Response from London Elects concerning Islamophobic quote

[Lennier]

I was outraged at the Anti-Muslim quote in the London Mayoral Elections booklet which referred to the "threat from Islam".

Here is the response I received when I sent an email complaining about it. London Elects say that, according to the QC they consulted, the content of the booklet does not break the law. I am sure they would not have responded in this way if, say, the quote concerned the Jewish community. It seems that the law, as it stands, is slanted against Islam and Muslims.

Anway, here is the reply to my email:

I am sending this response on behalf of John Bennett.

We send a booklet to every voter in London ahead of the Mayor and Assembly election. Each Mayoral candidate has a legal right to have an entry in this booklet.

The Greater London Returning Officer has to ensure that each candidate's entry complies with election law and doesn't break any other laws. The only responsible way for us to do this is to seek legal advice, which we did. That legal advice was that all entries complied with the law. We then checked this legal advice a leading Queens Counsel on election law, who has confirmed our position.

The Election Addresses Order has specific rules for the material which the mini manifestos may contain. It is designed to govern political messages some of which by their nature may be distasteful to some readers. It is not intended to suppress offensive political views. It would be wholly inappropriate to go against the legal advice we received.

It is important that voters have information from the candidates as they wish to present it, as long as it complies with the law.

The GLRO and London Elects are independent. The inclusion of a candidate's views in the booklet is in no way endorsement of those views by the GLRO or London Elects. The GLRO acts as a conduit for the expression of conflicting political opinions and does not endorse any of them.

We do not make any value judgement about the contents of the booklet. As the body responsible for running the election, it would be inappropriate for us to do so, and we have no power to do so.
Regards,

Katy Shaw
Senior Administrator
London Elects

[fred]

I understand the quote goes:

“The BNP's appeal to voters features a quote from their phoney non-Reverend Robert West which reads: "I'm backing the British National Party because they support our traditional Christian faith. We need strong leadership to protect our national identity from the threat of Islam."

His title seems to be from unknown origin as none of the churches much want to claim him as theirs.

The best I can find is:

He was Ordained nearly 30 years ago by the Episcopic Church, also being Ordained as an Elder. After some disagreement with the direction the Church was heading he is now Free and Independant.

But I have no way to confirm this.

As fort eh quote - It's way out of order.
Where do I send the moan to?

[Lennier]

According to the main MPAC website, to complain about the quote:

all queries to be directed to the Greater London Returning Officer John Bennett, on John.Bennett@london.gov.uk

[fred]

Done.


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