Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns resigns in disgrace just before Johnson launch speech
Tory Alun Cairns has resigned as Welsh Secretary after leaked emails proved he had known about allegations that a Tory candidate he had endorsed had ‘sabotaged’ a rape trial, in spite of Cairns’ initial denials.
The resignation comes just as Boris Johnson prepares to launch his general election campaign – and on top of the ongoing scandal of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s Grenfell comments, an attempt by a Tory colleague to justify them and James Cleverly’s shame as Sky’s Kay Burley dramatically empty-chaired him after he hid from an interview.
SKWAWKBOX view:
The common thread in the Tories’ disastrous campaign start has three obvious strands: dishonesty, arrogance and an utter disregard for the vulnerable.
Vote Labour.
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Its becoming more like a most wanted list of criminals on here when you mention the Tory party…johnson the capo,and start counting
What a f…ing car crash.
Is this how Dominic Cummings game-played the launch of the Tory campaign. It is easy to imagine Theresa May’s reaction to this.
Also easy to imagine the schadenfreude Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill must be feeling 🙂
BloJob’s blaming parliament (again) today for frustrating Brexit, despite
“I’ll overcome all opposition and GET BREXIT DONE!”
being the (broken… again) promise that won him the leadership.
I think it was Cleverly who claimed on the BBC to have no insider knowledge of Cairns’ involvement or otherwise, despite being the chairman of the party last time I looked.
Maybe he’d had a text about Cairns quitting while he was waiting to be interviewed?
The email concerning the Conservative candidate for the Welsh Assembly who sabotaged a rape trial was also copied to Richard Minshull Director of the Welsh Conservatives so he knew the shameful background of candidate too. What kind of people endorse someone who undermines the credibility of a rape victim in court in order to get a rapist (he was convicted of rape following a retrial) off the hook ? Senior Tories that’s who. Absolutely disgusting – Minshull should resign too along with anyone involved.
Mate, it should come as no surprise – given their overt mistreatment of the sick & disabled; the unemployed and the poor.
They even conspire to have journalists beaten up. Does kuenssberg know something we don’t? It’d explain a lot, wouldn’t it?
Were those alleged ‘bodyguards’ actually for her ‘protection’?
Just askin’ , is all…
THe BBC’s/ Kuensenberg’s publicity stunt alongside her mild reprimand for malicious misrepresentation of Jeremy Corbyn tells you all you need to know about both her and the BBC. What gets me however is we are paying her and others at the BBC massive wages via our TV licences to malign our party and our leadership team. The BBC is failing to honour the terms of its charter and this will have to be addressed at some time in the near future.
I find nothing odd about anything they get up to.
I forgot to ask, has our Laura, got shares in GS4?
The spectacle of Tories in the glasshouse putting big feet in the dung heap whilst throwing stones is delightful for we political nerds.
But – given that every little helps – how much of this actually cuts through the fug of obfuscation and boredom?
After all – given Mr Toad’s remarkably consistent record and continuing performance as a serial liar and incompetent, he still ended up as PM.
Just pondering.
RH….He became the PM by the vote of the Tory party degenerates about one hundred thousand.Thats the only vote he will ever win book the removal van for the 13th and the rotten eggs
“He became the PM by the vote of the Tory party”
Of course. But he is supported by a surprising number of the electorate, given his record. Otherwise the Tories would not have selected him.That is my point – have no illusions about Joe and Josephine Public.
Everybody loves a comedy turn until they hate it.
Ask Jim Davidson, Ben Elton or any other ex comedy star who couldn’t fill a village hall.
Chris Williamson & others banned by Labour from standing at next election…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50319044
Grim.
Also Sally Gimson who was selected to stand for Labour in Bassetlaw, has not been endorsed and will not be able to stand as a candidate.
https://labourlist.org/2019/11/labour-nec-refuses-to-endorse-williamson-hepburn-and-godsiff/
Maybe Bassetlaw can have someone who isn’t/wasn’t previously a councillor from londinium represent them instead?
Someone local to Bassetlaw, perhaps?
