Andrew RT Davies has had to suspend one of his researchers over material on My Space - Vincent Bailey, has worked for him since last August.
Labour drew attention to material on Mr Bailey’s Myspace site dating back to 2006.to the Western Mail.
The “about me” section contains a number of question and answers type that are offensive.
Against “Single or Group Dates” appears the response “G... bangs are good but single dates are better for the soul”.
Against “Number of drugs I have taken” appears “five or six”.
Another question asks “In the past month have you been on drugs?”, to which the response is “I had two tokes on a spliff at Col’s on Tuesday night, but that was the first in a couple of years. I’m back on the scag big time now.”
Against “What do you want to be when you grow up?” appears the response “A sexual predator or journalist – I believe that these are not mutually exclusive”.
A blog entry on Mr Bailey’s Myspace site was also highlighted by Labour. It refers to events during a music festival on the Isle of Wight in June 2005 involving sexual activity, derogatory references to women and drug taking.
Andrew RT Davies is very hot on traditional Tory family values ,not echoed by this guy
His comments on women are degrading and completely unacceptable. This young man is one of Andrew Davies’ key strategists.”It really shows flaws in Andew RTs judgement if he thinks this man is wort employing. Do we want this type in politics in wales. Its a farce.
From the WM - A senior Welsh Conservative source said: “Vincent Bailey hasn’t been actively involved in the party for very long. He took part in last year’s General Election campaign in Cardiff North. To go from being a newcomer in the party to running the campaign of a party leadership contender in such a short space of time is quite remarkable, and in itself calls Andrew’s judgement into question. Clearly, if these allegations are true, this individual would not be suitable to be a senior adviser to a politician who is seeking election to the top job in his party in Wales.”
Andrew RT Davies said: “I understand these comments were made more than five years ago, long before Vincent Bailey took up employment as one of my three members of staff. Vincent successfully completed a very robust and competitive selection process before being offered this position in August last year.
Time to me is mo excuse
When the WM rang Bailey yesterday afternoon he denied ever having had a Myspace site in his name. Later, however, he issued a statement which said: “While I apologise for the embarrassment caused, the account has been inactive for over five years and I did not write the offensive comments highlighted by Labour. I will co-operate fully with the inquiry.”
This is the man who made himself unpopular with researchers from other parties after repeatedly sticking pictures of Maggie Thatcher on the door of Andre RTs office door. He circulated an e-mail complaining that the pictures of the former Prime Minister were being torn down and threatening to increase them in size and quantity.
13 comments:
sums up the quality of Assembly research staff in all parties boorish, immature, fiercely tribal, misogynistic young men who think they walk on water and are crap at their job to boot.
I'm sorry, but I'm not getting this at all. Some silly comments on web-pages posted some 5 years ago by a guy in his youth. WOW. Shoot/fire the guy.
This slaps of phony indignation. It's a fact that there has been at least one TOP Labour Minister who admitted to taking drugs at college and who held some very senior positions in the Labour party including one where she was czar of anti-drug use (or had some such responsibility).
Meanwhile Wales has an awful economy, has lower than average wages, a low GVA rating and is scrapping the bottom of the UK economic league tables and Welsh Labour is bothered about what a support aid did in his youth. Wow.
This is going to come back and slap the Welsh Labour party on the face.
For example, doesn't the complainant even know that a previous Ministers of her own national Party openly admitted that she smoked cannabis in her past?
Mo Mowlam (1949-2005) former Labour MP and cabinet minister actually called for the legalisation of all drugs including ecstasy, heroin and cocaine.
Personally, I hate drugs including nicotine and never smoked or took any illegal drug in my entire life. But some ding-bat going back five years to a young man's past who was probably larking around when he suggested he took drugs when a past senior minister at cabinet level in her/his own party openly admitted to dabbling with drugs is quite ridiculous.
What is this ridiculous finger pointing going to achieve other than destroy a young man's shot at trying to work for the public good?
I expected better from you, Mam.
Didn't realise you were an apologist for David Taylor and his dirty tricks.
Isn't it time that Shipton and the Western Mail turned their guns on Hain's personal assistant who has dripped poison into the Welsh political system ever since he set up Natwatch and Arsembly?
It simply isn't funny any more to let this fat shit get away this sort of behaviour?
so unimportant are the claims you leave a lengthy rebuttal on a blog at 11.15pm on a Saturday night and try and justify his appalling comments by bringing a dead politician and Labour's pitiful economic performance into the mix to muddy the waters.
Maybe Andrew RT Davies needs a new press officer as well as a new researcher.
Crawled out of your hole, have we Taylor. You devalue everything you touch, especially the speed dial to Shipton's phone. I pity the poor bastard who has to measure your arse every time you need a new pair of trousers. You must be so pleased that MPs are closing down circuses so more canvas is available.
Maybe Peter Hain needs a new researcher.
The basis of this is that the staffers of all politicians no matter what party should be professionaland remember they are paid out of the public purse, many need to mature up, and also realise they are not an elite.
If you enter any form of public role you do need to be squeaky clean.The press and opponents will suss out any indiscretion - and that goes for any party. I am sure Andrew RT Davies is not happy with this.And people would do well to measure what they put on all social media and open forums,
take your feud elsewhere , comments welcome but not personal abuse
The misogyny is of course unacceptable, and if it wasn't for his juvenile activities ie the Maggie posters, I'd cut him some slack. 5 years ago is a long time. There is a question of judgement as to whether this researcher has the maturity to run a campaign but I think comments from 5 years ago when he was undoubtedly very young is fairly predictable mud raking and political opportunism.
No change there then It seems to attrack mud rakers
"... boorish, immature, fiercely tribal..." Thought for a moment this was a description of Welsh Labour's operation in Caerphilly 'back in the day'. As a young man I could not help but notice.
And oh, before people jump to the conclusion that I was/am anti-Labour, I later overlooked what I saw and joined the national Labour Party and was a member for a few years, during which I met the Labour Prime Minister (briefly at an annual meeting of Economic Club of Chicago) and at least one other Labour Minister (as part of ‘Labour International’ group in Chicago).
I would like to rejoin, but my confidence in Welsh Labour is dented somewhat given the fact that the Welsh economy remains bumping along the bottom of the UK economic league tables, continually fails to harness Wales's #1 asset, destroyed the WDA (which was not perfect, but was good for Wales), has let dogma ruin Welsh standards in school education (PISA, Estyn, and now a report from Bristol University).
I operate on results, if Labour comes up with the goods, I support them, but right now Welsh Labour is: (1) not listening to common sense and certainly not listening to non-dogmatic results orientated professionals; (2) doesn’t seem to care about the economy preferring instead to rely on “Object Level One” type grants/funding from Europe; (3) remains anti-private sector in outlook; and (4) prefers to focus on PC ‘crimes’ to hide lack of progress on the economy and jobs.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-11669714
are Labour really that afraid of having Andrew RT Davies as Tory leader they will try literally anything to destabilize his leadership bid.
Not a religious person I am able to recollect ...
"All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!"
How many good people have been lost to the governance of our country because of issues in their youth, things of little consequence.
This is a particularly dirty plot cooked up by usual suspects in Labour.
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