Friday, April 25, 2008

Open Letter: Your Blogger Writes to Cllr John Leech MP


Dear John

My household has received a stream of dissembling leaflets from your candidate and in every case these claim to have been printed in the back room at your office.

They do not however seem to be of the quality which can normally be produced on a John Bull print kit, or even a top end Riso machine staffed by volunteers. Can you please confirm that you in fact now have a professional printing set up and trained professional unionised staff to operate it in your back room?

Such that you can produce high quality, four-colour, full-bleed, 100% solids, folded leaflets on light blade-coated paper?

Or are these in fact being printed elsewhere but dishonestly badged as being from your back room?

If you have in fact got the printing and finishing equipment requirement to produce glossy, environmentally unfriendly propaganda in house can you please confirm that adequate provision is being made for the health and safety of your trained printing staff, that they are a GPMU-Amicus (TU) shop, and that the correct full cost of printing these leaflets will be declared in any and all election expenses returns.

If however they are printed elsewhere can you please explain why the P and Ps repeatedly suggest that they are printed in your back room?

I would also be interested to know how any and all such equipment has been procured and paid for and wonder if this could in any way be connected with your broken promise to donate all your "earnings" from "council duties" to the Lib Dem cause?

I understand that while you have been paid some £45,000 before tax to represent the people of Chorlton Park ward you have only declared around 10% (allowing for tax) of this as donations with the Electoral Commission.

I await your explanations with great interest.

Best wishes

Chris Paul

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Forgive my instrusion, but couldn't this have been done on a modern laser printer with glossy paper?

We've not seen the leaflets, but the cost of the printers, the inks and the paper has fallen just as the quality of the printing, the paper and the printers has improved.

Chris Paul said...

Mmmmm, Evan. They are full bleed, double sided, huge areas of solids etc etc and although such things might be printed on a laser printer (I have my doubts to this specification) that would not be remotely viable financially because of the cost of toners and so on.

And don't even start to think of the time taken to produce 8,000 double sided, full colour etc glossies on a laser printer ...

These are almost certainly printed offset litho - letterpress is possible but again unlikely on cost and capacity - and I don't think the man has the machinery or the trained staff to do this.

I believe that as ever Leech is taking the michael out of election laws and protocols, providing print for a wide geographical area in a rather unlikely way.

We'll await his response with great interest.

tory boys never grow up said...

I'd cc the returning officer and the Electoral Commission so as to encourage a response.

Anonymous said...

Zzzzzzzzzz... Get a life Chris. You are a reject who doesn't get selected anymore. Oh well, we all can't be as good as you.

Chris Paul said...

Anonymous Zzzzzz. You are a bit of a creep now aren't you? But whatever, if you can explain the John Leech printing mystery we'll let you off.

No answers? Go for another water off a duck's back scummie personal attack.

These are some very serious questions. They need answers.

Strangely there never are any answers from Leech and his crew.

And yes thanks TBNGU I will be pursuing this with the CRO and EC too, don't worry.

Anonymous said...

"scummie personal attack"

Because you are good at giving those out aren't you Chris?

Tom said...

Even worse is cllr mcleech MP's use of 'MP' and the portcullis logo during purdah.

Chris Paul said...

Listen anon: The extent of your scummie personal attack is to say I'm not a candidate. Or that Labour are going to lose or the like. This is kindergarten at best.

There are never answers to the substantive issues raised. Just nyar nyar which frankly is pathetic and weak and typical of cowards with no real politics.

When I attack elected representatives and their agents it is (a) in my own name and (b) for relevant shortcomings, lies and distortions, and/or delicious, well-supported gossip of general interest.

Chris Paul "not being a candidate" (shock) hardly stacks up against John Grant being a defrocked medic who did a happy war dance when the bombs started falling on Baghdad, John Leech cheating election rules, or Dave Hennigan being a drunken bully who lives in his boss's office. Or do you think it does?

Local politics is a team game and we need candidates to win seats, candidates to contest but sadly lose seats, and others to graft without being candidates at all. I am proud to be in whichever category suits Manchester Labour and serves the city at any time.

When Simon Ashley and the likes of your good self start mouthing off about people being losers etc you are simply stabbing your own members in the back. Those who stand in thankless seats and lose. While prize idiots with hubris and dirty tricks win.

Thankfully your lot lose here in far greater numbers than Labour people. But this does not mean I disrespect those who stand unsuccessfully many of whom put your councillors to shame.

Liverpool is on the cusp and I'm looking forward to that one crossing very soon to more Lib Dem than Labour losers. That is when the people finally start winning after a tragic Lib Dem regime of the most ridiculous venality and low standards.

Anonymous said...

"These are some very serious questions. They need answers."

No they're not. P---ing about over an imprint? Grow up.

"John Grant being a defrocked medic who did a happy war dance when the bombs started falling on Baghdad."

Becuase of course the glorious Labour Party had nothing to do with that. It must have been that evil Mr Major and his wicked government of Toreeeez, mustn't it?

There's a good reason why you aren't a candidate. You can only kiss so much backside before you look like TOO much of a braindead stooge (this is even possible in New Labour you know).

Chris Paul said...

This is not about an imprint that slipped past the proof readers anon. This is about persistent dishonesty and persistent flouting of the rules.

If you're saying that as far as Lib Dems are concerned it doesn't matter how much you cheat then I'll accept that.

But if you really think it doesn't matter where Leech's stuff is printed or what it says or whether it is legal then I'd like you to support that case with an argument.

If not do go away. Put up or shut up you cowardly creep.