The defector that was… wasn’t… was… wasn’t…

Events in Ealing Southall have now taken an even more bizarre turn, with Iain Dale’s account of the on-off-on-off again alleged defection of Cllr Zahida Abbas Noori…

Earlier today I reported that a sixth Labour councillor in Ealing Southall had defected to the Conservatives. I had had this information under a 10am embargo since late last night, when I was sent a statement which Cllr Zahida Abbas Noori has agreed with her five colleagues who defected yesterday.

It seems that this morning she was persuaded not to defect after all, presumably by Tom Watson, Labour’s beleagured by election campaign manager.

Quite what’s going behind the scenes down there is anyone’s guess, but Dale’s comments do seem to have settled one outstanding matter once and for all…

Let’s establish the facts, shall we?

1. Last night Cllr Noori did indeed agree with her five councillor colleagues that she would be joining them.
2. A statement was agreed with her, which I have, but I won’t post unless she’d like me to.
3. The announcement was embargoed until 10am this morning.
4. Since I heard nothing to the contrary overnight I posted the story this morning.
5. Tom Watson then presumably persuaded Cllr Noori of the error of her ways.

Now, with regard to an apology, what is it exactly I’m to apologise for? Acting on information given to me in good faith and which was correct at the time of publication? It was even formatted on a Conservative Party press release, just like the one the previous day when the group of five defections was announced.

So Dale admits to acting as one of Tory Central Office’s primary mouthpieces on the internet. Glad we’ve cleared that one up…

4 thoughts on “The defector that was… wasn’t… was… wasn’t…

  1. a bit off topic but I I see the Tories have a new shiny policy on tax for married couples .Given that civic partnerships constitute the same legal arrangement and that it is illegal to discriminate on the grounds of sexuality ( and we all know how firm they are on law and order ) will Cameron

  2. To continue with Bob’s point, I hope we all realise that the net effect will be a Tory income tax RISE for couples that merely live together, comparative to the tax breaks that a married couple would have.

    The Tories Will Put Up Your Tax Bill.

    Victoria Street can have that slogan for free at the next election!

  3. Epsilon you are either being deliberately venal or you are a bit thick really. You may or may not have noticed that these proposals came out in a document by IDS, NOT DC. DC has not accepted ANYTHING in this report as yet and has certainly not stated policies based on this report.

    Also you missed the fundamental fact that the report did not suggest a tax RISE for couples merely living together, unless you consider NOT GETTING A TAX CUT to be a TAX RISE. Jees most of you zanulab supporters are really lacking in brains!

    Unity you often put forth some stuff which makes some sense, even to some of us on the other side. Complete fuckwits like Epsilon making stupid lying incorrect statements does nothing to help you!

    Unity – Did you ever doubt that Iain Dale was a Conservative mouthpiece? He’s always billed as “Conservative blogger”. I wasn’t under any illusions myself, where you?

  4. Zorro:

    There is a profound difference between a ordinary Tory blogger who writes about anything that takes their fancy and a blogger who goes out of his way to position himself at the top of the pile and then serves as a shill for CCHQ.

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