Neither Green MPs nor anyone from the Lambeth Green Party, which is trying hard to make inroads into prize London Labour territory, has bothered to spell Polanski’s name correctly in their latest video. Believe it or not it’s his first name they’ve mucked up…
New Green MP Hannah Spencer, the Lambeth Green branch, and its main election candidate have all posted a video of Spencer at a local event. In which she waxes lyrical about supreme leader “Zach”…
“Because in the Greens, we are different to every other party. We do not believe in a hierarchy where our leader tells us what to do. As much as we love Zach [sic], he’s not our boss.”
Polanski – under fire from all sides for his intervention in the Golders Green situation – has been saying no to broadcast media bids today before apologising for his retweet this afternoon. Rattled?
New Green MP Hannah Spencer has doubled down after declaring over the weekend that MPs and parliamentarians in general should not drink in Parliament. In a post on her Instagram today she declared that she ‘loves a blue WKD as much as the next hun.’ Oh boy…
She said:
“Now, I love a blue wicked as much as the next hun. Try and prize one of them out of my hands on a hot day or a night out. Forget it. No chance. Love it. But there are seriously MPs who are trying to tell us that they have a right to get pissed at work.
And that is why they are so out of touch because the vast majority of us could not get away with that. Imagine working in a school or being a cleaner or driving a bus or doing an operation or working in a lab or working in a care home.
If you turned up to work reeking of booze, you would get sacked. That is how the vast majority of us have to live our lives. Why is it different for MPs? I don’t think it’s much to ask that MPs are sober whilst they make the biggest decisions that affect all the rest of us.
And any of them telling you that they have a right to get pissed at work, they’re taking the piss, babe. Remember that at the next election.”
To be fair to Spencer she is new to Parliament and the rigmaroles of constant late-night voting combined with the mindless walking between rooms that the whipping system creates for MPs. You’re not quite “doing an operation” or “working in a lab”…
Spencer added: “I’ve seen them make all sorts of excuses since I made these comments. Apparently because MPs do ‘long hours, lots of stress, late nights’ they should be able to drink whilst working. Every person reading this will know what it’s like to work long hours with lots of stress and late nights…. But you couldn’t get away with drinking in work. So why should MPs?” The Green Party adds another grinch to its ranks…
Green activists are promoting an online article suggesting Muslims should vote for the Green Party to forward the “interests and values” of British Muslims. Labour won’t be happy…
A piece on website Islam 21C by ‘jurist’ Shaykh Dr. Haitham al-Haddad asks if “Labour really deserve Muslim support” after having “contributed to the hostile environment against British Muslims” and adds: “the large number of Muslim voters in Gorton and Denton have a unique opportunity to make a powerful impact by taking part in this election.” And surprise – you have to vote for the Greens…
“A Green victory in Gorton and Denton could force Labour to take more positive steps that match with the interests and values of people of conscience nationwide, including British Muslims, and disempower the growing far right.”
The piece has some passages dedicated to coax conservative Muslims into voting for a party with otherwise ‘progressive’ views because votes “impact Muslims globally“:
“We should also remember that Muslims are not supposed to act on their whims and desires, but rather on the basis of our Islamic principles. We need to think not only about which candidates will meet our local concerns like protecting the NHS, making housing and living more affordable, and improving community safety, but also look at the bigger picture. We have to ask ourselves, how the way we vote can impact Muslims globally. After all, we have a moral responsibility to these brothers and sisters as well.
The point here is that even though we may not always feel comfortable with some of the social values that British political parties and candidates align with, these issues can be overlooked in pursuit of more urgent matters, for instance, protecting our brothers and sisters facing genocide in Gaza, or at the very least reducing harm against them.
Against this backdrop, the Muslim voters in Gorton and Denton are front and centre in this national conversation. It is as if Allah has favoured these brothers and sisters with the ability to make a decision that could help decide the whole country’s long-term future.”
The piece has been shared by a Green Muslim organiser to activists, who says a Green organiser contributed to it and “it makes a quite compelling case to vote Green in the constituency from an Islamic perspective.“ Balkanised…
Since Guido revealed the Greens were sharing a video entirely in Urdu on Monday Labour has accused the party of “manipulating” Muslim voters. Deputy Leader Lucy Powell said the party was guilty of “a shameful attempt to manipulate the respected Muslim community.” Campaigning reaching a frenzy in the last two days…
The Green Party ground campaign is targeting local schools this week in Gorton & Denton. Their campaign organisation is a little rusty, though…
The Green briefing at the start of the week on the school campaign was as follows:
“How to approach people
We are well within our rights to be outside the school grounds, so approach people with confidence and friendliness.
You can say “good morning” or “Salam alaikum” to people as they pass, and hand them a leaflet.Reminder that on Monday we are using the “Ramadan Mubarak” cards, or you can also give the “RACIST REFORM OR A GREEN MP” if you don’t think they are celebrating Ramadan.
After Monday, it’s not appropriate to give the cards anymore, so we’ll all switch to the Reform or Green one.
Our Main Message
The main message is that Greens CAN win, and they are our best chance of keeping Reform out.What to Wear
Please dress somewhat nicely, and if you have a Green sticker, rosette, or high vis, please wear it!”
Six local schools are targeted for leafleting between the hours of 8-9 a.m. and 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. New material was handed out to parents this morning and the Greens have produced extra leaflets “for multilingual doorknocking or mosque visits.” Thanks to a dearth of available activists Green organisers dropped one school from the rota and made apologies to local volunteers: “This is a new campaign action for us and we’re learning fast!” This chimes with spin from Labour which claims the Greens don’t have enough on-ground organisation capacity to match them…
Thanks to that the Greens have been scrambling to get more support from local party members on the ground – converting them to activists. 1,369 calls were made last night to members, and activists were told: “We managed to speak to almost 400 members and signed 55 up for campaigning this week, with about 69 maybes. 99% of members who live within 30 minutes have now received a call, and we have spoken to almost a third of them. So far, we have “activated” over 400 additional members for this campaign.” Bit late…
The Greens have produced a video of their candidate Hannah Spencer speaking in Urdu. Here’s a translation of the key passages:
“A cruel politician can win if we don’t vote Green to stop the Reforms…
Workers, cleaners, drivers, mothers – it’s us who keep this area running. But the politicians are not working for us…
The Reforms want to break up our communities. They want to deport families who have lived here for years, and they want to tax people born abroad even more. They give air to Islamophobia, and they put our safety and dignity at risk. But there is another way…
I know, wherever I am in the world, whom I represent. I know what it means to work hard to earn a living, and I also know how to hold power and greed accountable. On February 26th let’s unite our vote behind the Greens.”
The accompanying visuals are striking. Blatant from the Greens…
The party is conducting a major last push. It told activists on the weekend:
“We hit all 14 mosques this Friday – 14/14! Thank you, everyone…
Our Ramadan cards went down a treat, even with the battle of the leaflets against Labour! We are now in our critical final 5 days, and we need volunteers to help with Taraweeh conversations and leafleting.
Do you attend evening Taraweeh at any of these mosques? If so, can you help with leaflets and conversations after prayers?”
Greens trying hard to mobilise their targeted ground campaign…
Paula Barker, Liverpool Wavertree MP backing Andy Burnham, told Times Radio there wouldn’t be trouble from the markets under Burnham:
“The markets will have to fall in line.”