I’m not sure where this ends. Clearly the NEC isn’t a body fit to command the support of members when Hodge isn’t even sanctioned for lying and insulting the Party whilst Williamson is given the boot for telling the truth.
I’m wondering what I would do if I lived in his constituency.
Once the election is done, there needs to be a serious move to clean the stables.
I think that is a distinct possibility.
And why do you think Hodge wasn’t sanctioned RH?
Allan Howard 07/11/2019 at 1:16 am
At a guess, and it is only a guess – The Labour party had long ago embarked on a policy of never ending capitulation and Hodge had instructed some very expensive lawyers.
Ah, Labour the party that welcomes foul mouthed banshees, Israeli atrocity and crimes apologists, warmongers, neoliberals/neocons, conspiracy theorists and self serving dross as MPs… no wonder Williamson is not considered suitable to be a Labour MP candidate most of the rest are self serving yes men and women.would sell out their mother for a few quid and a place on the next rung of the Corporatocracy ladder..
LP can have the best policies ever and a genuine grass roots but I no longer trust them to deliver on anything that really and truly puts people above the Rentier classes and banksters. It will be same old coated in green and nationalise and save this or that slogans and of course Corbyn is chief campaigner being a decent man is genuine but I can’t see Corbyn surviving much beyond this GE and if it delivers a hung Parliament then five more years of nothing being done except dropping bombs, warmongering and millions more pushed into poverty and severe hardship and untimely deaths.
I would like to thank Chris Williamson for all his years of hard work in the LP including his recent brave stands on Assange, Integrity Initiative etc. and the democracy roadshow. I don’t like what the LP is becoming and there is now one less Labour MP I have respect for and the list was already dwindling. Even Burgon hasn’t said a peep about Assange’s incarceration… very disappointed.
As I mentioned Integrity Initiative here’s Kit Klarenberg’s latest following the release of Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) inquiry into the Institute of Statecraft parent of Integrity Initiative.
https://sputniknews.com/military/201911051077231337-integrity-initiative-oscr-report-damning/
Many have been sounding alarms about the third sector being increasingly under influence of ‘vested interests’ for years.
‘Chris Williamson & others banned by Labour from standing at next election…’
Well it’s not that Chris has been ‘banned’, but the fact that he is still suspended, which seems to me to indicate that today’s NEC meeting was a pointless exercise, because there could only ever be one outcome. Unless, that is, you wanted to evoke lots of negative commentary regarding Jeremy, and criticism of him for not defending Chris blah, blah, blah, and saying how you’re seriously thinking of leaving the Labour Party et, etc (and then it wouldn’t have been ‘pointless’ at ALL!). And we’ve had plenty of THAT today over on another thread, and even BEFORE the news came in that Chris wouldn’t be contesting his seat.
Anyway, I assume that the LP can’t stop Chris from standing as an Independent, and the very best of luck to him if he DOES, but one thing’s for certain, that if he DOES, the ‘moderates’ and the fascist-controlled media will absolutely hammer him every which way they can, and he would almost definitely lose the seat as a consequence, which is pretty marginal anyway, as far as I’m aware.
And I reiterate: What was the NEC considering today if there was nothing to consider, and he couldn’t be the LP candidate anyway because he was suspended. It doesn’t make sense. Unless………
Here’s the headline and – more importantly – the sub-headline of the Jewish Chronicle coverage, AND the first couple of paragraphs:
Chris Williamson blocked from running as Labour candidate
It is understood that the party’s National Executive Committee deemed the former Derby North MP ineligible for selection as his disciplinary case is ongoing
Chris Williamson will not stand as a Labour candidate in the forthcoming general election.
A party source confirmed that Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC) deemed the former Derby North MP ineligible for selection as his disciplinary case is ongoing.
Yeah, right, so they had to have a meeting today to confirm it!
What a joke!. On US!!
Allan Howard 06/11/2019 at 10:58 pm
I am puzzled, what point are you trying to make?
All the early reports on this used more or less the same wording. It means nothing more than they had been told what happened but had yet to be told officially.
It isn’t rocket science SteveH. I SAW the early reports (or one of them, that is). This is from the Express:
A party source said: “The NEC has decided to not endorse Chris Williamson, Stephen Hepburn and Roger Godsiff as candidates in the general election.
