Am I alone in thinking that Tom Watson's* latest post on the Conservative Candidate in Ealing Southall is, well, borderline racist? It's also complete rubbish. He's no raising a canard about Tony Lit's directorships being registered at different addresses. Big ****ing deal. Mine probably are/were too. Ooooh. Big conspiracy. And maybe I may have registered one in the name of Iain Dale and one in the name of Iain Campbell** Dale. Obviously I am a criminal.
Mr Watson's lawyers may have some extra communication tomorrow I suspect. What a prize arse he is making of himself.
*Tom Watson is the Labour MP for West Bromwich. He is "masterminding" the Labour by-election campaign. As someone has said in the comments... "Does 'Tom Watson' also go by the name 'Thomas Anthony Watson'?Did he live in Kidderminster, Hull and various other places before becoming MP for West Brom?I think we should be told."
**Yes, it's my middle name.
And here's a response which a reader has emailed which hasn't yet appeared on Tom Watson's blog....
Tom,
I think you’re digging yourself a bigger hole here and need to back out fast. The content of your first post was that the Conservative candidate Tony Lit was not registered to vote. Now you seem to be backtracking by using the exact name “Tony Lit” where-as before you were intimating that the candidate was not registered. The different pseudonyms that Tony uses in his different business directorships is a red herring. Many professional people use different names for different purposes. For example, my wife’s name is Gayle Ould but she publishes academic papers under the title Dr Gayle Ritchie. This is because she published before we got married and now after changing her surname she doesn’t want to confuse people. If someone was to challenge her and say, “Dr Gayle Ould” has never published an academic paper”, then you would be incorrect. This is exactly the same situation with Tony Lit. The use of a different name is irrelevant - the candidate Tony Lit is registered to vote (in the same way that the candidate “Tony Blair” at the last election was registered as “Anthony Blair” - different name but same person) and you need to back down gracefully. Just admit you were wrong - we all make mistakes from time to time.
70 comments:
Does 'Tom Watson' also go by the name 'Thomas Anthony Watson'?
Did he live in Kidderminster, Hull and various other places before becoming MP for West Brom?
I think we should be told.
what a spiteful, petty bellend he really is.
I thought Tom Watson also went by the name of Fat Scottish Wanker but maybe that was just a descriptive term?
The trouble is that everyone is copying the Lib Dem tactics because they work.
Who is Tom Watson anyway? I've a healthy interest in politics and am a councillor and have never heard of him...
haha
Roll out the faux-outrage!!!
Still no news about which name your man used when he joined the Tory party then? And could you remind us all just when that happy day was?
If I was Labour I'd be more worried about the balsa wood candidate, the dog's dinner of a website, and the half-arsed campaign Big Fat Tom is running than what Tony Lit's real name is.
"Borderline racist". The architect of Labour's Hodge Hill campaign ranting about how the terrible Lib Dems opposed taking benefits away from asylum seekers
For example www.geocities.com/hodgelab04/labhod0405a.jpg
Perhaps Gordon Brown should honour his words on honest, open Government and sack Watson now, it would be a small step along the long road of restoring people's faith in the Labour Party.
Which bit is racist?
And is Tony registered to vote in the constituency he's standing in?
Hywel, that leaflet says "failed" asylum seekers NOT asylum seekers. There is a big difference.
Re Your Middle Name
You know of course that "Campbell" translated into English from the Gaelic means "crooked Mouth" though "Cameron" means "Crooked Nose"
My comment which Iain quotes above STILL hasn't appeared on Tom's website. What's the bet he will publish it?
The NEC selection panel that chose the 2 man final selection were
Mike Griffiths (Amicus), Norma Stephenson (President UNISON) and Keith Vaz (UNISON).
Overseeing the campaign is Tom Watson (AMICUS).
The leading local woman, Sonika Nirwal although she is the Leader of the Labour Ealing Councillors and she was the AMICUS backed candidate, never made it to the Member vote.
She has after the event come out and given a supportive statement for the winner but why did AMICUS back her but the selection panel did not?
The abandonment of the AWS preference was achieved by Keith Vaz on the grounds that it would open up the selection. Is the winning candidate Virenda Sharma a member of UNISON?
Doesn't Tom Watson use a moral compass?
I wonder how
Yvette Cooper ( Balls)
Tessa Jowell (Mills)
Harriet Harman (Dromey)
etc etc appear in the electoral rtegisters.
There is a former MP whose real name is Viscount Stansgate. Or he might actually be Anthony Wedgwood Benn. On the other hand he may even be masquerading under the name Tony Benn. His son, The Honourable Hilary Wedgwood Benn seems to be plain Hilary Benn. All very puzzling.
A well-known Tory in the Commons is actually the Marquess of Lothian but he puzzlingly calls himself Michael Ancram.
