Liam Smith, who was standing for re-election as a Labour candidate in the borough, said Mrs Hodge had given the BNP the “oxygen of publicity”. He said: “Since she said that eight out of 10 families might vote BNP, we have never seen so many reporters and cameramen around here. She has raised their profile and put them in the limelight.” Asked what he felt of Mrs Hodge’s comments, Dagenham Labour MP Jonathan Cruddas said: “I know a lot of people are saying that she has given them publicity but I don’t want to comment on that. I don’t know where those figures she quoted came from.” The Guardian has learned that angry members of the local Labour party have privately begun discussing the possibility of a move to try to deselect the Blairite minister.
Liam Smith in the Guardian

Liam Smith, the Labour agent for Barking & Dagenham argued, “She has given the BNP the best PR they have had in years. They were in fact running quite a limited campaign – but she said what she said and the BNP campaign took off.”
Liam Smith in Socialist Worker

Labour council candidate Liam Smith said: “She put them in the limelight. It seems as if the BNP have suddenly become a mainstream party.”
Liam Smith in Socialist Worker

A SENIOR Labour councillor has called for the Barking MP to ‘consider her position’ following comments she made in the run-up to the election, and the staggering success of the BNP. During the Easter break, Margaret Hodge told a Sunday newspaper in an interview, that eight out of ten people she had spoken to, said they were considering voting for the far right party. Some Labour councillors are unhappy that the remarks gave the BNP extra publicity and credibility before the poll. River councillor Liam Smith, Executive member for housing and health, told the POST: “I am just saying that if I was a member of the Barking Labour Party I would think that she should consider her position. That is an issue for Margaret Hodge and the Barking Labour Party.”
Liam Smith in Barking & Dagenham Post

A Labour candidate, Liam Smith, said: “Since she said that eight out of 10 families might vote BNP, we have never seen so many reporters and cameramen around here. She has raised their profile and put them in the limelight. We have had people saying they are considering voting BNP because they feel that once the Labour minister says something, it must be right.”
Liam Smith in The Times

OK, so Recess Monkey gathers that Liam Smith doesn’t rate ultra-Blairite MP for Barking, Margaret Hodge. But is he speaking in his own right or on behalf of his former employer, ultra-Brownite MP for Dagenham, Jon Cruddas?

For an ex-LibDem, Liam’s trying very hard to be more socialist than thou. I’m not sure if he’s just taking the opportunity to knife a Blairite or is manoevering to get Hodge deselected for his own ends.

editor@recessmonkey.com

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