“Labour candidates will be selected in these three constituencies.
“The Labour party rule book clearly states individuals who are suspended from the party are not eligible to be Labour candidates.
“The Labour Party is also clear that all Labour Parliamentary candidates must receive endorsement from the NEC in order to be confirmed as Labour candidates.”
(Ends)
Got it SteveH? If an MP is suspended then they can’t be endorsed anyway, so there was nothing whatsoever to consider regarding Chris. It was a cynical ploy, you know, like scraping together another raft of allegations and laying them on Chris and suspending him on top of the suspension he was already on just a week before the court case that ‘they’ knew would find his previous re-suspension unlawful.
I don’t buy your explanation SteveH, but if that WAS the case, then how come there was all that negative shit on the other thread attacking and condemning Jeremy, and all the shit about appeasement again. Doesn’t make sense, and YOU were one of the im-posters spouting the crap.
Allan Howard 06/11/2019 at 11:56 pm
What on earth are you wittering on about and why.
FFS get a grip and stop imagining that everything is some desperately cunning conspiracy.
Could you elaborate SteveH (re your 12.34am post)? And just clarify what the purpose of the NEC meeting was in relation to Chris. Cheers
Allan Howard 07/11/2019 at 1:09 am
That’s easy they had a procedure to follow. I have no doubt that you would have been critical if they hadn’t.
Steve and Allan, my impression may well be wrong but it’s that the NEC has complete autonomy over its own process or at least its agenda between conferences – it certainly appears to delay cases at will and apparently without reference to anything but tea leaves and chicken entrails.
Anyone looking in from outside can hardly escape the conclusion that they’re delaying some cases in a manner reminiscent of ‘The Trial’.
Maybe there’s another explanation. I’ve heard of cricketers and footballers ’tilting the pitch’ for gambling purposes.
You guys don’t think the NEC could be an odds-fixing ring do you? Or maybe just gambling on future bungs or gongs from the Blairtories?
Chris is well aware of what treatment will be dealt to him. He is a tough nut to crack. Best wishes.
Politics is certainly a dirty business but it all pales into insignificance when we take a moment and think about what the victim is being dragged through again and for what
No words
The masters of timing the NEC?…They must be next on the choping block after the election….What a way to demotivate the membership Shocking news and denying our best mp from a job he shined out as a beacon of hope for democracy and decency
LANSMAN FIRST UP FOR THE BOOT !!
He won’t go quietly. I have warned about that squad for years, not the membership, but the TWs. They are vain and obsessed with being on TV and the press. I don’t know why some are in the party or maybe I do and it’s not cuddly. Good luck everyone.
The NEC didn’t DENY Chris anything Joseph. It was all a scam, concocted and designed to play a game with peoples emotions – ie JC supporting members and non-members, that is, and give their minions the opportunity to castigate and criticise him for not supporting Chris etc, etc, when there was absolutely NOTHING to castigate and criticise him for. See my three posts above, if you haven’t done so already.
What was the point of having a meeting if there was no possibility that his status would, or could, be changed, precisely because HE – Chris – was suspended.
I want every single name and chair of that execution squad…NEC shitts
How do we find out who did what and then target them for removal
We have an election to win. Let’s focus on that shall we.
NEC made the correct decision. If CW had been reinstated, a shitstorm by the MSM and a gift to the Tories would have resulted.
The Toffee – Jon Lineman was a member of a Labour NEC ‘Org Sub’ panel which also composed of the TSSA’s Andi Fox and GMB’s Sarah Owen.
If you read the article I’ve linked to it would appear that she unexpectedly beat the National Momentum candidate but still has the support of both the CLP and local momentum.
I have absolutely no idea about the veracity of the complaints made about her but it is more than a little odd that Lansman should be the one deciding Sally Gimson’s future
Similarly, SteveH. No sane organisation would let Lansman anywhere near a serious decision-making body – especially one concerned with the ‘antisemitism’ fakery.
I hold no candle for Gimson.I know nothing about her, beyond that she is a parachutist – which fact keeps me sceptical. But her comment …
““I have been condemned by a kangaroo court. Transparency, openness and democracy has been thrown out of the window.”