And then there is some spiv called Tony Blair who is really Anthony Blair, a posh git who went to Fettes.
And then there was the Earl of Home, who had once been Lord Dunglass, but then turned into Sir Alec Douglas-Home but died as Lord Home of the Hirsel. And what about all those married lady Labour MPs who changed their names upon marriage (how terribly bourgeois!: are they to come under Mr. Watson's scrutiny.
It seems this Watson fellow is furiously steaming in circles laying a smokescreen to mask his original indiscretion. He should be formed up in front of the Electoral Commissioner forthwith.
Gordon's righthand man is a dipstick. Not only does Gordon have no leadership qualities himself. He picks idiots as his henchmen/women.
Labour and Britain are in trouble. The new Stalin's rusting away already. He's more like the Tin Man in the Wizzard of Oz.
A pattern is emerging: 1) Gordon Brown charges Tom Watson with ousting Tony Blair in a coup, which he f***s up spectacularly; 2) Gordon Brown charges Tom Watson with orchestrating the Labour Party's campaign in the Ealing Southall by-election, which he is so far f*****g up spectacularly!
Also, on a related matter Keith Vaz is an utter hypocrite who pledged his support to Salman Rushdie back in the 80s over 'The Satanic Verses' uproar, and then turned around and supported those very people calling for his death!
The Labour Party are trying to win this by-election by leaving it in the charge of a political bellyflopper and a dangerous hypocrite!
just shows how much he knows about business
oops he's a labourite therefore he really knows f**** all
Firstly, it seems that a few parties are making arses of themselves in this campaign.God knows what the people of Ealing are making of it all, politics is meant to be about policies, not someone's name or poster boards in gardens.
Secondly, I fail to see which part of Watson's post was borderline racist.It's a pretty heavy suggestion to make with little substance...given that Labour's candidate is likely to be Virendra Sharma.
S Jamison - I thought it was 'bitter mouth' not 'crooked mouth;. Didn't know about the nose though!
Who is Prime Minister Gordon Brown?
There's no such person.
The man who claims to be PM Gordon Brown is really PM James Gordon Brown.
So why is this man masquerading as someone he is not?
Absurd, argument, the above, isn't it? Tom Watson's attack on Tony Lit is equally absurd, ad hominem and, as you day Iain, possibly tinged with racism.
Auntie Flo'
I met Tom Watson at a mate's leaving leaving do. He seemed quite nice, quite articulate and half decent actually.
I did say I approved of him trying to oust Blair, but regretted his choice of replacement - which he laughed at.
Either I was more drunk than I thought, or my judgement is getting worse.
Or both!
Tom Watson MP may or may not be all those intelligent names you're calling him. But the blogpost what he wrote seems pretty careful. And accurate. And he is a renowned Lib Dem slayer, using their moves against them and Lit. Aikido.
There's a by-election going on and it is a fact that the Tory selection is of someone who is to say the least politically fickle. Probably heading for third if not a total meltdown.
His cover story for joining the Tories the week before last or whatever is nonsensical and he did try the Libs first, while his dad did Labour and Independent in the past. Clearly Cameron was the softest, wettest route onto the ballot.
Lit is also using quite a few aliases. And who is (fact) and never has been (fact) on an electoral register under his campaign name. That shows a like of preparation and nous.
It is a fact that last time I stood in an election I had to use the same name as I had on the electoral register. So I used my common name on the electoral register. Though this is 'Chris' not 'Christopher' and middle name omitted.
Perhaps the law has changed? But anyway the Tory used a much shortened brand name throughout and had a totally different name (apart from his family name) on the ballot. The name he was using - Jake - happened to rhyme with Fake. And so he was. We didn't use that, much. It was a positive campaign all round. But he suffered.
Tony rhymes with Phoney, Lit rhymes with all sorts. The man has seemed like a slick, opportunist, careerist, chameleonic, egotist from the get-go. Tom Watson's line reflects that.
Cameron's selection is a gift. Doing OK in PMQs after 18 months practice is just flim flam. This selection shows his judgement is pretty poor.
The Labour selection process has seemed a little strange from afar. But Cllr Sharma ticks all the boxes that Lit can only dream of.
Oderint Dum Metuant
Jody Dunn and Nokia Davies (c Tom Watson, 2004) thought Watson was making a mess of the campaign in Hartlepool and Hodge Hill too, but he's still there and they're all gone!
I don't have much time for him, but when it comes to campaigning he kicks to kill and you better get used to it.
chris paul
that is utter b*****ks. what logic is there in that argument? at least make sense if you are going to comment
Yep Gordon Brown is in reality James Brown .. the godfather of soul no less.
JUst posted this on Tom's site. Wonder if it will stay up!
Tom,
I have a barrell in my garden, and the bottom needs scraping. Would you like me to bring it up?
