Neither Liberal Nor Democratic: Women with leaflets and the candidate who shook with anger

Guest Post by Democracy Coma

Mlle Clunge

May 01, 2022

124

By “Terfs”, Charley means voters.

The leaflets referred to are these:

Women leafleting about their own legal rights as currently enshrined in the Equality Act. Truly terrifying stuff.

Charley Hasted is a Liberal Democrat candidate in next week’s London-wide council elections. They previously stood as a candidate in the 2019 General Election and the 2021 London Assembly election. Why our party keeps thinking Charley a suitable person to represent it I cannot fathom.

I mean really:

If a political candidate cannot cope with being exposed to viewpoints that differ from their own and only wish to represent people who think exactly the same way as they do, then electoral politics is not for them.

But then Charley didn’t actually feel in the slightest bit unsafe at all. They were just throwing a tantrum.

“How dare you express your opinion!”; “How dare you not express your opinion!” Who the fuck knows? To clarify, questions were pre-submitted. No question about single-sex spaces was selected to be asked.

But of course, there was still an outpouring of solidarity:

Richard Whelan was the Liberal Democrat Police and Crime Commissioner candidate for Staffordshire last year. Yes, really.

This party member thinks that women should have to explain themselves before exercising their democratic right to attend a local hustings – and doesn’t seem to be aware that not only do women have the vote, they are also allowed to earn money which they can exchange for goods and services.

Richard Whelan was the Liberal Democrat Police and Crime Commissioner candidate for Staffordshire last year. Yes, really.

Southwark councillor Victor Chamberlain thinks that women leafleting is “appalling” and “unacceptable”. Of course, when challenged to explain if that is what he was really saying, he decided he was the victim and posted a photo of him err… sharing a political message in a public place.

Ealing councillor and Lib Dem group leader Gary Malcolm thinks women handing out leaflets is “utterly shameful”. Why? Who knows? Immediately after posting, he proceeded to lock his account.

Aisha Mir thinks that a belief in clear language, the need for single-sex spaces, and child safeguarding is akin to racism. Well, I’m assuming that’s what she is comparing to racism, I mean surely she actually read the leaflet right?

Aisha is the Scottish Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Human Rights and Older people.

More solidarity here from Sheila Ritchie:

This is the same Sheila Ritchie who just last month defamed Maya Forstater, demonstrating that she hadn’t actually been following Maya’s tribunal at all; and then embarrassed herself by admitting that she had not actually listened to the BBC podcast on Stonewall, nor read the EHRC statement on self-ID, or the interim Cass Review, but knew they were all transphobic because other people had told her.

Sheila Ritchie was until recently the Scottish Liberal Democrat Party Convenor and for a brief period an elected member of the European Parliament. Take that in for a moment.

April Preston thinks that Charley should have reported the women with leaflets to the police.

Despite being a member of the Liberal Democrat federal board, an equalities spokesperson for the Manchester Liberal Democrats, and a lead candidate in next week’s council elections – April doesn’t think she has to explain why.

Which is strange, because she had a lot to say about leaflets the previous day.

This is the same April Preston who last year at Manchester Pride led a chanting mob against a gay man and then screamed in his face because he wore a t-shirt bearing the logo of a registered charity – to the point where the man had to seek out police to lead him away for his own safety.

These two seem to want to give the impression that Charley was targeted with leaflets on account of their identity.

It’s a version of events Charley is happy to see disseminated. Now nobody but India Willoughby could read Charley’s tweet and think it means that Charley literally lives at the hustings venue – but no correction was forthcoming.

The disdain and disregard truly oozes through both Hannah and Caron’s tweets – with a fair bit of projection too. Caron Lindsay is the Editor of Lib Dem Voice for those that don’t know.

There was no answer to that question from either of them btw, there never ever is.

But don’t worry, LGBT+ Lib Dems have the answer – “trans rights and women’s rights are not in conflict”. They’ve said they aren’t so that makes it true. No need to elaborate.

What do you mean, if trans rights and women’s rights are not in conflict then women talking about their rights shouldn’t be problematic? Sshhhh!

And don’t forget who are really the goodies here!

Ed Davey claims he wants to reduce the ‘toxicity’ of the women’s rights/trans debate. If he really means that, then the first thing he needs to do is to stop pandering to these utterly ridiculous people who have captured our party. They are liars, narcissists and bullies who do not believe that anybody should be able to hold or express views that differ from their own.

But if you don’t want to do that, then why don’t you go all out? Put this stuff on our leaflets, stick it through every door. Explain to voters why women talking about their rights (their existing rights) are TERFS or a ‘trash fire’; explain why women should not have the right to single-sex spaces under any circumstances; forget potholes, let’s have our candidates point at the genderbread person or identity unicorn; explain why the treatment of children presenting with gender dysphoria should be “at odds with the standard process of clinical assessment and diagnosis” (words from the Cass Review); explain why it is “appalling” and “unacceptable” for women or anybody else to advance political arguments in the hope of rational debate because “they have no right”.

But you wouldn’t dare. And neither would they. And you both know exactly why that is.

Compare and contrast women peacefully handing out leaflets about their existing rights to the below if you want to see what feeling “unsafe” actually looks like: