A West London Conservative candidate at Thursday’s general election has been accused of hypocrisy over her opposition to Cycleway 9, which will run through the Brentford & Isleworth constituency she is standing in – with local cycling campaigners pointing out that the project was initiated by Prime Minister Boris Johnson when he was Mayor of London.
Seena Shah is standing for election in Brentford & Isleworth constituency won for Labour in 2010 by Ruth Cadbury with a majority of just 465 votes.
Cadbury, since 2010 co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group and who represented Labour at last week’s Active Travel Hustings at the Brompton Bicycle factory in nearby Greenford, was re-elected in 2017 with a majority of more than 12,000.
In a column last week for the Chiswick Herald, Shah accused Cadbury of being responsible for getting Cycleway 9, which will run from Olympia to Brentford, approved – even though the plans were drawn up by Transport for London (TfL) and the relevant local authorities, with the Labour-controlled Hounslow Council approving the section of the route running through the Brentford & Isleworth constituency.
The stretch running through Chiswick High Road has proved particularly contentious, led by Conservative councillors representing wards in the area, the most affluent in the borough, leading opposition to the scheme which was finally approved after revisions were put to a second consultation.
Shah wrote: “I believe that Brentford and Isleworth has regressed under a Labour MP, a Labour Mayor and Labour council.
“Under Ruth Cadbury, Chiswick has seen the Cycleway 9 cycle path approved along our busiest road, putting pedestrians at risk and jeopardising our already struggling retail economy by removing pavement space, as well as parking and loading bays.”
Initial construction will start at the north end of Kew Bridge this Thursday, polling day, and Shah also expressed concerns that works will go ahead at a time when Hammersmith Bridge remains closed, claiming that there would be a “consequential increase in traffic at residential and main roads throughout Chiswick.”
She added: “If elected, I pledge to call for an immediate delay and review of Cycleway 9 and ensure a temporary bridge is put up to replace Hammersmith Bridge, a project that would cost £5 million and only take three months to complete.”
Shah also pledged her continued support for the UK to leave the European Union, saying that “52 per cent of the United Kingdom voted to Leave. Whether you personally like it or not, that is a democratic majority and we are a democratic country. It is the job of any democratic government to deliver on the will of the people.”
The initial consultation to Cycleway 9 in the individual wards within the Borough of Hounslow, by comparison, had between 59 and 63 per cent of responses in favour and between 20 and 38 per cent opposed, by comparison.
Michael Robinson, co-ordinator at Hounslow Cycling Campaign, told road.cc: “It doesn’t look like Seena Shah gets the irony of complaining about Labour politicians for Cycleway 9 given the scheme was funded and planned when the current Prime Minister Boris Johnson was Mayor of London.
“Cycleway 9 is a good example of cross party consensus at the mayoral level as it was initiated by the previous Conservative Mayor and progressed by the current Labour Mayor,” he continued.
“The government’s Committee on Climate Change is clear that safe cycling infrastructure is an important part of the transition to a low carbon economy.
“It is very disappointing that Seena Shah is attempting to politicise a non-polluting mode of transport,” he added.
“We hope this is because she is being misinformed by local councillors rather than it reflecting her own views,” he added.
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Ah, the Jewish Labour Movement, rather like saying the nazis were really socialists because they called themselves the National Socialists. They hate Corbyn because he supports Palestinian rights, and the fact that they say he's wrong isn't proof that he's lying. Would you like to try again with these huge numbers of examples you have of Corbyn lying?
I think I prefer what Alexei Sayle said about anti-semitism in labour "The search for Antisemitism in Labour is the WMD of our age"
That is a clear example of a lie.
Do you not believe that Labour has an anti-semitism problem?
Not clear, it is clearly politically inspired by a group which hates Corbyn because he supports the Palestinians, and they haven't produced any actual proof that what they say is true and neither does the fact check site say that it is a lie. Alexei Sayle is jewish and he doesn't think there is a problem and I haven't seen a single proven example of anti-semitism in labour, just endlessly repeated smears. As Goebells said, a lie often repeated becomes the truth.