I think you would be forgiven for just saying 'ooops, I made a mistake', rather than trying to defend what was pretty poor research (which could have been resolved by a phonecall to the Tory agent) by dragging up where his directorships are held.
If you know about business, then you will know that directorships are often registered at a company's registered offices, which are usually the company's accountants or lawyers. If each company has a different registered office - hey presto - different addresses. I have different directorships and different registered offices. I probably have them under different variations of my name as well. But legally, they are still me!
I don't think the voters in Ealing are asking 'who is Tony Lit' at all - he has wider name recognition than either of the other two candidates, but I suspect they might be asking 'who the hell is Tom Watson'!
There is nothing to say here except you made a booboo, and you should stop digging now.
Odd, I can see the comment I posted but no others.
Good point about the variations in names, I sometimes give one middle initial sometimes two, sometimes none.
Iain why don't you just admit it: Tony Lit is and was a stupid choice. It shows terrible judgement by Cameron. He rushed in quickly, obviously thinking it was so cool to have a non-white guy standing for the Tories. The result of the fiasco is that it looks terrible on the Tories.
I'm not saying Labour and Lib Dems are playing fair and square at all. The Labour candidate is solid, which is what you need in a by-election. But the Tory choice of Tony Lit is so poor. I'll be surprised if the other two parties don't rip him to shreds I'm afraid ...
I just want to remind people it is not nice to stigmatise the afflicted and as such I wish Chris Paul all the best for a full recovery.v
Congratulations on giving this story some legs. This is how Watson works - and his opponents fall for it everytime!
Seems like Iain is having a little 'rattle out of pram' moment here. The phrase 'dish it out but can't take it' springs to mind.
Did DC/CCHQ decide who got selected? I doubt it.
Diane Flabott rendered speechless when asked to defend browns performance at pmqs by Andrew Neil. Thats how bad he was!!
Can someone please, I beg of you, explain to me exactly why no-one is commenting about Nadine Dorries? I haven't read her name for, like, two hours.
http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2004/08/those-naughty-libdems.html
not the first time the R word crops up in Iain's by elecion coverage I note..
Tom Watson is a total wanker, and I really hope Labour get made to look like the pricks they are in Ealing.
elio said...
Yep Gordon Brown is in reality James Brown .. the godfather of soul no less.
He's the Godfather alright - of the Scots mafia.
Auntie Flo'
What a breath of fresh air Chris Paul and Bob Piper bring to these proceedings.
jailhouselawyer said...
What a breath of fresh air Chris Paul and Bob Piper bring to these proceedings.
July 06, 2007 1:13 AM
j'p't' says.....
So unlike you, eh!
Is he renowned for allowing comments on his blog?
I had to ask the following:
Mr Watson (*IF* that is your real name!),
Your domain name is registered at
3, Squires Walk
Wesdnesbury
West Midlands
West Midlands
WS10 9DB
GB
Yet I cannot find that address on your given contact details, which are
House of Commons
LONDON
SW1A 0AA
and
Terry Duffy House
Thomas Street
West Bromwich
B70 6NT
What are you hiding, you devious shyster? Why so many addresses? I think we should be told!
I'm sure Bob Piper is most grateful for he support of a man who hacks old ladies to death then drinks a coffee as he watches them die
Iain, None of Watson's comemnts could possibly be described as racist. They may be weak, ill-directed and pathetic, but it is not racist to make weak, ill-directed and pathetic about an Asian person unless they're diected at that person BECAUSE they're Asian. Watson's comments are directed at Tony Lit because he's a Conservative candidate, which is different. I think you need to grow up a bit here. For years and years Conservatives have (quite rightly) been defending the principles of free speech from idiots who used the "rascism" card to attack anyone who dever dared to criticise someone from an ethnic minority. Now you're trying to play the same card, and as someone who (presumably) wishes to defend freedom of expression, you need to pull back from the by-election cauldron and remember the wider principles for which you're supposed to be fighting.
"What a breath of fresh air Chris Paul and Bob Piper bring to these proceedings."
And what do you bring apart from your smug grandstanding f**khouselawyer?
But what is the Conservative candidate's GOOD name?
It looks as though Tom Watson isn't going to post the comment I put on his blog piece (the comment that Iain quotes in it's entirety above).
It's not as if I swore at him, I just pointed out that his claim was silly and he should back down. I think the fact that he refused to post it demonstrates his evasive character.
Adrian:
And if you'd bothered to read sections 288 & 289 of the Companies Act 1985, you'd know that as a director, what your are required by law to register with Companies House is your 'usual place of residence' not the registered office of the company, which is an entirely different matter
Perhaps he's moved recently as Companies House haven't updated their records yet.
