ed miliband
16th September 2010, 14:17
http://images.newstatesman.com/woolas-leaflet.jpg
Phil Woolas's seat in Oldham saw race riots less than ten years ago, and Woolas knowingly tried to exploit these divisions. There are a number of other leaflets that claim Woolas was being attacked by Islamists and that they were planning to kill him. What's telling about the above leaflet is that he essentially conflates not being "strong on immigration" with supporting extremism. One of the left's favourite lines is 'vote Labour to keep the BNP out!', but when one considers Phil Woolas's political positions (very strong border control, strong centralised state, ID cards, "Third Way" economic policy, etc.) and his willingness to use racial tension as a tool in elections, it's sort of hard to distinguish between him and a far-right candidate.
Some links from a number of different sources, all essentially saying the same thing:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/13/phil-woolas-election-campaign
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11290965
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/09/election-campaign-woolas-lib
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7999691/Phil-Woolas-tried-to-foment-racial-divisions-in-election-campaign.html
Phil Woolas's seat in Oldham saw race riots less than ten years ago, and Woolas knowingly tried to exploit these divisions. There are a number of other leaflets that claim Woolas was being attacked by Islamists and that they were planning to kill him. What's telling about the above leaflet is that he essentially conflates not being "strong on immigration" with supporting extremism. One of the left's favourite lines is 'vote Labour to keep the BNP out!', but when one considers Phil Woolas's political positions (very strong border control, strong centralised state, ID cards, "Third Way" economic policy, etc.) and his willingness to use racial tension as a tool in elections, it's sort of hard to distinguish between him and a far-right candidate.
Some links from a number of different sources, all essentially saying the same thing:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/13/phil-woolas-election-campaign
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11290965
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/09/election-campaign-woolas-lib
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7999691/Phil-Woolas-tried-to-foment-racial-divisions-in-election-campaign.html