So, about these hundreds of other examples of Corbyn really lying; where are they?
The Jewish Labour Movement have produced sworn statements to the EHRC detailing multiple episodes of flagrant anti semitism within the Labour party.
They have also produced sworn statements that not all of their complaints have been investigated.
This is as part of the EHRC investigation into anti-Semitic racism within the Labour party.
The only other political party to get investigated by the EHRC? The BNP.
Still believe it's a conspiracy?
Interestingly, if you do believe it's a conspiracy, who, ultimately, do you think is directing the conspiracy?
I don't think it is a 'conspiracy' in the classic sense. It is partly driven by media bias however. People don't need to 'conspire', they just follow their self-interest.
And part of it is bad-faith, in that it's more about concern with the interests of wealthy white people as a group than Jewish people as a group. The double standard where anti-Semitism is given much more attention than racism or anti-Muslim bigotry is a big clue to that.
If the interests of the rich white people changed, anti-Semitism would suddenly attract much less concern.
Edit - I actually think some of it is because the existence of Israel means the Jews are no longer such an intrinsic challenge to the ethno-nationalist right. Some of the hard-right have come to terms with Jewish people, at least as long as they are over there in Israel. See Tommy Robinson's visit to that country, striking poses with IDF soldiers. See Trump's close support for Netanyahu (even while he also associates with the likes of Bannon and declares actual Nazis to be 'fine people').
This seems to be part of the reason for the split in the Trumpian alt-right, between those who are supporters of Israel and those who are _so_ anti-Semitic that they still dislike Jews more than they do Arabs or Muslims. When Trump's son got booed at a book-signing by Trump's own voters, that was apparently a major part of what was going on.
I have many doubts about Corbyn (he's too posh and too old, for starters). And he hasn't handled this well. And the far-left's excessive fixation on Israel/Palestine is a bit dubious.
But compared to having the Tories, with their long history of actively being racist, it's still no contest.
So you can't produce a single example of Corbyn lying, despite saying that you had lots of them.
Who said it was a conspiracy? Not me, that's for sure, but you bring in another subject to mislead and misdirect. I don't like to make a habit of insulting people, but you're a tory.
Here's a direct quote from the fact checking link I posted earlier.
"Mr Corbyn has also claimed during this election campaign that: “Where anyone has committed any antisemitic acts or made any antisemitic statements, they are either suspended or expelled from the party and we have investigated every single case.”
But Labour’s own general secretary wrote to MPs in February this year setting out dozens of cases where members were found to have been antisemitic, but were not suspended or expelled from the party. The same letter also revealed that hundreds of complaints of antisemitism had not been formally investigated."
Clear proof that Corbyn lied.
Proof provided by the general secretary of the Labour party.
Proof I provided a link to earlier but that you ignored.
JHC you're going to have to try a bit harder than that. What the general secretary said was from February, and the Corbyn quote is from ten months later, so ample time for what he said to have taken place.
Getting a bit desperate aren't we? Despite your claims to have loads of examples, you only have one and you can't prove it.
Labour have admitted that they did not investigate all the claims of anti semitism and did not suspend or expel all members who were found to have made anti semitic statements.
This corroborates the statements from the Jewish Labour Movement to the EHRC.
So we have two independent sources that contradict Corbyn's statement.
The most recent of these sources is from the last few weeks giving no time whatsoever for Labour to have investigated all the previously ignored cases.
A reasonable person would conclude that Corbyn is lying.
In order to convince everyone else you'd have to find examples of Labour party members who were guilty of anti semitic behaviour but were neither suspended nor expelled.
This would be irrefutable proof that Corbyn was lying.
Thankfully The Times have done just that.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/labour-anti-semitism-six-disturbing-c...
Changed your mind yet Burt?
No. Behind the paywall of a right wing, billionaire owned newspaper that I can't read. Keep trying.
Read away.
Corbyn was lying.
Case. Closed.
