| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Just what are the Tories and Junior Tories doing to our borough? | |
| Posted by: | Phil Andrews | |
| Date/Time: | 02/06/09 17:11:00 |
| Robin If I may deal with your last point first, I would respectfully suggest that where you go wrong is by confusing cause with effect. Whenever a Labour councillor or member works constructively with me for the greater good I go out of my way to acknowledge and thank them for their support. I publicly challenge you to give me one example - that's ONE - where a member of your party has ever spoken publicly in praise of anything I or any of my colleagues has said or done. Privately, I have been privileged to receive many plaudits from colleagues of yours for my community cohesion work. A couple of years ago I had the honour of sharing a platform with a very well-known former Labour MP and we spoke over dinner and later for some considerable time in the bar about our respective experiences. She was a person whose electoral defeat I had welcomed as a result of her outspoken support for the Iraq war (which I still oppose as much as ever), but I learned to respect her nevertheless as a human being and in particular as a sincere anti-racist campaigner. It is my view that your party takes this approach because it likes to reserve its right to spread misinformation about us at election times, a strategy which for some peculiar reason you and yours still seem to believe to be a clever and successful one in the face of all the evidence of the last three local elections. As for me allegedly receiving the support of people with racist views at elections I would suggest is you, not I, who wants to have your cake and eat it. If it could be shown that I was in the habit of making statements, or even dropping hints, that I had a racist agenda then your critcisms would be valid, but I don't and thus they are not. The real reason why a minority of people who do have views of this kind may still support me is because they have been led to believe that I hold views which are similar to their own. Now here's a multiple choice question for you Robin - who is it who likes to perpetuate this myth - (a) me, or (b) you? This is the bottom line Robin, your strategy is a double-edged sword. Lying to people about the alleged racist motives of the ICG may drive away a few potential supporters who themselves abhor racism, but at the same time it must inevitably drive into our camp people who themselves have a racist outlook. For you to then attack me or my colleagues for this is the very height of chutzpah. When all is said and done nothing I say is going to prevent you from believing what you choose to believe, or at least profess to believe, especially if you still feel there is mileage to be gained from your current approach. I do not engage in "window dressing", after disengaging with the far-right I made a conscious decision to stay in "politics" and right some of the wrongs that had defined my earlier political career. That "anti-racists" went out of their way, and still go out of their way, to impede me in that work for narrow political ends is a cross I am resigned to having to bear. Incidentally, for the benefit of neutrals who are not frightened of the truth a flavour of my real ideas on racism, community cohesion and associated issues can be found below. Robin will doubtless come back to argue that they are all a charade, written for his benefit. Judge for yourselves: http://philandrews.blogspot.com/2009/05/bnps-rise-is-fantasy-created-by-anti.html http://philandrews.blogspot.com/2009/05/if-you-dont-hate-dont-vote-for-my-old.html http://philandrews.blogspot.com/2009/04/christians-together-in-isleworth.html http://philandrews.blogspot.com/2009/04/christians-together-in-isleworth.html http://philandrews.blogspot.com/2009/04/incapacitation-is-seldom-to-be-welcomed.html http://philandrews.blogspot.com/2009/03/hounslow-wins-beacon-status-for.html http://philandrews.blogspot.com/2008/11/chilling-thought-at-birthday.html http://philandrews.blogspot.com/2008/11/pride-in-our-borough.html http://philandrews.blogspot.com/2008/10/under-rainbow.html http://philandrews.blogspot.com/2008/08/seeing-bigger-picture.html http://philandrews.blogspot.com/2008/07/goodbye-nothing-to-say.html http://philandrews.blogspot.com/2008/06/making-community-cohesion-work-part-two.html http://philandrews.blogspot.com/2008/06/im-back-from-harrogate-and-eager-to.html http://philandrews.blogspot.com/2008/06/on-community-cohesion-conference-speech.html http://philandrews.blogspot.com/2008/05/everybody-matters-making-community.html |