LABOUR EXPOSED: "WE FIELDED FAKE CANDIDATES TO BEAT LIB DEMS" (Southwark Liberal Democrats)

Southwark Liberal Democrats <info@southwark-libdems.org.uk>

LABOUR EXPOSED: "WE FIELDED FAKE CANDIDATES TO BEAT LIB DEMS"

January 26, 2007 4:00 PM

The Leader of Southwark's Liberal Democrats is asking his Labour counterpart to give an assurance that his party did not field fake 'spoiler' candidates in last May's council elections. The demand comes after it was revealed that the Labour Party in Lambeth fielded such candidates.

A leaked exchange on Labour's on-line discussion forums includes a claim from one insider saying:

"Two 'grassroots' campaigns (were) put up by concerned locals to unseat Lib-Dems… Actually the campaigns were not grassroots at all, the Local Education Action Plan being a slick front, a stalking horse put up to get Labour back in."

"Yet again the shoddy and underhand tactics of the Labour Party have been exposed," said Nick Stanton, Liberal Democrat Leader of Southwark Council. "In Birmingham they had a vote-rigging factory. In Lambeth they fielded fake candidates. We believe that similar tactics may have been employed here."

"The voting system used in council elections means that fake candidates can target a particular party and harm their chances of winning. In the event, Labour's dodgy dealings had some success as they took control of the borough."

"It is quite clear that Labour will do virtually anything to gain power. They appear to be happy to stoop to the underhand and, quite possibly, illegal."