Comments on Tory Bear - right-wing political gossip: Lib Dem PPC in Bribery Scandal

@Anon 14:03 Ptch cheap shot (no pun intended)

2009-10-28T17:22:03.006Z

@Anon 14:03

Ptch cheap shot (no pun intended)

"If someone can't cough up a few quid for...

2009-10-28T14:03:39.189Z

"If someone can't cough up a few quid for membership it seems unlikely they are going to come to meetings and very unlikely they will get out of bed on a Saturday morning in the Yorkshire rain to campaign."

Spare cash a must for Tory activism then?

Phil North said: "The only party that truly k...

2009-10-28T14:00:26.687Z

Phil North said: "The only party that truly knows the meaning of Classical Liberalism is the modern Conservative Party."

Claiming 'Classical Liberalism' as your own is the small rhetorical trick of trying to claim temporal precedence - it simply doesn't hold or matter (and in this case, is quite possibly not even true).

As for Anonymous': "...haven't they also gone back on their commitment to oppose tuition fees?"

A simple answer is 'no'.

We just can't afford it as quickly as we'd like because, as I am sure you'll agree, Labour have screwed the economy so much...

As far as I can see there is no bribery, just comp...

2009-10-27T15:27:56.113Z

As far as I can see there is no bribery, just completely subsidised party membership. Think how much the "cheap tat" that someone else mentioned is normally given out at Freshers Fairs adds up to, and if you put that money into funding the memberships instead, it certainly seems some students appreciate that more, and are more likely to sign up.

Equally it is a fact that many more students signed up than ever before (and yes, I don't think detailed records are kept so that will be in comparison to recent recollection), but the stall was much busier too, hence the vibe of increased interest in general. But how you make out anyone was lying about this, or that the press release was somehow hypocritical I don't know, nobody ever hid either of these facts. It's not "dodgy money" either - it was donated by councillors and other party activists from their own personal funds. I don't see the problem.

Those students who signed up are unlikely to have done so just because it was free, and will now receive a lot more information - when the Lib Dems have this permanent problem of a media that only reports on the 2 biggest parties, this will help. I also think it will make people more likely to get involved in local campaigning. If not involved, at least they will know what is happening in the area.

Well if you want a hand TB, take a look at this: ...

2009-10-27T14:20:19.384Z

Well if you want a hand TB, take a look at this:

https://christopherlovell.blogspot.com/2009/10/leeds-conservative-future-in-bribery.html

Am awaiting the facts before passing comment. How...

2009-10-27T12:06:52.967Z

Am awaiting the facts before passing comment.

However as I said before it was the hypocrisy of the press release and fanfare and lies that were the problem.

Will just have to see.

Tory Bear You have failed to answer the point abov...

2009-10-27T12:04:33.357Z

Tory Bear
You have failed to answer the point above about the sponsoring of CF members in Leeds by local party members.
Do you condemn them or are you a hypocrite?

Disclaimer: I am a member of the Conservatives at ...

2009-10-27T11:45:02.053Z

Disclaimer: I am a member of the Conservatives at York Uni and live with Craig Martin so have a few vested interests.

Not sure if the whole bribery/scandal line is justified but whatever else is the case it just strikes me as pathetic.

They got maybe 30 more members than the campus tories despite the latter charging the £4 fee. The Lib Dems are an irrelevance on campus and once this story has blown over they will resume that role.

If someone can't cough up a few quid for membership it seems unlikely they are going to come to meetings and very unlikely they will get out of bed on a Saturday morning in the Yorkshire rain to campaign. A pointless waste of money.

Mark, While I am sure Party membership is subsid...

2009-10-27T10:51:17.384Z

Mark,

While I am sure Party membership is subsidised from the centre to five pounds, it's the deception and lies by Kirk that are the problem. There is no mention of the fact that she was reduced to paying fees for people in order to get them to sign up and then went onto to boast as if there has been conversions of damsascan proportions at the freshers fair with people flooding to join - with the assumption allowed to stay in place that they had paid.

