Carefully-worded claims say ‘candidates’ endorsed, but many will think support is for whole campaign slate
‘Momentum Renewal’ (MR), the questionably-named pro-Lansman campaign group, has issued a graphic for its slate of candidates in the elections to Momentum’s ‘National Coordinating Group’ (NCG) that its critics have attacked as misleadingly suggesting an array of MPs and leading political figures have endorsed the full slate.
In fact, the MPs featured have supported individual candidates who appear on the slate, not the slate itself – in some cases only a single candidate – but the careful wording of the graphic seems designed to suggest full-slate endorsements, as do some of the social media posts showcasing it.
MR’s tweet with the graphic makes no attempt to clarify that the support is for selected individuals – and reinforces the idea that it is for the whole set with its second sentence, “It is only by working together…”:
In some cases, the incorrect claim that the whole group is being supported is explicit, including by candidates on the slate itself:
The ploy has been criticised on social media:
The reality is very different from the claim. Some of those shown by MR as supporters have backed only a single candidate, such as Francesca Martinez and Alan Spencer.
And the list of those claimed by MR who have backed candidates from both slates is a long one, for example:
- Faiza Shaheen (Mick More and Sonali Bhattacharyya from rival Forward Momentum [FM] slate)
- Dawn Butler (Mish Ramen of FM)
- Richard Burgon (FM’s Andrew Scattergood)
- Aspana Begum (Mick Moore)
- Claude Webbe (Mish Ramen)
- Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Mick Moore)
Momentum Renewal has been described as a ‘front’ for Momentum founder Jon Lansman by insiders, who also say that it is run by a small clique of pro-Lansman ‘fixers‘ accused of stacking parliamentary selections in the north-west of England and will mean ‘business as usual’ for Momentum if successful.
Sharp contrast
The conduct of the rival ‘Forward Momentum’ campaign stands in marked contrast, with candidates stating clearly that support is for them as individuals, where applicable:
Momentum members who have yet to vote in the election should ensure that they are not misled.
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