Monday, January 20, 2014
What It Takes To Be A Lib Dem - Sexual Assault is OK, Liberalism Isn't
This is a letter I sent out a few days ago comparing and contrasting Lord Rennard's continued membership of the Pseudo-Liberals with my being expelled from the same party some years ago, charged with being a traditional liberal.
It went out to the UK press en masse and does not appear to have been published. Perhaps this is because Lord Rennard's hijinks simply isn't newsworthy by the intellectual and rarefied standards our approved media apply. That or it isn't as well written as even the silliest letters they publish.
The only alternative would be deliberate censorship by our totalitarian media of anything that promotes UKIP or does down the Pseudo-Libs and who could possibly believe that?
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It went out to the UK press en masse and does not appear to have been published. Perhaps this is because Lord Rennard's hijinks simply isn't newsworthy by the intellectual and rarefied standards our approved media apply. That or it isn't as well written as even the silliest letters they publish.
The only alternative would be deliberate censorship by our totalitarian media of anything that promotes UKIP or does down the Pseudo-Libs and who could possibly believe that?
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Sir,
I see that LibDem leader Nick Clegg has said that Lord Rennard should "apologise" to the 4 female party members who complained of his sexual assaults. Fortunately none of them are among the party's female MPs, one of whom has been widely quoted as saying "you have to put up with it if you want to get on in the party". Party president Tim Farron has said that none of this warrants expulsion.
I found this of interest since some years ago I was expelled from that party.
The accusation against me was that I support classic liberal principles such as economic and personal liberty (the clue is in the word). I believe that with less government interference we would have a more successful economy - closer to the 6% annual growth rate of the non-EU world. I was the only person at Conference to speak directly against the passive smoking ban as illiberal. I supported nuclear power and warned that closing Hunterston in 2009 would risk blackouts.
Despite a spirited defence this traditional liberalism was deemed "illiberal and incompatible with party membership" and presumably still is. Lord Rennard must be pleased that his liberalism is so much more acceptable to a Pseudo-Liberal party which has forgotten its roots. I am pleased to now be in a more liberal, in the political meaning, party.
Neil Craig
Prospective UKIP candidate, Glasgow North
Reference "getting on in the party" http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2284723/Lord-Rennard-insists-complained-27-years-alleged-groping-victim-lifts-lid-Rennards-Red-Hot-Babes.html
One matter of interest is that not one of their 6 female MPs have said anything on the subject except that Jo Swinson is said by one of the complainants to have originated (& has not denied) the quotation about Rennard as being "just one of the things you have to do".
I intend to send the letter out again, slightly modified when his Lordship sits in the lords and doesn't apologise. Statistically that makes it just about certain it will be published if our media aren't censoring ;-)
Also I have added this comment to 9 blogs listed on LibDem Blogs.
My guess is that it will be censored by 7 or 8 of them but will let you know if they do better than that:
"As someone expelled from the "LibDems" on a charge that being an economic liberal is "incompatible with party membership" I find it interesting to see what is compatible with it.
In the normal way of "LD" bloggers I assume this comment will be censored."
UPDATE
Mark Pack allowed my comment to stand (but did not make any answer). None of the others appear to have left it uncensored at all. That fits their illiberal trend.
Also I have added this comment to 9 blogs listed on LibDem Blogs.
My guess is that it will be censored by 7 or 8 of them but will let you know if they do better than that:
"As someone expelled from the "LibDems" on a charge that being an economic liberal is "incompatible with party membership" I find it interesting to see what is compatible with it.
In the normal way of "LD" bloggers I assume this comment will be censored."
UPDATE
Mark Pack allowed my comment to stand (but did not make any answer). None of the others appear to have left it uncensored at all. That fits their illiberal trend.
Labels: British politics, Media, Unpublished letters
