Bob

Up at 6, building by 7.

[Bob @Bobtheb58]

@AndrewHWestern Congratulations!!
That posts shows you have ZERO , absolutely ZERO clue about independent education.

Embarrassing Clown.

[Julia Hartley-Brewer @JuliaHB1]

Shush, dear, the grown ups are talking.

[Piers Morgan @piersmorgan]

Love this. 👏👏

[Piers Morgan @piersmorgan]

Of course he does! Polanski’s as big a fantasist as Arday…

[Bob @Bobtheb58]

@brodie_prime Yes it was excellent. I even warmed to @edballs 😀

[Bob @Bobtheb58]

@Pete___Cole @KayBurley Didn't she "run" there to hide, on that TV program Celebrity Hunted !?

[Bob @Bobtheb58]

@TomK_Brit1993 @bphillipsonMP 🤣🤣🤣

Lovely post Bridg.

[Bob @Bobtheb58]

@bphillipsonMP Someone giving a reformed person a chance, 10 years later?.......
or someone continuing being a hateful class warrior , smirking at screwing up the education of tens of thousands of children?

It's a tough one.

[Vodka & Seledka 🇬🇧 @seledka_vodka]

I believe the controversy that has erupted around @CrewkerneMan has been presented almost entirely from one side. Predictably so.

A headline saying, “Tories select convicted neo-Nazi to stand in council election” will attract more clicks and outrage than, “Tories select former neo-Nazi turned counter-extremism advocate to stand in council election.”

Notice that I haven’t omitted the words “neo-Nazi” from the second headline. A balanced account should not conceal any part of the truth.

But if the objective is to mount a political attack on the Conservative Party, the second part of Joshua’s story becomes inconvenient: the years he has spent repudiating antisemitism, completing Prevent training and speaking about radicalisation and counter-extremism in schools, universities and professional settings.

Yes, this is a story about wrongdoing - serious, sustained and appalling wrongdoing. But it is also a story about atonement, or at least a genuine and verifiable attempt at it.

Like @KemiBadenoch, I am sceptical about rehabilitation. Saying that you have changed does not establish that you have changed. Remorse is easily declared and difficult to prove.

But I also believe in following the evidence wherever it leads. In Joshua’s case, that evidence does not consist merely of an apology issued when he wanted to become a candidate. His rejection of his former beliefs began years ago. Since leaving prison, he has invested a substantial part of his life in preventing other people from following the path he took.

That does not erase what he did. It does not undo the fear and suffering he caused. It does not oblige any of his victims to forgive him. Their anger and opposition to his candidacy are entirely understandable, and they should be heard with respect.

But forgiveness and rehabilitation are not the same thing. A victim is under no obligation to forgive. Society, however, must decide whether rehabilitation is ever possible and what it means when the evidence suggests it has occurred.

The criminal justice system cannot preach rehabilitation while imposing permanent civic death on everyone who has completed a sentence. A second chance is not a declaration that the first offence no longer matters. It means judging someone by their entire record - including what they have done since.

Nor has Joshua been handed public office. He has been selected to contest an election. His past is now known, his claims of rehabilitation can be scrutinised, and the people of Crewkerne South will ultimately decide whether to trust him.

There is a legitimate debate about whether rehabilitation should extend to elected office. Public office is a privilege, not a right, and candidates should meet a demanding standard. But that debate cannot be honest if it presents Joshua only as the man who entered prison and refuses to consider the man who emerged from it.

If his present conduct contradicts his professed transformation, judge him for that. If his account of his counter-extremism work is false or exaggerated, expose it. If he fails the people he seeks to represent, remove him at the ballot box.

But if no amount of remorse, punishment, changed conduct or sustained service can ever be enough, we should admit that we do not really believe in rehabilitation at all.

Nor is this principle a novel indulgence invented by Conservatives. In 2012, Labour knowingly selected Margaret Burke - a former neo-Nazi and ex-prisoner - to stand for Milton Keynes Council. She had run a pro-Hitler organisation, worn Nazi-style uniforms and organised racist activity. A black former councillor whom she had racially abused objected to her selection. Nevertheless, Labour concluded that her subsequent conduct had been “exemplary” and that it would be “wholly wrong” to deny her the possibility of becoming a candidate. She was elected, selected and elected again after her history became public, and served until 2018.

The two cases are not identical, and Joshua’s offences were more recent, more sustained and more directly targeted at identifiable victims. But the underlying principle is the same. Labour has previously accepted that even involvement in neo-Nazism need not impose permanent civic death where later conduct demonstrates genuine reform. Anyone who accepted that principle then, but declares it morally unthinkable now, should explain why the principle apparently changes with the colour of the candidate’s rosette.

I believe the evidence points to Joshua having fundamentally changed. His victims owe him no forgiveness, and the public owes him no office. But he is entitled to have the whole of his story told - and voters are entitled to judge the whole man, not only the worst chapter of his life.

Which is why I highly recommend everyone to read his piece in @ConHome and take it from there.

[Bob @Bobtheb58]

@lucianaberger

[Bob @Bobtheb58]

@lucianaberger "I am all for rehabilitation" ...you clearly state in print.

So what does he have to do?

[Thames Valley PolFed @TVPFED]

Incredible support from the public and #PoliceFamily as our petition to stop the early release from prison of the killers of PC Andrew Harper reaches more than 300,000 signatures. A message from our Chair Aileen O'Connor. Please Sign and Share https://t.co/30nk4jXJsQ

[Bob @Bobtheb58]

@LBC Please stop posting this s**t from this to**er.

Many thanks.

[LBC @LBC]

PC Harper's Chief Constable wrote to the Prime Minister with concerns about the early release of his killers.

12 days later, he reveals he still hasn't received a reply.

[Charlie @CheckCharlieB]

We Conservatives are probably among the most loyal supporters of any political party in the UK. We know our party has made mistakes every party has but we also believe in its achievements and its role in shaping modern Britain and standing against tyranny in some of the country's darkest moments.

We will defend our party, support our leader, and fight for the values we believe in. If you don't understand our resolve, don't mistake it for weakness. Loyalty, conviction, and resilience have carried the Conservative Party through difficult times before, and they'll do so again.

[Thames Valley PolFed @TVPFED]

More than 150,000 people have signed our petition in under 24 hours demanding that the Government stop the early release from jail of PC Andrew Harper's killers. Sign and share here https://t.co/Y5fP394rus

[Bob @Bobtheb58]

@ajcdeane I agree it's not an easy decision .

"I am all for rehabilitation" she says.

So,to be fair, it seems @CrewkerneMan done a lot over the 10 years or so what more does he have to do?

[Bob @Bobtheb58]

@LBC @TomSwarbrick1 @AlexDaviesJones Oh God....she's back in Government!🙄

[Bob @Bobtheb58]

@LBC @TomSwarbrick1 @AlexDaviesJones https://t.co/MkxGaoeqXq

[Thames Valley PolFed @TVPFED]

Petition: Please Sign and Share

Stop the early release from jail of PC Andrew Harper's killers

https://t.co/30nk4jXJsQ

[Tim Rice @SirTimRice]

Shocked by the sad news that Rod Liddle has died. (I'm sure he'd hate anyone saying he'd "passed"). He was a funny, honest and dedicated writer. Journalists like him are all but irreplaceable. RIP.