… rings true of this whole sorry business.
These little unaccountable and incestuous cliques operating on behalf of the NEC desperately need scrutiny and revision – and Lansman needs the left boot rather than thesurgical support that has blindly been given up to press.
RH 06/11/2019 at 5:55 pm
My impression is that the NEC and Lansman tried to rig the election and it back-fired on them. She appears to have the continuing support of Bassetlaw’s CLP.
The selection result in Leave-voting Bassetlaw had come as a surprise to many, as Unite-backed Ashfield councillor Keir Morrison was expected to win. It was thought that Gimson was included as a ‘paper candidate’.
The local party chairs and secretaries in both Holborn and St Pancras and Bassetlaw have issued statements in support of Sally Gimson and have asked the NEC to reconsider its refusal to endorse her candidacy.
https://labourlist.org/2019/11/labour-nec-refuses-to-endorse-williamson-hepburn-and-godsiff/
Could have been Vas.
I’ve started #motorwaypileuptoriesGE for group amusement re the ongoing institutionalised disaster thet is Tory GE campaign…
And our NEC….struggling with the decision on our self medicating drug pusher VAZ.. Says it all
Surely it is only right that they should carefully consider their decision. If we have a duty of care to someone suffering from cancer then surely we owe the same duty of care to someone suffering from a mental illness.
Surely anything our sniffing, rentboy, fifth columnist should have his vote annulled. He should have his membership card, ceremoniously burnt in Piccadilly. What does the Law and Bar associations think of his behaviour. Just like that Welsh bloke, his tastes will never change. This is going to be a toxic contest. Stout hearts Comrades. Plough through the filth and dung which will be slung our way. Regards.
Good night comrades….I can’t believe it?
Never mind this , what about the appalling decision over Chris Williamson by the NEC !!!!
DISGUSTING AND TRULY APPALLING action that will hand Derby over to the Tories/Libdems
I totally despair. Can only think there is still a blairite influence. Seriously considering cancelling my Labour membership.
me too !
That’ll help !!!! The Tories.
Oh look. A lying Tory.
TOM WATSON is STANDING DOWN (Sky News)
At last and it will make good anti-Corbyn gossip fodder for BBC et al.
Take a look at Tom’s resignation letter and Jeremy’s very courteous reply. I suggest that we would all be well advised to respect Jeremy’s wisdom and take his lead on this.
Tom Watson’s letter to Jeremy Corbyn.
Dear Jeremy,
I have taken the very difficult decision to stand down as a Member of Parliament and Labour Deputy Leader at the forthcoming election.
Serving the Labour Party has been the privilege of a lifetime. I joined in 1982 and never imagined that one day a kid from Kidderminster would be the party’s Deputy Leader.
Most importantly for me, for the last 18 years it’s been my immense honour to represent people from Sandwell. It’s hard to find words to express my deep gratitude to the people who trusted me to fight their corner.
The Black Country is the very best of Britain. Communities who look out for their neighbours, who want to get on but not at the expense of others. And the people who make up this area are the most honest and decent you’ll find anywhere in the world.
But now is the right time for me to stand down from the House of Commons and start a different kind of life. The decision is personal, not political.
The last few years have been among the most transformational of my personal life, second only to becoming a proud father of two beautiful children. I’ve become healthy for the first time, and I intend to continue with this work in the years to come.
I want to thank you for the decency and courtesy you have shown me over the last four years, even in difficult times.
Our many shared interests are less well known than our political differences, but I will continue to devote myself to the things we often talk about: gambling reform, music and arts, stopping press intrusion, obesity and public health and of course horticulture and cycling.
In the years to come I will be focusing even more on those policy interests. I will devote myself to writing about the public health challenge facing our country, taking on the sugar companies, campaigning for policy change, and setting up a ‘remission for all’ movement for type 2 diabetics. I have a book on ‘downsizing’ coming out in the new year. I will announce further plans in the coming months, but I am excited about working with people I’ve met and many I’ve not.
I might be standing down as an MP but I won’t be leaving politics altogether.
