Tory Youth Wing Row – Now Legal Threats

This blog takes the view that those of us who have achieved A Certain Age have to understand that youth must, at some time, take over. And the enthusiasm of the young is not something to be taken lightly, nor cruelly put down, and certainly not cynically manipulated. In the long run, youth is the only chance for politics, whatever one’s stripe. So I take a dim view of anyone using them for their own ends.

Hence my calling out the vicious behaviour of Melanie “not just Barking but halfway to Upminster” Phillips when she attempted to hatchet Rory Weal for having the audacity to speak at a Labour Party conference. Those attempting to smear young Tory Joe Cooke, who had battled dyslexia and dyspraxia to get himself to Oxford and head the Conservative Association there got a similarly hard time.

So it has been as more information has appeared on Zelo Street on the ructions at Conservative Future (CF), where it has been decided that elections are to be held for a number of senior offices, and where the Chairman has effectively been told to resign and not to stand again. Another senior officer was forced out and her departure then celebrated. Nice class of people you get managing CF.

This post was taken down over a libel threat

Now there is talk of legal threats, and the basis on which these have been made is unknown: the Blue Guerrilla blog had published an item where a young Tory activist had expressed her opinion. Victoria Adams had Tweeted that “No-one has even *asked* me to sign an open letter for #teampaterson so could you please remove or at least have the decency to ask”. That was all.

The blog told that “Accusations of forgery have come to light after a local Tory Youth Chair, Victoria Adams, claimed her name had been forged in an open letter from females supposedly ‘united’ behind Alexandra Paterson and her bid to become Conservatve Future National Chairman”. That’s the office previously held by Oliver Cooper before he was taken aside at a drinks reception and given the hard word.

Whatever can she mean?

Then came the threat of a libel action, made not to TBG, but, as TBG put it, “Legal threats of Libel were made against TBG's sources”. The only source quoted by name in that item was Ms Adams. No, I can’t see anything in that Tweet – since deleted – that could be taken as libellous. Her only other comment to TBG was “I dislike gender targeted groups, I would never sign a women only letter”.

On top of that, my sources tell that local CF groups are being effectively instructed to fall in behind Ms Paterson’s candidacy, or lose funding. One hates to add two and two only to get a number other than four, but the impression is given that someone is indulging in gratuitous acts of bullying. That person has been identified to me, and is, shall we say, over 35, and is acting in an official Tory Party capacity.

Democracy CF style: freedom to vote for someone older people impose on you.