#paulclarke : ++ BREAKING ++ UKIP officially involved, Nigel Farage to attend sentencing
Constantly Furious wondered out loud if this indicated 'official' involvement from UKIP.
Mr Towler has just told CF the following:
"Just to let you know. Nigel Farage will be on the steps of Reading Court on the 18th.
He has supported me speaking to his constituent Mr Clarke from the start. The first meeting took place at the Merstham Home of our local constituency Chairman for example.
There will be more coverage of this, but I can assure you that Mr Clarke has the support of the entire UKIP leadership, both Batten and Pearson, and others for that matter.
Now that we know the details etc we will be prosecuting this case as loudly as we can. Trust me, this should not be a party political issue, but if the others cannot be bothered then we in UKIP will do all we can."
Well done the UKIP boys 'n' girls.
Just a reminder, Paul Clarke's MP is Tory Crispin Blunt. His website says precisely fuck all about Clarke's case and, unless CF is mistaken, he had made no public pronouncement on the matter.
What's your opinion on this, Crispin?
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18 comments:
Politics being what it is, it's difficult to see this as anything more than opportunism.
Nonetheless, if it helps bring the matter to the attention of the slumbering sheeple, it's fair enough.
Aljahom,
Lets think. UKIP were the first party to support No2ID, they have campaigned against the mass expansion of CCTV cameras. They have campaigned against the fingerprinting of children in school, They are oppposed to the workings of the European Arrest Warrant and the European Evidence Warrant, etc and so on.
Then we see what looks like an injustice and act to stop it.
Do tell me, how is a political party supposed to react? Trying to stop what looks like an injustice is, by your reasoning, obviously just jumping on a bandwagon.
So what would you have us do, sit on our hands?
Well if we see something that rebels against good sense, then we have the duty to respond. But we do try to find out the facts of the case before we go public, just maybe we were getting the wrong end of the stick. So after having fact checked we now mention our involvement.
To do so before fact checking, then yes, that would be bandwagon jumping.
But do tell me, where are the other parties? What are they doing, waiting until after Mr Clarke has been sent down, and then wringing their hands?
Will it win votes?
Move along, nothing to see here, sadly.
What precisely are UKIP going to do?
All of the issues that Mr Towler mentions have been subject to political decision and fall within the remit of political campaigning.
This one does not.
"But do tell me, where are the other parties? What are they doing, waiting until after Mr Clarke has been sent down, and then wringing their hands?"
Is this political party intending somehow to influence the course of justice before the court passes sentence?
What would you have politicians do to influence the decision of a judge CF?
How happy would you be if you were on trial and politicians started to exert pressure on a judge, not necessarily in your favour?
Be very careful what you wish for.
"Politics being what it is, it's difficult to see this as anything more than opportunism."
True. But, gift horse and mouth, and al that...
Hi Mr Rob ..
You mean politicians & in particular the ones currently in government don't "influence" the decisions of Judges ?
Well .. and there's me thinking they did .. I'll go to t'foot of our stairs ..
Capt'n
Come back up those stairs and tell me which cases you are referring to when the government influenced a judge between verdict and sentence.
Then tell me if you think it was right that this should have happened.
I'm linking to you as the main point of contact in this case. I feel strongly that this could be a complete travesty of Justice. Keep up the good work.
I imagine that UKIP felt some moral obligation to help put right this injustice but this move- if it successfully influences the case- would have a bunch of votes to reap.
But, truly, what power will UKIP have to reverse the verdict?
It is not that complicated. UKIP hope that we can raise the profile of the case. Indeed we are on the way to do so. The more public outcry, the better.
If we can shine the light of puublic opinion on the strict liability aspect and the remonval of discretion by judges and the courts in cases like this then we will have achieved our aims. If this means that Mr Clarke is treated better, all to the good.
If after this some people realise that UKIP are not just about independence from the idiocy of the EU, but also about indepedence from idiocy at home, then excellent.
Oh, and Mr Rob, was not the decision to go for strict liability in cases such as this a political decision, made, if I remember rightly, by this goverment?
@Gawain Towler
If you refer to my first post, you will see that I am making a distinction between attempting to influence decisions made by politicians that affect the legal system, which is quite right and proper, and trying to influence the legal system itself with reference to one particular case.
It's not that complicated, but your last post shows that you have yet to grasp it.
And what on earth are you wearing in that photograph?
I think you will find that Gawain is acting out of principle just as much as a sharp eye for PR.
My understanding is that Gawain is particularly well read on Paul Clarke and his circumstances. I too was outraged by this case and have passed on information to Paul Clarke's solicitor which CF publicised.
I speak as a Tory activist and polemicist.
Were you in court?
What principle dictates that a politician attempts to bring pressure on a judge between verdict and sentencing?
Please do try to come to grips with this question, it is key to our justice system, but many politicians seem unable to grasp the fact that this area is beyond their proper remit.
What is he wearing in that photograph?
Ahem, that photograph. Yes well... moving swiftly on.
Just a heads up. I understand that Mr Clarke may well be appearing on a national morning radio news broadcast tomorrow.
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