Another day, another example of the Tory Party’s inability to do the job its MPs were put there for and instead invent excuses for their pals in the Fourth Estate to look the other way and kick Labour instead. The event on which The Blue Team has become fixated in the past 24 hours is the Young Labour Equalities Conference, which takes place in London next month, and elects representatives to Young Labour’s National Committee.
So far, so procedural: It’s about those defined as disadvantaged electing people they know will represent them. But for those with time on their hands and little else to do but propagandise and smear, this was a heaven-sent opportunity. One seizing that opportunity with both hands was CCHQ spinner Carrie Symonds, who asked “Does this mean that no white heterosexual men are allowed to go to Young Labour's EQUALITIES Conference?”
Sadly, that reassuringly expensive education (Godolphin and Latymer, don’tcha know?) did not extend to understanding that white heterosexual men may also be disabled. And there was no bar to disabled Young Labour members attending the Conference.
This concept also proved challenging to Jack Montgomery at the convocation of the irredeemably batshit otherwise known as Breitbart, who whined plaintively “Question for @MetPoliceUK and the @EHRC: If it was “unlawful” for @UKLabour to charge white people extra to attend a @JeremyCorbyn rally in Loughborough, surely excluding straight white men from events in London entirely shouldn't be allowed…?”
Nor were facts allowed to intrude into the world of the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog, where teaboy Alex “Billy Liar” Wickham made the same howler: “‘This is yet another example of discrimination by Labour. Their lazy assumption that straight white men can’t fight for equality is shocking’ - @JamesCleverly on latest Labour race row”. So, it seems, did the more clueless Tory MPs.
After the deeply unpleasant Ben “splat the chavs” Bradley whined about it, the Young Labour Women Twitter feed put him straight: “This is a conference to elect the BAME, disabled, LGBT and Women's Officers. If you don't fall into any of those categories, what would be the point in attending? Cool it with the faux outrage and get a hobby pal”.
And the expectations of The Great Guido, typified by Wickham’s claim “Fascinating how everyone in Labour under the age of 30 is so convinced they're right on this. Yet it's been one of our most-read/shared stories for ages and any normal person reading it in the papers today will think this conference is mad”, were about to be dashed.
That’s because, as Young Labour chair Caroline Hill has pointed out, “So exhausting that @YoungLabourUK is being criticised relentlessly for running an event that we’ve run for 3 years, to elect officers to represent recognised underrepresented groups in our society”.
It’s been run for three years already, Tory whiners and press hangers-on. All this Conference does is elect officers to represent the most disadvantaged. It redresses the balance a little in their favour. It does not discriminate against heterosexual white males. There is no racial bias. And all those with nothing better to do need to get a life.
2 comments:
As I understand the Cleverley version of this:
Black men can stand for the post of Women's Officer, but white men can't.
I never understood it that way before. I thought each post was for someone in that category, to ensure the executive gets at least one person from each of those groups.
This is a useful illustration of how the far right will behave during a general election.
The Labour Party best take note and make themselves ready for much worse propaganda during the hustings.
The lies and hypocrisy will greatly intensify. The hope from the tories and their allies will be to overwhelm any rebuttal team with defensive work. There is no point hoping mainstream media will do their job and report honestly. Truth will be at a very large premium.
Corbyn and co. would do well to organise accordingly.
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