Legal threats fly as Henley by-election gets down and dirty

The Tories might launch a legal action against the Lib Dems

Friday, 20, Jun 2008 12:00

Conservative candidate John Howell has said his Liberal Democrat rival is "fighting dirty" after questions arose as to his role in a campaign to save a local hospital.

The Conservative team have previously mentioned Mr Howell's role in trying to save the local Townlands hospital. But the Liberal Democrats have issued campaign literature featuring Ian Reissman, chair of the Townlands hospital steering group and a well respected local figure, who claims he had never heard of Mr Howell at the time.

"The campaign has always been a community-based campaign led by local people," Mr Reissman said.

"The first time I was ever aware of John Howell was after he was selected as a candidate in the by-election. No one I've ever spoken to on the Townlands steering group is aware of any contribution he has made to the campaign to save Townlands hospital."

Former chair of the committee, councillor Barry Wood is also qouted by the Lib Dems as saying the local Conservative party "watched from the sidelines" as the campaign was fought.

"John Howell has never been heard of until this election started," he said.

The Conservatives are threatening the Lib Dems with legal action over the issue. They gave them until noon today to offer a retraction and are reserving the right to issue a writ.

The Lib Dems have ruled out any retraction or apology. "We're on firm ground," a spokesman told politics.co.uk

Shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling, who is acting as campaign spokesman for John Howell, told politics.co.uk: "The whole thing is completely nonsensical because there are no claims about John in the literature which are not true of tens of thousands of people in Oxfordshire.

"All it says is John supported Boris' campaign to save the hospital," he continued.

"Well, I would suspect there's not a single person in Henley who didn't support Boris' campaign to save the hospital. So it makes no claims about having led the march, it simply says he supported the campaign."

Meanwhile, Mr Howell has described the Lib Dems recent tactics as dirty campaigning.

"Henley has been a Conservative seat for a long time but we all know that anything can happen in a by-election, especially when the Lib Dems are fighting dirty, as they are doing here," he said.

The controversy is just one part of a legal war between the two parties.

The Conservatives are taking legal advice over a leaflet they say implies Boris Johnson supports the Liberal Democrat candidate.

Boris Johnson, the former Henley MP whose election to London Mayor triggered the by-election, has written to Lord Rennard demanding the leaflet be withdrawn.

"My attention has been drawn to your shameful leaflet masquerading as some sort of independent Oxfordshire magazine," he writes.

"I ask that you immediately withdraw it since, on the back page, you have what purports to be a picture by-line opinion piece from me giving my assessment of the candidates in the Henley by-election.

"This is simply a shameful exercise in misrepresentation.

"Many readers will be taken in by this deceit and the people of Henley and South Oxfordshire deserve better," he continued.

"This is the latest low point in a long and undistinguished history of Liberal Democrat campaigning. It is sad that you have plumbed these new depths. I ask that you withdraw this misleading leaflet without delay."

Lord Rennard does not accept the criticism.

"The Conservatives seem to be running scared in what used to be a very safe Conservative seat," he said.

"It is strange that the Conservative party is arguing about the design of campaign literature – rather than the political arguments contained within it.

"It is a particularly odd criticism given the Conservatives posted a publication in an almost identical format to the constituency just two weeks ago. It is an insult to the intelligence of the voters to suggest that they were misled by the format of these magazines."

The Tories are pulling out all the stops to secure the seat. They remain in the lead but sources inside the Lib Dems say they have been receiving a warm reception on the doorsteps.

Thursday's vote is the best chance the party has had in the safe Tory seat, and any win there would be a massive lift to Nick Clegg's so-far unremarkable leadership.