threats received by Labour MP Rosie Duffield, and the former Guardian journalists mentioned in my previous post, including threats to rape Suzanne Moore's children.

 

So much toxicity.  Get a grip, Keir, with your absolutely woeful weasel words and obfuscation.  You're haemorrhaging the women voters who've long supported your party and who really want to support you. 

 

 

I (genuinely) wonder what you make of Jill Furniss's decision not to attend the hustings held at Christ Church, Pitsmoor earlier this week. Initially, no clear reasons for non-attendance were given, just that she wouldn't be attending. After some pressing (apparently based on some local cynicism that she just didn't want to answer any questions on Palestine) she issued a statement that she had received some threats that made it feel unsafe for her to attend. I've no reason to disbelieve her about the threats, but what concerns me is that it's not like she has previously been visible and present in the area but now because of threats she feels reluctantly unable to be - she has been invisible ever since her election. Not just physically absent, but seemingly nothing to say about the constituency either, other than simply repeating the party line on any and every issue. It's like she's a made up person, a fiction, completely disconnected from what is a taken-for-granted Labour safe seat. Isn't there a risk that threats (and is there anyone in the public eye who hasn't  had a death threat now?) might be used as cover for ducking accountability? Hybrid online/in person meetings and events are normal in many workplaces now, so I can't see a reason for not attending online if physical safety is a concern.

[Bellatrix]

@Delbow Not quoting your post for space reasons. 

 

You have two issues there: her performance and visibility, and threats received which have compromised her safety.  Can't comment on the former - I don't know anything about it - but I would take seriously any statement that a woman - or indeed anyone - has received threats the assessed seriousness of which has resulted in a decision not to attend an event. 

[hackey lad]

2 hours ago, alchresearch said:

 

Yeah, only said after he was caught

[Delbow]

32 minutes ago, Bellatrix said:

@Delbow Not quoting your post for space reasons. 

 

You have two issues there: her performance and visibility, and threats received which have compromised her safety.  Can't comment on the former - I don't know anything about it - but I would take seriously any statement that a woman - or indeed anyone - has received threats the assessed seriousness of which has resulted in a decision not to attend an event. 

 

Sure, but my post had a question in it and I'm interested in what your answer is. Also, isn't there a difference between any old event and a hustings - which in theory at least is meant to be a cornerstone of a representative democracy, in that it's a way of teasing out which candidate to vote for?

[Zinger549]

1 hour ago, Padders said:

£3 a pint. A bargain..

Watered down no doubt.

[Bellatrix]

20 minutes ago, Delbow said:

 

Sure, but my post had a question in it and I'm interested in what your answer is. Also, isn't there a difference between any old event and a hustings - which in theory at least is meant to be a cornerstone of a representative democracy, in that it's a way of teasing out which candidate to vote for?

 

It did, and I answered it: I would take seriously any statement that a woman has received threats to her safety the seriousness of which has been assessed to be such that a decision has been made not to attend an event.  To elaborate: I wouldn't grope for additional or alternative explanations, and would anticipate secure events, and/or the online equivalent, to be put in place in such a situation.

[Delbow]

3 minutes ago, Bellatrix said:

 

It did, and I answered it: I would take seriously any statement that a woman has received threats to her safety the seriousness of which has been assessed to be such that a decision has been made not to attend an event.  To elaborate: I wouldn't grope for additional or alternative explanations, and would anticipate secure events, and/or the online equivalent, to be put in place in such a situation.

 

Secure or hybrid events would certainly help, in which case we need to resolve how this will be paid for. At the moment, we are having to trust politicians who say that they are not attending debates or hustings due to threats, but obviously we're not going to be shown those threats because they're presumably subject to criminal investigation. Seems like a potentially easy way to avoid scrutiny.

[hackey lad]

2 hours ago, Delbow said:

 

I (genuinely) wonder what you make of Jill Furniss's decision not to attend the hustings held at Christ Church, Pitsmoor earlier this week. Initially, no clear reasons for non-attendance were given, just that she wouldn't be attending. After some pressing (apparently based on some local cynicism that she just didn't want to answer any questions on Palestine) she issued a statement that she had received some threats that made it feel unsafe for her to attend. I've no reason to disbelieve her about the threats, but what concerns me is that it's not like she has previously been visible and present in the area but now because of threats she feels reluctantly unable to be - she has been invisible ever since her election. Not just physically absent, but seemingly nothing to say about the constituency either, other than simply repeating the party line on any and every issue. It's like she's a made up person, a fiction, completely disconnected from what is a taken-for-granted Labour safe seat. Isn't there a risk that threats (and is there anyone in the public eye who hasn't  had a death threat now?) might be used as cover for ducking accountability? Hybrid online/in person meetings and events are normal in many workplaces now, so I can't see a reason for not attending online if physical safety is a concern.

Couldn’t she have sent a stand in , like one of the other candidates did ?

[Delbow]

17 minutes ago, hackey lad said:

Couldn’t she have sent a stand in , like one of the other candidates did ?

 

Possibly. She could have sent a cardboard cut out with a copy of the Labour manifesto and it would have probably been just as responsive and locally focused.

[horribleblob]

23 minutes ago, hackey lad said:

Couldn’t she have sent a stand in , like one of the other candidates did ?

Is that what you'd do and place someone else in a potentially harmful situation?

 

I'm not sure I would.