the old bailey seems a bit overkill for a contempt case
surely there are more important cases to be heard
surely there are more important cases to be heard
Off Topic The Politics Thread
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****ing hell, get home to find Rees Mogg and Rod Liddle on Question Time, plus a bunch of other very punchable people. Switched off sharpish.
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Labour conference: Right-wing journalist faces ban call after ‘safe space’ video
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By John Pring on September 27, 2018 Human Rights
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Disabled party members are calling on Labour to ban a prominent right-wing journalist from future events after she posted a video on social media mocking the provision of a “safe space” used by disabled people at this week’s party conference.
The party has told Disability News Service (DNS) that the behaviour of Julia Hartley-Brewer “caused considerable distress” to people at the conference, including disabled party members with autism and anxiety conditions.
Hartley-Brewer had been filmed sitting in the safe space – which is put aside for disabled people and others who need a quiet area for impairment-related and other reasons – and then saying “boo” as a colleague with a camera entered the room.
Alongside the video, Hartley-Brewer – who was presenting her breakfast show live from the main conference venue – wrote on Twitter (pictured): “Comrades, if you’re feeling triggered at the Labour Party conference, don’t worry, we’ve found the official #SafeSpace…”
She later tweeted in response to criticism: “Ooh, I’ve committed one of those hate non-crimes we’ve heard so much about.”
Hartley-Brewer, who has about 120,000 Twitter followers, continued to refer to the incident dismissively, including yesterday (Wednesday), when she tweeted: “Nah, I’m sitting through the [Jeremy Corbyn] speech in my [HASHTAG]#SafeSpace[/HASHTAG]. On a train heading home.”
One autistic party member, Rebecca*, told DNS this afternoon (Thursday) how she had seen Hartley-Brewer’s video on Twitter.
She had already used the conference safe space as she had been experiencing panic attacks because she had been finding the noise and crowds at the conference “overwhelming”.
She said: “I used it to chill out. It really helped.”
But she then saw Hartley-Brewer’s Twitter message, which she said left her feeling “humiliated and violated”.
She was supported by Disability Labour, which represents disabled party members, after turning up in distress at its conference stand.
She said she came across the stand and “just burst into tears, shaking with anger and rage”.
She praised the support she was given by Disability Labour and said she was now set to report the incident to the police as a potential disability hate crime.
A second disabled member also told Disability Labour that he believed the room was no longer a “safe space” because of Hartley-Brewer’s actions.
Hartley-Brewer has refused to apologise, although she tweeted: “I’m told that this ‘safe space’ at Labour conference is meant for people with autism and other disabilities. The sign doesn’t say that.
“For the avoidance of doubt, there was no intention to upset disabled people, but every intention to upset snowflakes. Hope that clarifies.”
A sign on the door, which either Hartley-Brewer or her colleague photographed, refers to “urgent medical treatment”, the party’s “safeguarding unit” and “safety or welfare” concerns, while information about the safe space was included in the accessibility information pages for disabled people of the main conference guide, sent out to all journalists attending the event.
A spokesman for talkRADIO has refused to comment or to say if the station plans any disciplinary action against Hartley-Brewer.
But Dave Townsend, a vice-chair of Disability Labour, said Hartley-Brewer had “violated” the safe space.
He said Rebecca had been “very distressed. It took a good hour to get her to calm down.”
And he said he was concerned that Hartley-Brewer’s actions could encourage similar behaviour from her supporters in other venues and at other conferences.
He said Disability Labour executives had told the party’s conference arrangements committee during a lengthy meeting yesterday morning that they wanted to see Hartley-Brewer expelled from the conference and banned from future Labour events.
Despite the row, Hartley-Brewer hosted her morning show on talkRADIO live from the conference on Wednesday morning.
A Labour spokeswoman told DNS in a statement: “During conference, the Labour party received a number of complaints about talkRADIO presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer’s behaviour during conference, which we looked into immediately.
“It became apparent that she had caused considerable distress to vulnerable groups, including to delegates with conditions including Asperger’s, autism and anxiety disorders.
“Representations were made to talkRADIO and to Julia Hartley-Brewer directly.
“A clarification was made by the presenter, but material considered offensive remains on social media and neither the party nor those affected have received an apology.
“The party is taking this incident up further with talkRADIO.”
She added: “The Labour party prides itself in high standards of inclusivity and we do not tolerate abuse or discrimination.
“We have made improvements in our support for disabled delegates to ensure our conference and events are as inclusive and accessible as possible, which this year included accessibility stewards in the conference hall and the usual provision of a safe space, among other things.”
Townsend said that Hartley-Brewer had been “mocking the idea of vulnerable people needing a safe room”.
He said: “I was absolutely apoplectically angry that somebody could violate a place put there specifically for someone having a vulnerable moment or some quiet away from the crowds.
“We think it was signed well enough for her to know it was a room for safeguarding vulnerable people.
