Tom Watson

Crossed posts, mcem.

I am relieved! (But embarrassed!)

Just listened to news headlines, and I think I must have mixed him up with Austin!

I think you'll find that it is Ian Austin, not Tom Watson, who is n
standing down and is advising voters to support Johnson.

Tony Blair's middle-of-the-road, suburban, car washing at the weekend, self-employed electrician, voter no longer exists. 1997 is long gone. The "median-voter theory" that allowed parties to rule, is no longer with us. We all seem to be polarizing so what now?

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Watson is actually suggesting that labour supporters should vote for Boris. Unbelievable!

Where did you see here this MamaCaz? It seems at odds to the fact that he has said he will still campaign for Labour. Fake news perhaps or just what you want to be true?

It worries me a lot that at a time when the country is so split, and a bit of centre ground is more needed than ever, he, like the media, seems to be deliberately ignoring that terrain.

But the Tories are not the only other party!

kittylester and Mamacaz perhaps he has insider knowledge and he thinks that the Labour Party would be worse in government than the Conservatives?

Imo, the only certainty about voting for Boris is that it will be good for ... Boris!

kitty, but that is exactly what I find unbelievable - that anyone left of centre, let alone a life-long socialist, could believe that voting for Boris could possibly be best for the country!

mamacaz, why is that unbelievable if he thinks it is best for the country?

Keith Vaz is currently suspended for 6 months so why is he not automatically banned from standing.

Especially as it was reported that he was in hospital?

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Perhaps for being gullible, for publicly championing a cause without doing the necessary legwork, for speaking (very) publicly without knowing the facts, for serious errors of judgement and -when it all came to light - for not having the decency to apologise sincerely and publicly.
Not leadership qualities- or even deputy leadership.

I don't know all the details of the Beech case - but there is always the danger of NOT believing reports of abuse and in this case Beech was lying. Is Watson being vilified for believing?

Indeed Maw.

He lost all credibility with that campaign - probably couldn't face Harvey Proctor who was intending to stand against him in the election.

With apologies for a bit of a cut n paste, this writer in today’s paper puts it better than I can

When Tom Watson stood up in the House of Commons and declared the existence of a historical paedophile ring at the heart of Westminster, there was only one problem: he had got it completely wrong.

But Mr Watson’s fateful intervention in 2012 would set in chain an extraordinary series of events. It led to Theresa May establishing a public inquiry into historic child sexual abuse – that is still running and will cost the taxpayer upwards of £200 million – and prompt the police, under Mr Watson’s watchful glare, to falsely accuse a string of VIPs of participating in torture, sadistic abuse and murder.
Mr Watson would wrongly brand Leon Brittan, the former home secretary, just days after his death, of being as “close to evil as any human being could be”. But he was quoting, as it transpired, Carl Beech, a fantasist and paedophile, who was jailed this summer for perverting the course of justice, fraud and sexual offences.
The association with Beech – Mr Watson met him face to face just once but they exchanged email and phone messages – would lead to a series of dignitaries demanding his resignation as Labour’s deputy leader.

Tom Watson - Nice man?
Have you read his comments on Leon Brittain? His totally wrong- headedness regarding Carl Beech and his use of his very public profile to promote that fantasist’s slanders and lies?
Watson made an extremely serious error of judgement and I think it has come back to haunt him.

I am very sad to learn this. I value the contribution Tom Watson made to the party and to the ‘broad church’, which I believe the LP should be.

I met him once and found him to be a thoroughly nice man.

Reading between the lines he represents a 66% leave constituency so I wonder if that had some bearing given his remain stance. Shame because he was a moderate. I expect the challenge from the momentum part of LP might also have played a part too.

That was to Annie about them being untruthful

Oh. I copied them from their Twitter accounts and the are being quoted on the news programmes. I didn't realise he had recently split from his wife. With the long trips north to see his children and the recent changes in his life I think it's perfectly reasonable to think it's personal reason that have made him decide to leave.

There are a lot of mixed feelings about TW and his role in the VIP abuse investigation. There were calls for his resignation from some of the families over that.

Yes and they were most civilised