Of course Parties give away various bits of flashy tat to get people to come over to their stalls but there is a big difference between doing that and actually paying their shilling for them.

TB

The pitch at getting a job at the Sun is coming on...

2009-10-27T10:48:18.420Z

The pitch at getting a job at the Sun is coming on nicely bear.

While "bribery" and "scandal" are a bit strong I think you are well aware of that. Nice to see the dead ducks clucking at this.

PS @10.42 who the fuck uses hashtags in a comment? Get fucking grip. Do you use them in real live. When your mum pours your milk and spills a drop do you say #badmotherfail? Freak!!!!!!

TB - This seems like a bit of a non-story to me an...

2009-10-27T10:45:32.246Z

TB - This seems like a bit of a non-story to me and I would say that whichever party was reported to have done it. Indeed it seems from some of your other commenters that the Tories have been known to subsidise student membership fairly heavily too.

In fact, you could easily argue that allowing free or heavily subsidised membership for students to a political party is a very good thing. Money is usually tight for students and getting more young people actively involved in politics is surely a good thing?

Yeah, cos that's what bribery is. #shitjournal...

2009-10-27T10:42:36.995Z

Yeah, cos that's what bribery is. #shitjournalismfail

The amusing thing about the whole 'record brea...

2009-10-27T10:35:08.083Z

The amusing thing about the whole 'record breaking recruitment year' thing being claimed by Liberal Youth is that we never used to keep any records of freshers sign ups from year to year, and certainly not on a 'branch by day' basis.

So records over the last three years may, perhaps, have been broken if such details were recorded, but beyond that there's just no way of knowing if it's true or not. That's why every year was 'the best year on record'.

To be honest I fail to see the problem. I am a mem...

2009-10-27T10:26:14.536Z

To be honest I fail to see the problem. I am a member of the Conservatives and when I paid my membership I think it was about 5 quid as I'm 22. I believe that the party probably makes a loss on that and it is therefore probably subsidised by the payments of other members.

Less students would join the COnservatives if they had to pay the full amount. I can see your point that it is rather sad that the Liberals have to give membership away for free but really I can't see that the Conservatives are much different by offering cheap membership

Interesting male to female composition there...

2009-10-27T10:09:48.404Z

Interesting male to female composition there...

While we're doing PPC scandals, nothing about ...

2009-10-27T09:55:20.609Z

While we're doing PPC scandals, nothing about the Tory in Cornwall who's been reduced to smearing her opponent? https://www.libdemvoice.org/tories-st-austell-newquay-candidate-in-smearstupidity-storm-16651.html

Ahem, haven't they also gone back on their com...

2009-10-27T09:39:10.932Z

Ahem, haven't they also gone back on their commitment to oppose tuition fees?

You should always check that your own people are w...

2009-10-27T09:37:26.994Z

You should always check that your own people are whiter than white when you put out a story like this TB. In this case they're not.

Why don't you ask Leeds CF if their new members paid the full whack? Think you'll find that they were 'sponsored' by the local party too. Hope you'll be condemning them too.

"Bribery"? Oh please. Youth membership ...

2009-10-27T09:37:04.366Z

"Bribery"? Oh please.

Youth membership is already heavily subsidised in most parties and I seem to remember CF offering free membership across the board not so long ago. If the main thing putting students off getting involved in politics is a £1 joining fee then it makes perfect sense to remove that barrier.

LY also paid for whistles, postcards, carbon offsetting and goodness knows what else. Was THAT bribery too?

You really are a bear of very little brain sometimes.

The biggest deception is not the bribery - it is M...

2009-10-27T08:57:59.434Z

The biggest deception is not the bribery - it is Madeleine Kirk saying "we are the leading campaigners on Civil Liberties" - um no you are not - your very illiberal. The only party that truly knows the meaning of Classical Liberalism is the modern Conservative Party.

FAIL

2009-10-27T08:41:32.936Z

FAIL