“It is nothing less than a hate crime against disabled people in vulnerable situations, especially those who are neuro-diverse or have mental health issues.
“Everybody in the party is sickened that this happened. It is beyond belief that she thought this was a reasonable thing to do.”
have the police got nothing better to do than have to waste time listening to these morons
whats happened to the british that they get so upset and offended so bloody easily these days
how do so many acctually manage to get out of bed in the morning
But she's a woman and an English woman more importantly so she and we have been disrespected because they told her that what she was proposing was unworkable and Tusk made a joke about a chocolate cake with no cherries in it. Just how pathetic that over reaction was. Pe rhaps secretly all along the Brexiteers would have been happy with Chequers. That way they could have claimed success while continuing to whinge like hell.
You mean you have regurgitated this old rubbish again? No wonder I said Craig David. This remoaner stuff is like groundhog day.
Actually, it's the BBC and LBC. get back to your acorn farm. As for your polls comment, I think you only look at the remoaner ones. For such an amazing life in France, you do spend a lot of time on Brexit? If it was mean I would be enjoying the sun not worrying about someone in the cyberworld.
I see what you did there... what media would you class as reliable information?
No, I did read it but stopped at a point. I do read what people post Stroller but sometimes after I read 1-2 paragraphs I can see where it is going.
Apparently people make their minds up on issues either on a rational basis or an emotional one. I read some research a couple of days ago that says most Leave voters are making an emotional decision and most Remain voters are making a rational one. There is nothing to try and suggest one approach is more valid or "better" than the other - it's just the way we're wired as individuals.
Sounds possible to me. There are no rational grounds for bankrupting the country and no evidence that leaving the EU right now in the manner being suggested would be OK. So why can't I understand that we just have to leave and worry about the rest later?
Why don't we just postpone Brexit until we understand how we're going to make a success of it? That doesn't mean we'll not leave, just that we'll do it at a time of our own choosing on terms we can control a little better? None of us trust the existing people to do it properly or that what they do will make us happy.
As I read yesterday... "If the people in charge of making Brexit happen were competent, they wouldn't".
Sounds possible to me. There are no rational grounds for bankrupting the country and no evidence that leaving the EU right now in the manner being suggested would be OK. So why can't I understand that we just have to leave and worry about the rest later?
Why don't we just postpone Brexit until we understand how we're going to make a success of it? That doesn't mean we'll not leave, just that we'll do it at a time of our own choosing on terms we can control a little better? None of us trust the existing people to do it properly or that what they do will make us happy.
As I read yesterday... "If the people in charge of making Brexit happen were competent, they wouldn't".
Please tell me I just didn't waste 20 seconds of my life reading this.
Rational/emotional? Why didn't you just say Leavers are all thick uneducated racists and 'remainers' are all intelligent thinkers?
Dipper you need to get this into your head mate.
We voted to leave and we will leave the EU. It's written in law and the date is set. The vote must be implemented and people need to respect the vote. Postponing it is just an excuse to derail the process. It will not happen.
For every negative news story we hear about the future, it is trumped with a positive one and vice versa.
However I will agree that they need to sort it out.
Please tell me I just didn't waste 20 seconds of my life reading this.
Rational/emotional? Why didn't you just say Leavers are all thick uneducated racists and 'remainers' are all intelligent thinkers?
Dipper you need to get this into your head mate.
We voted to leave and we will leave the EU. It's written in law and the date is set. The vote must be implemented and people need to respect the vote. Postponing it is just an excuse to derail the process. It will not happen.
For every negative news story we hear about the future, it is trumped with a positive one and vice versa.
However I will agree that they need to sort it out.
Now don't get all emotional on me....
There's nothing irrational about not wanting to be subsumed into a federal European state, or remaining on the periphery of a club where increasingly the Euro states make the rules and we simply abide by them and pay a lot of money for the privilege
El classicoNow don't get all emotional on me....
Calm down Ellers. He was quoting an article.Please tell me I just didn't waste 20 seconds of my life reading this.
Rational/emotional? Why didn't you just say Leavers are all thick uneducated racists and 'remainers' are all intelligent thinkers?
Dipper you need to get this into your head mate.
We voted to leave and we will leave the EU. It's written in law and the date is set. The vote must be implemented and people need to respect the vote. Postponing it is just an excuse to derail the process. It will not happen.
For every negative news story we hear about the future, it is trumped with a positive one and vice versa.
However I will agree that they need to sort it out.
Well, to a rational person like yourself - stoking the emotional fires of those who vote the same way you do - absolutely not. Rationally, of course, you aren't highlighting any of the negative aspects of leaving the EU in the shambolic way we currently seem to be going. That might make people pause a little and then question to themselves why a rational person would want to leave so badly in such a poor way.
Why are you against pausing a while so we can do it properly? Or do I misunderstand, and you are actually in favour of waiting until we can do things in a more managed and less damaging way?