Now stick an ASBO on Labour in Hartlepool

Yes I know it's old news but there is not much press coverage at the moment and it links in with the item above...

CRIME BECAME a key issue in the Hartlepool by-election in an unexpected way last week.

Local police had to intervene when a row between Labour and Lib Dem supporters threatened to turn nasty. Incredibly, the two sides were raging at each other over which party was the toughest on crime.

The Labour Party have been accused of bussing staff up from their central London office to hold a “protest” outside the Lib Dem offices in Hartlepool on Tuesday of last week.

The “protesters” waved placadrs accusing the Lib Dems of being soft on criminals. A huge row ensued. The police had to break up Labour’s crime picket and “had words” with senior figures from both parties.

Newspapers are reporting that among the Labour “protesters” were Labour officials who played key roles in the Hodge Hill by-election in July.

Labour won the Birmingham Hodge Hill seat, but their campaign disgusted many by its vitriolic abuse of “teen gangs” and asylum seekers.

A local paper, the Hartlepool Mail, ran a picture of last week’s undignified scuffle.

Respect press officer Peter Smith responded by having this letter printed in the paper:

“The clash between Labour and Lib Dem supporters on York Road requires a response. Rival political parties can surely find a more mature way of settling disagreements than engaging in a street ruckus.

“It beggars belief to think that this unseemly row was over the party’s respective law and order policies.

“We in this office were pleased that a close examination of the photograph clearly shows that, with the exception of the police officers, most of the demonstrators were not from the town.”

Labour Party figures are now threatening legal action against the Liberal Democrat candidate for naming them as getting on the wrong side of the police on her website.

Socialist Worker Online