Phil Woolas,to thinkov et al
From:
Phil Woolas
View
17th September 2010

Dear All

You may have seen in the media reports of the Election Petition Hearing challenging the result in the Oldham East & Saddleworth election.

Claims that my team and I used the issue of race to stoke up race hatred against the Muslim people are highly damaging, inflammatory and were intended to demolish my reputation, career and character.

The Petition has been brought by my defeated opponent, Elwyn Watkins and NOT by the Liberal Democrat Party. Mr Watkins spent £38,000 of his own money on the campaign. He is employed by a Saudi Billionaire Sheikh.

In the 2005 election in the neighbouring seat of Rochdale the Liberal Democrat candidate Paul Rowen defeated the sitting Labour Member, Lorna Fitzsimons. That campaign was marred by the interference of outside bodies including the Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPAC) and others. MPAC and others campaigned in favour of the Liberal Democrat. It was stated on the doorstep that Lorna was a Jewess (as it happens she isn’t) a Zionist and that she was anti-Muslim.

A similar campaign was waged against Jack Straw MP in Blackburn. These campaigns featured in a Channel Four News Documentary.

Our campaign was subject to similar tactics: Labour supporting British Asian voters were subject to a campaign “to oust the Jew”. There are many testaments to such activity and leaflets delivered attacking me as being anti-Muslim.

Our campaign, indeed our whole strategy especially since the riots of 2001 has been aimed at ALL the communities. Central to our strategy was to expose the intent of the campaign against me: that the Liberal Democrats were the known and complicit beneficiaries of the MPAC (and others) campaign against me. We had seen what had happened in Rochdale and we were determined to stop this manipulation of the electorate.

That intent was EQUALLY pursued in the Asian Community as the white community (Oldham unfortunately is a segregated town). Indeed our Asian Labour Councillors’ were at the forefront of it.

IT IS NOT TRUE THAT OUR MESSAGE WAS ONLY DISTRIBUTED IN WHITE AREAS.

THE MESSAGE WAS PUT OUT TO ASIAN AREAS BY LEAFLETS, CANVASSING AND AT 3 CAMPAIGN RALLIES OF ASIAN SUPPORTES INVOLVING OVER 1,000 PEOPLE.

THE SAME MESSAGE WAS PUT OUT BY WHITE AND ASIAN LABOUR COUNCILLERS AND ACTIVISTS.

The newspapers, of course, extensively reported the case against me. The case in favour has not been reported nationally. In fact the evidence given by my Agent, Joe Fitzpatrick and myself comprehensively showed that our campaign was aimed at the Islamists AND the Far Right – circumstance not unique to Oldham but nowhere is this as intense. It shows beyond doubt that our campaign WAS conducted on the same grounds in all communities.

For too long the Liberal Democrats have tried to play it both ways:

Because we were attacking Islamists, they assume we are pandering to the white racist vote. They assume – wholly wrongly – that Muslim voters don’t oppose the Islamists. This is the bigotry.

Of course we wanted white voters to vote for me – but be in no doubt that the campaign was aimed at and supported by large numbers in all communities.

The other issues were: that we claimed that Elwyn Watkins had put out more than 500,000 pieces of paper. In his written submission he disputed this, however in Court he accepted that he had put out over a million. This obviously backs our case, and you all know how much literature came through your doors from the Lib Dems. We have copies of over 60 leaflets, newspapers and direct mail that were put out by the Lib Dems, since the beginning of December.

As you know, Elwyn also made a pledge to live in the constituency in 2007. Indeed on his website he says that he had his eye on Lees, a Lancashire village. When he did move into the Constituency he moved into Delph, in YORKSHIRE. We tried to have some fun with him about that, but to no avail. His name did not go onto the Electoral Register at King St Delph until the 1st May 2010.

The implications of this Election Petition Hearing for ALL elections in the future are profound.

We will get the verdict in Uppermill towards the end of October.

Thank you for all your support.

Yours sincerely
Phil Woolas MP

i'm saying nowt exceot for effing hell watkins you may be a bigger tosser than woolas

It's not the first Parliamentary election petition in 99 years to take up the section 106 provision. Eric Morgan took it up in the Penrith and the Border petition in 1983.

I cannot agree with the above posts. Having seen the leaflets in question, I have to say that they rank alongside racist campaigns by the Tories in the midlands in the 1960s, and the homophobia targeted at Peter Tatchell by the SDP?Liberals in the 1980s.
The playground excuse of "they started it" will not do. We are supposed to be better than that - we are the Labour Party for goodness' sake!
Regardless of the judicial outcome, Woolas and his agent should be investigated for bringing the party into disrepute.
We all know how nasty the Lib Dems can be, but really, this is beyond redemption if you believe in Socialism and Democracy.

For those who don't know thinkov used to be the editor of the Oldham Chronicle. He almost ran it into the ground aided partly by his cranky right-wing views. I suspect he rather approves of Woolas' leaflets.