Friday Frippery: Militant John and the Labour Attack Puppies

You couldn't make this up but the Newham toryminitrue site run by thin-skinned Tory, Neil "Skinhead" Pearce, is accusing moi of being a Labour "attack dog".  As if.

Apparently "Militant John" has "orchestrated" a letter writing "crusade" against this 'orrible ConDem government in the letter pages of the Newham Recorder.  To think I would do such a thing while being West Ham Labour Party agent! How completely outrageous a suggestion!

What stuff and nonsense.  As agent maybe I should have organised a campaign but the truth of the matter is that I have sent one letter to the Newham Recorder complaining about an abusive one that Pearce had sent them about our West Ham MP, Lyn Brown and his hypocritical attempts to score political points at the expense of Remembrance Day services. I have not had any knowledge or involvement in any other letters to the Newham Recorder.  These letters I think actually reflect genuine anger by local residents about this silly Tory attempt to make political capital out of the sacrifice of our armed forces and how they detest this government. Nothing to do with me - Guv.

Apparently, according to Minitrue, some Labour Party bods also don't like me being so 'orrible about Pearce and his Newham Tories! tut, tut..come off it - how stupid does Pearce and Toryminitrue think people are?  What planet do these Tory numpties actually live on?  People expect Labour to attack the Tories.  Especially when they leave such open goals.

BTW I think Newham Tories will do very well in Planet United Left - their natural home :)

(picture is of young Militant John launching one of his Labour attack puppies at somebody's ankle)

Magic Moments

I had a letter published recently in the Newham Recorder as West Ham Labour Party agent criticising Tory East Ham Chair, Neal Pearce,  for being abusive about West Ham  MP Lyn Brown and using Remembrance Day to make cheap political points.  A number of Newham residents also wrote in to complain about his behaviour.  On 29 December Mr Peace responded defending his comments by claiming that I had been “rude” about his appearance on this blog during the 2009 by-election and had apparently “booed” him during the May 2010 election count?  How childish and ridiculous. 

In the 2009 campaign I had criticised a Tory election leaflet he published about himself which I said he appeared to have a (my Welsh Compatriot) “Vinnie Jones” skinhead haircut.  Nothing more and nothing less.  I supposed he is complaining that I was actually comparing him to a yob.  But please look at the picture on his leaflet (see video) and make your own mind up.  The fact that so-called “thick skinned” Pearce made a thinly veiled threat of violence against me does I suppose support this yobbish assumption. 

On Election day this year there was as you can imagine a lot of cheering and booing going on from both sides during the formal declarations.  As far as I remember I was trying to fix my camera to record the result when his came up.  I am pretty sure that I never behaved in the daft and boorish manner that Mr Pearce displayed at his election declaration in 2009.

The big issue of course is that he has never responded to my criticism about him politicising Remembrance Day – instead he tries to shirk responsibility for his comments by claiming I have been “orrible” to him.  How silly and immature.  Mr Pearce should realise the first rule of politics is that if you are in a hole.  Stop digging.

Meanwhile someone has sent me this YouTube link.  Headphones and speakers on.  Pearce’s nonsense helps proves my point. Why are the opposition in Newham, extreme left and extreme right, so completely rubbish?  Obsessed solely with personalities?  None of them have any real politics.  Oh well.

Letter to Newham Recorder

Dear Editor

East Ham Tory Chair, Neil Pearce,  is entitled to criticise our West Ham MP, Lyn Brown, for what he apparently believes to be her “politicising” of Remembrance Sunday (letters 1 Dec).  But does he really have to use such personal language?  He describes her comments as  being “disgusting”  and “really sickening” and then makes a series of partisan political points himself? 

Let us remember that Lyn was suggesting very gently in her column that those who choose to wear the poppy in a very political way - in China of all places (The Prime Minster David Cameron during his recent visit) should at very least pay the war widows what they deserve - because war widows and the rest of us are going to suffer for the cuts they are imposing on benefits and public services. She was adding her voice to a campaign to protect the vulnerable, those who have already lost so much, and get the Government to pull back from their policy of below inflation increases for war widows and others in receipt of pensions. Mr Pearce would be better engaged in assisting in that campaign.

Can I suggest that if in the future he or anyone thinks that Lyn has got something wrong that they write to her first pointing out their concerns.  If they are not satisfied with her response then by all means they could bring it to the attention of a wider audience without hopefully making Remembrance Sunday itself a focus for petty political abuse and a failed exercise of point scoring

Your faithfully

John Gray

West Ham Labour Party Agent

(published 15 December 2010)