Will the LibDems Fire Their PPC for New Forest East?

Remember THIS story about how the News of the World tried to stitch up Tory MP Julian Lewis over the fact that his constituency home address was was kept private by arrangement with his local Electoral Registration Officer and police force? Well a couple of days ago he had an Adjournment debate in the House of Commons on the whole issue and laid out in very great detail how his Liberal Democrat PPC opponent, Terry Scriven, was behind the whole thing and had made his life hell. Do read the WHOLE DEBATE as it's a fascinating illustration of politics being dragged into the gutter by a man the LibDems feel happy to have as an official parliamentary candidate. Judge for yourself if you'd be happy to vote for such a man.

As an aside, Chris Bryant's wind-up was very entertaining.

I can be dispassionate on this issue as mine is the only constituency in the country in which both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have lost their deposits on the same occasion. I, too, increased my majority at the last election, and I am sure that that had nothing to do with anything on the internet— [ Laughter. ] It pays to advertise.

We can agree on many issues in this debate. First, the armed forces parliamentary scheme should not be taken lightly. It has provided an invaluable service for many hon. Members, including me, who would otherwise know very little of the armed forces, and we should thank Sir Neil Thorne. Secondly, the security of all hon. Members and their families and staff—we should not forget them—is a very serious matter. There have been very serious incidents in the past that the Liberal Democrats and other parties have had to face. That is a matter for the whole House.

In my own case, I had a stalker turn up outside my front door in London who had to be removed by the police. He rang me up and asked, “Is that Chris Bryant?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “I’m Malcolm, I’m outside.” I told him to go away. He said, “I’m very submissive.” I used an expletive and he said, “I’m not that submissive.” The police took him away. On a second occasion, someone was sent to prison for harassment, not because they were particularly aggressive towards me, but because they were making it impossible for me to do my job at my surgery.

All hon. Members will be aware of cases in their constituencies where they have had to deal with people who have mental health problems or who are fixated on them. It is incumbent on the whole political community to work together to ensure that such situations do not infect the body politic.

He's right. So what, I ask, do the LibDems intend to do about their candidate, Terry Scriven? They should deselect him.