Company law requires disclosure of full forenames (no initials) for directors. Why would anyone do otherwise?
Tom Watson is wrong and is making a prat of himself over this issue. Agreed.
But the shrill defenders of multiple names, addresses and identities protest too much. In the case of Tony Lit (and Iain Dale) there's no story. That's not to say that there aren't countless cases where people have used different styles of address for nefarious purposes.
Diversionary tactics from Watson. Hardly surprising given his direct involvement in the selection process. But how utterly crass. They can't even arrange a decent diversion.
Still, it's fun to watch, eh?
And Jailhouselawyer, that is one of the funnier comments here. Hadn't realised your talent for irony before.
Desperate Dan "That's not to say that there aren't countless cases where people have used different styles of address for nefarious purposes."
And for perfectly good reasons too. Take, as but one example, the titles and forms of address of leading church or state figures.
Mr Watson is also presuming that the voters in Ealing Southall will disapprove of a prospective MP who uses multiple identities and addresses for official purposes. How quaint!
Maybe Tom is falling in love with Tony? He does have hair unlike the other 2 main candidates.
Seriously, Tom only goes after the main rival candidate.
Bob Piper (on Watsons blog) said:
"Isn’t Tony Lit rhyming slang? As in, I’ll bet a pound to a bucket of Tony Lit that the Tories don’t win the by-election. "
Hmm.. I wonder what Bob Piper would have said if a Tory had said the same think about a Labour Asian candidate?
You're a racist.
Chuck Unsworth. Yes, I agree. I can think of millions more reasons why people would want to change their names for innocent reasons. Married women change their names. Harry Webb and Reg Dwight changed their names. People called names like Smelly and Higginbottom often change their names. That doesn't alter the fact that some people change their names or adopt extra names with the calculated aim of covering their tracks or commiting crimes.
I repeat that none of these reasons applies to Tony Lit. He just wanted a snappy three syllable name.
So much blather to cover up the fact that the Tories are going to come a very poor third. You'd imagine an opposition party on it's way to number 10 would clean up a seat like this...get ready for those usual Tory exuses to be trotted out the day after polling...'not a natural Tory seat' being the stock favourite...
So much blather to cover up the fact that Labour are going to come a very poor third. You'd imagine a governing party with a "fresh" new leader would easily retain a safe seat like this...get ready for the Labour excuses of 'London different to the rest of the country' to be trotted out the day after polling...'Tories won cause of a local celebrity' being the stock favourite...
This from the Times regarding one of the Glasgow bombers -
'The Australian Medical Association said yesterday that a Khalid Ahmed applied numerous times, using slightly different names, to work as a doctor for the Western Australia Department of Health between February 2005 and January 2006. He was repeatedly rejected because his professional qualifications and character references were inadequate.'
Not to suggest that Mr Lit's use of multiple namestyles has a similarly sinister purpose, of course.
I understand the desire to defend Tony Lit but please don't say that it is alright to give anything other than your correct name and address to Companies House. One is legally bound to notify Companies House of any changes. The law is there for a purpose so,for example, that creditors can search to see all the directorships held by a particular individual. Similarly, the police and tax authorities like to build a comple picture of a director's activities. Giving different versions of your name and using old addresses frustrates a legitimate public interest in a director's interests.
Martin
Iain, Tom Watson 'borderline racist.'
Check your West Ham Blog, Iron Man, 3rd July @ 9.32.
Iain,
I very much think you should think about taking back the 'borderline racist' comment.
You're right that this may be one of the dirtiest by-elections in years; please don't help that predication come true.
I read you're blog because you don't (normally) descend to the name-calling and pettyness that defines much blogging.
'Racist' is a very dangerous word and should be handle with great care.
Whoops - 'Watson racist.' In my comments @ 1.51, I shouldn have said "Check the W Ham/Sheff Utd" part of the blog
Iain,
Have you seen:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article2034140.ece
Watson's hubris is just a sad, shallow and nasty attempt to redeem himself in the eyes of Arkwright.
He has screwed up the Labour selection process in Ealing and in doing so could go along way to destroy the Brown Bounce in weeks.
Goverment of all the talents - ha!
more like
Government of no talent at all....
You can just see Arkwright this morning picking up the phone and shrieking 'G-G-G-Gr-Granville'
Presumably Watson is desperate to please his new Master. Having flounced out of his junior ministerial job, ratted on Blair and cuddled up to Gordo I'm sure he must have banked on big rewards under the new regime.
I guess that Broon has promised Bunter Watson a super duper job in the future if he wins a few by elections. So he's been stuck in the whips office to give him time to go around head butting (or perhaps, just sitting on) the opposition.
Watson isn't all bad, but he isn't particularly bright. If he's given any serious responsibility his lack of smarts and lack of any real experience of anything outside politics mean that he will screw up big time.
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