The return of ‘Lord Groper’
Women’s fury as Lib Dems give Rennard new top job
LORD Rennard, the Lib Dem peer who was accused of being a sex pest by women activists, has been voted on to the party’s ruling body.
The married peer – nicknamed ‘Lord Grabbyhands’ – was elected to the federal executive by other Lib Dem Lords.
He was suspended from the party in January last year after he refused to apologise to Lib Dem women for his alleged advances. An investigation into the former party chief executive’s conduct found he had ‘violated the personal space’ of party members.
Lord Rennard was reinstated after issuing an apology. But activists reacted with fury after he was welcomed back to the executive body.
One email to Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron from an unnamed woman activist said that there were some in the party who believed that ‘Lord Grabbyhands deserves to be allowed full privileges’. She added: ‘ Somebody needs to tell Lord Rennard that if he loves the party as much as he professes to do he needs to stop trying his damnedest to destroy it and the tiny amount of remaining credibility it has.
‘That message could possibly do with being hammered home to the 40 unelected fools who thought they were being clever by voting him on to FE [the federal executive] too.’
Alisdair McGregor, membership officer of the Lib Dems in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, wrote to Mr Farron, saying ‘how damaging this is to the moral standing of the party’.
He added: ‘We cannot be taken seriously as a moral force in British politics whilst still being seen to condone the actions admitted by Lord Rennard during the recent investigation.’
Activists are urging Mr Farron to withdraw the whip from all Lib Dem peers until the matter is resolved. They warned that Lord Rennard would ‘drive people out’. The Mail understands at least one female member is on the verge of quitting the party.
However with just eight MPs and 101 peers, most of the Lib Dems’ political weight is in the Lords.
A Liberal Democrat spokesman said: ‘This is a vote that happened independently in the House of Lords, this is not something that anyone else in the party gets involved in.’ Mr Farron has previously said he had no intention of appointing Lord Rennard to any role within the party. As party president, he decided to suspend the peer last year and is understood to be frustrated at the latest development.
But critics believe that Lord Rennard has been welcomed back because of his skill as a political strategist.
A spokesman for Lord Rennard said: ‘There was a lengthy investigation by independent QC Alistair Webster. He also concluded that there was insufficient evidence even to proceed to a disciplinary hearing. The Liberal Democrat Party has now dealt with all the allegations and the matter is closed.’
‘Damaging to our moral standing’