There’s always one

May 9, 2010 — simonashall

What a shame that some Lib Dems can’t distinguish the difference between what is politics and what is personal. I was pretty shocked at Spiderplant’s bileous, hateful and defamatory post on me after the elections, it seems that she must have had a very bad night if the only thing that comforts her is me not winning. No-one minds a bit of political banter and heated banter at that; but it is very sad when some people clearly have such a lack of context.

All I’ll say is that as the “nastiest character in Woking”, I spent Thursday evening smiling and laughing – despite a nervewracking count and eventual loss in Horsell West – enjoying the atmosphere and chatting to the police, council officers, the press and politicians of all parties who I have built up relationships with since my first Woking count in 2003 and many of whom I count as friends. She on the other hand spent the night storming about the place with a scowl on her face avoiding eye contact with anyone lacking a yellow rosette.

I find it difficult to identify with her habit of turning a debate personal when she’s is losing an argument, nor her apparent attitude that politics is the most serious thing in the world and opponents are there to be smeared and defamed. Perhaps that’s just me, but I think it’s about building a rapport with people (see above) and I regret that someone like Spiderplant doesn’t see how positive this aspect of the process is. The truth is that you can’t win all the time and that there is always a chance for the other side to have their day – the only thing that remains constant is the people and without them to fall back on, politics is nothing more than squabbling. 

There are many Lib Dems who see things this way but she’s not one of them. I think that is her misfortune and unlike her, misfortune saddens - rather than comforts – me.

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Writs all round

September 7, 2009 — simonashall

Thank goodness that Nadine Dorries (left) has finally served libel writs on Damian McBride and Derek Draper for the scurrilous, nasty filth that they were bandying about for their Red Rag project.

The Grauniad reports authoritatively (along with a suitably unflattering photo) that Gordon Brown was not aware of the emails and was “furious” when he found out that they had been sent. One is inclined to be cynical about this kind of thing but I have to say I don’t believe such slanders are Brown’s style and for once am willing to take something other than a job ad at face value in the Grauniad .

Nadine Dorries is a canny individual though – she knows that the timing of her writs is likely to mean court hearings in around, say, six months or so when Gordon Brown needs them the least. I could drum through the Defamation Act 1996 but suffice it to speculate that even if they feel they were treated unfairly, McBride and Draper will come under some pressure to settle and avoid a courtroom soap opera in the press.

Whether they accede to that pressure remains to be seen but at least the writs have been served on the twits…

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Bittersweet Sugar

August 6, 2009 — simonashall

Guido has news that Lord S’ralan Sugar, he of the “pissin’ my bladdy money up the wall” decorum, is sending threatening letters to political commentator Quentin Letts, who made some more than usually ascerbic observations on a radio programme.

Threatening libel against journos is really only a last resort – Guildford Tory councillor Cllr Tony Rooth once hinted strongly that he would sue me if I printed a story about him at the Surrey Advertiser. I knew the story was true (and he can’t sue for my saying that because I haven’t made the allegation on here) but I couldn’t prove it, so I had to drop it. I never liked him much after that.

And that’s the thing with libel – once you show that you don’t have a thick skin, whatever follows on from that point will always be viewed in a lesser light. Mr Letts’s assertion was that Sugar only got his job through being a TV celebrity and that he wasn’t of great intellectual capacity.

To my mind, that’s fair comment, even if it would be difficult to secure a justification defence here. But on the second point, I think there’s a tacit agreement defence too – Sugar has readily said on the Apprentice that he values street smarts over book smarts and that he’s survived and prospered on shrewdness rather than intellect.

I always quite liked Sugar because of his connection with Spurs and his entertaining persona on the TV. With all the success, profile and money he could want, his threatening to sue seems churlish, bullying and self-important. I’m not sure I like him much now, either.

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