We demand clean politics

WHEN that filthy tweet came to light Kim McGuinness had the right idea. Apologise and move on.

But, if your February 21 letters page is anything to go by, it seems her supporters are determined to take a more combative stance and choose to defend the indefensible.

Rob Whittaker’s gaslighting of Jamie Driscoll for “sharing a platform with Ken Loach” was a particularly unconvincing intervention. As Keir Starmer did exactly the same thing (twice!) that argument has long been discredited.

I’m still at a loss to understand why Driscoll was effectively pushed out of the Labour Party. No doubt the apparatchiks on the selection panel know the real reason he was dropped from the party’s mayoral shortlist, but they’re not saying.

I have a bit more sympathy with Carol Edwardson’s concern on how the word “gypsy” is interpreted today. But ultimately I feel the views of leading figures in Romany Society must inform our judgement of the issue. Their complaint deserves to be taken seriously.

What concerns me most, however, is McGuinness’s casual use of the F word. Not the kind of thing one expects from someone seeking election to a responsible position.

Both the Tory and Labour parties have made far too many terrible decisions when selecting candidates for national and local roles. Again and again compromising activities have been ignored, only to re-emerge post-election.

It is unacceptable to criticise McGuinness’s opponents for challenging bad behaviour. We, the public, have a right to demand clean politics.

JOHN HODGKINS, Seaton Sluice