The "Moral Compass" malfunctions

Most politicians in Britain have scruples about making political capital from attacks on the families of their opponents. Even some of the most ruthless practitioners of hardball politics ususally do not cross that particular line. And on the rare occasions when someone does cross it, members of the perpetrator's own party are usually as furious as those in the victim's party.

Or at least that was the rule until now - but it doesn't appear to apply to the Brownite "Forces of Hell".

The filthy lies which Damian McBride, one of the closest lieutenants of Gordon Brown, was caught plotting to plant on the internet included false allegations about the wives of both the Leader of the Opposition and the Shadow Chancellor: see the Observer report here and BBC report here.

When this came out the Brownite spin machine tried to distance themselves from McBride's plans and disavow them as the work of a couple of rogue individuals. But now it seems that, having learned nothing, they are dusting down the tactic of attacking Conservatives through their families.

Tim Walker writes in the Telegraph today that

"Alistair Darling is unlikely to be the only one to have the “forces of Hell” unleashed against him by No 10 Downing Street. Mandrake hears that Samantha Cameron is to be the new target of a Labour smear campaign."

If Tim Walker's article, which you can read here, is remotely correct, this is reprehensible and demonstrates that McBride's tactics were not a one-off.

The present Prime Minister sometimes talks about a "moral compass" but there are too many people around him who would not understand a moral principle if it bit them.

Comments

Jane said…
Labour's resort to smear campaigning is clearly indicative of the fact that they have been in power too long. They are scraping the bottom of the barrel, so low they are getting splinters under their finger nails. As David Cameron has put it so succinctly this country is in need of a change of leadership and a change of culture at the next General Election.

One would expect publications issued from Downing Street to be policy driven, adding to debate, instead McBride speak politics are about character assassinations of opponents, rather than concern with saving the country. Only a spent force smears. Damian McBride's fault in Labour's ethical code was only to get caught, as the source, using his Downing Street email account. On the moral compass, set by its own former leader Harold Wilson, Labour is far from being a moral crusade. It is nothing. Mop the floor with the red rag! Vote for Change.

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