This election is a turning point for our country and I know that Labour goes into it united in our determination to remove the Conservative government that has done so much damage to the communities Labour was founded to represent.
I will be taking an active part in this election campaign. I will continue as Deputy Leader until 12 December and will do everything I can to return a team of Labour MPs who will transform our country.
I still believe with my whole heart what I believed when I joined on my 15th birthday in 1982: that the Labour Party is the most powerful vehicle for social change this country has ever produced. I will never stop fighting for it.
Yours sincerely,
Tom Watson
I went on a creative writing course once as well. Cheers, goodby and don’t do much more politics, let us enjoy your retirement. You’ve done more than enough.
He’s still a cnut
YEP agreed !
Now here’s a thought , Chris is still a labour party member , would it be beyond reasonable to conjecture that if this is so , then he might be eligible to be put forward as a new Deputy Leader ????
Rob, the suggestion’s been made that he might stand as an independent in his constituency – does standing against a Labour candidate disqualify someone from membership?
I’m no expert on the rule book, only skimmed it once.
GO FOR IT, EMILY!
Maitliss just took Brokenshire’s pants down and slapped his arse.
Unbefuckinglievably…
I wonder how long before the real truth about Tom Watson comes out.I know that the journalism in the UK is renown for poor quality and laziness,but whatever deal Watson has brokered it will not stop the truth coming out.IT looks like we are back to the future of backroom deals and cover ups..How very statsmanlike for Squawkbox to read Watson’s obituary before he’s even gone to the promised land….RIP Watson.!
Joseph OKEEFE 07/11/2019 at 12:20 am
It could just be that Tom Watson is telling the truth about his reasons for stepping down. He gave some very clear indications about his future intentions way back in January this year.
https://skwawkbox.org/2019/01/06/video-watson-hints-strongly-at-exit-from-politics/
Steve H…..whatever you say I fell for the statement from Watson when I voted for him as deputy leader…..And I learn from my mistakes and recognise a shrewd deal from an old Labour leader and our next PM…The fact is that Tom Watson has gone and thats good news for a socialist Labour government.
What on earth are you wittering on about and why.
FFS get a grip and stop imagining that everything is some desperately cunning conspiracy.
Sorry this comment wasn’t intended to appear here and was intended for Allan Howard https://skwawkbox.org/2019/11/06/breaking-tory-cabinet-member-resigns-over-rape-trial-sabotage-allegations/#comment-126393
So no decission on Chris Williamson and he becomes effectively natural wastage,Keith vaz gets to stand again through no decission and Tom Watson makes a decision.So thats 2Labour seats lost already Vaz and Chris Williamson but a boost for Corbyn by the deputy leader going to the promised land?……Good morning comrades
I can’t believe that Sniff n’ smack has the gall to stand.
Unite regional officer chosen to replace Chris Williamson
Tony Tinley, Unite regional officer for the East Midlands, has been selected as Labour’s parliamentary candidate in the marginal seat of Derby North. It is unfortunate that Chris Williamson has chosen to split the Labour vote in an already marginal by standing as an independent candidate.
“It is unfortunate that Chris Williamson has chosen to split the Labour vote in an already marginal by standing as an independent candidate.”
OK, how many more pods are there, which planet are you from and what have you done with SteveH’s body?
David McNiven 08/11/2019 at 6:00 pm
You can like it or lump it David but it is undeniable that CW standing will substancially reduce the chances of a Labour Party MP will being elected in Derby North. It is also unlikely that CW will get elected on a split vote so in reality Chris standing will prove to be nothing more than an empty and futile gesture that will damage Labour’s chances and let the Tories win the seat. (The last GE was a 2 horse race with only 4.1% separating Labour and Tory)
Many of us may feel empathy for Chris but every vote for Chris Williamson is one less for Labour.
My number one priority is a Labour government, preferably with an overall majority one. What’s yours?
Just a joke, SteveH, because there are no pod people. Not even Hunt. Not Trump, not Kim, not James Blunt, none of the Kardashians – nobody.
The Kardashians are definitely aliens though – the name’s the giveaway. They all look like that on Kardashia.
Fair enough David and my apologies for my reply being a little harsh.