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None of that proves that Corbyn was lying, so where is the evidence of all the other cases you say you have?
Meanwhile:
https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/young-left-wing-jews-canvass-for-la...
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/jeremy-corbyn-danger-british-j...
https://thebristolcable.org/2019/12/general-election-2019-labour-antisem...
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/michael-rosen-as-a-jew-i-am-vo...
https://orientxxi.info/magazine/anti-semitism-orchestrated-offensive-aga...
https://mondoweiss.net/tag/jeremy-corbyn/
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/jeremy-corbyn-anti-semitism-labour-...
And I couldn't even find the one I wanted, the letter sent by a jewish group supporting Corbyn and disagreeing with the Cheif rabbi.
I have now produced 3 separate sources of evidence that independently and collectively prove that what Corbyn said was a lie.
Care to suggest how that doesn't prove he was lying?
Except that none of them actually prove he was lying, and you said he has lied constantly but are only able to produce a single example, which you can't actually prove. Boris Johnson on the other hand, lies constantly, blatantly, but you ignore that. Biased much?
The Times article found multiple examples of Labour members who had been found to have engaged in anti-Semitic behaviour but were neither suspended nor expelled from the Labour party.
Corbyn stated that;
“Where anyone has committed any antisemitic acts or made any antisemitic statements, they are either suspended or expelled from the party and we have investigated every single case.”
The Times article proves that the statement was false at the time that he made it.
Do you dispute that?
If you don't dispute that how can you reconcile that with the position that Corbyn didn't lie?
Was it this letter from September 2018: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/sep/30/flawed-reporting-on-antisemitism-claims-against-the-labour-party
I believe it does.
But do you believe that Labour's anti-semitism problem is significantly greater than that of the other parties?
Do you have anything to say about Boris Johnson's long association with the rabidly-anti-Semitic (and fellow traveller of nazis) Taki, for example? How do you think that connection would be reported if it were Corbyn rather than Johnson involved?
Great. So you'll be able to provide lots of examples.
Really? You think that prior to the court-ruling there was nothing at all problematic about the executive being able to shut down parliament arbitrarily on a whim, for as long as it liked, just to get it's policies enforced without MP's scrutiny? You honestly think that nobody could possibly see anything wrong with that until the court ruled on it?
You are such a transparent Johnson apologist.
Thanks for telling me what I think. Again.
Also, thanks for the random complaints about people being white. Again.
FWIW I think the limits to executive power established by the supreme court have been the best things to come out of the Brexit vote.
You told me what you thought, by posting your thoughts on here. Or have you forgotten that you did so?
And what the hell are you talking about with the second line?
You still haven't explained your second idiotic comment. You seem to get outraged at any reference to the existence of racism, particularly in your precious Tory party. Yet apparently it's fine to talk about anti-semitism in Labour. Why is that the only acceptable topic, and who gave you the right to decide what can be mentioned?
How not to respond to a picture that you'd already seen before but you REALLY didn't want to talk about.
What does anyone think that Cummings had told him to do?
I was thinking Amber Rudd, as she fell on her sword to protect May, and Rory Stuart, who is sort of growing on me, but of course as with Dominic Grieve, none of them are Tory candidates any more.
Dominic Grieve, sort of?
Standing as an independent after he was purged from the party; 24,000 majority for him last time, but Beaconsfield was 50:50 in the referendum. Lib Dem candidate stood down, but Labour and Green Party are standing. It could be a close one between him and the Tory candidate, seems it could be a bellwether seat on Thursday.
Nonsense. We all know that tories are honest, truthful, straightforward and trustworthy, and definitely not lying, cheating hypocrites.
I'm sure there are some tory candidates with integrity and honour, but I can't think of any.
Yeah, true. Just like the Lib Dems, Liebour, Brexit party etc etc etc. Politicians lie, full stop, no matter which party they stand for.
So BoJo lies every time he opens his mouth, while no-one has been able to show a single untruth told by Corbyn, but you equate them in moral terms? You're either dumber than most trees or a tory apologist.
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