Labour Party?

[silly moo]

The front page news re an eightytwo year old being thrown out of the L P conference and searched under the anti terrorism laws for HECKLING.
Not even particularly nasty, he only called the speaker a liar!
I find this really scary.
Whatever is happening in Britain today?

[Dom Tuk]

The TV pictures were an eye opener. All he did was say nonsense, once, and they grabbed him. Its not like he was asked to be quiet and he persisted with the heckling. he said it once and he was grabbed, dragged out. The person sitting next to him, a few seats away said'leave him alone' and he too was violently dragged out.

The frighteneing part of it all was that the 82 year old party worker with a badge was arrested under the prevention of terrorism act. (WOW, sledgehammer and nut).

Cherie Blairs sister commented that before Blairs speech she had jokingly remarked that she may heckle his speech during the Iraq references. Apparently (and she is on record from last nights TV appearance) a big security guard was placed next to her who told her, you heckle and i will throw you out.

What a party, what a leader!

[georgit79]

Can one word constitute heckling? Madness! Poor man...

[Gevs1966]

Dom Tuk, what a shame the man you seem to hate the most and who you also seem to blame for all your life's misgivings wasn't there. Presumably that would have made your day!!

[Dom Tuk]

In fact Gevs, i firmly believe that if Mr Blair (i hope you are referring to him) were present at the time, he would have intervened and stopped it. I disagree with his policies (mainly in Iraq) but not for a moment have i doubted that he does it with the clear notion in his mind that he is right. I have not doubted that he does what he has done as he sincerely believes that he is doing it to right a wrong. I just disagree that that was the way to do it. And the reason i say he would have stopped the removal is because he would perhaps have not stood by when a elderly man was being bundled out.

As for your post...what does it contribute to the question posed may i ask.

[jno]

well, I don't know what's much nastier than being called a liar, but it was obviously a total over-reaction and everyone seems to have apologised. Not, I suspect, because they think they were wrong but because they realise how bad it looked on TV. 

[surfer mike]

The same thing happens at football matches over zealous thuggish stewards man handle people for standing during games, and even turfing them out.. i have witnessed this countless times myself including on occassions women and pensioners, is anyone honestly saying that arsene wenger or alex ferguson is to be held responsible, the clubs don't even apologise, no outcry over that.. its not going to shut the usual anti blair mob up, i look forward already to comparisons with the nykd, the stasi and the gestapo.

[andy hughes]

There is something about the mental processes of people given the minor responsibility of stewarding - or being a 'jobsworth' - they seem to become closet Nazis!

Not all I hasten to add - but a disturbingly large number. As a journalist, I have attended dozens of back stage arenas and witnessed first hand the ignorant and single-minded uncoperative approach employed by a lot of stewards - complete with thousand-yard stare.

I do not for one moment wish to denegrate the escellent job done by the vast majority of stewards who do a diffuclt job for low pay, but there is a significant element who become power-crazy, and act in a completely unecessary and violent manner. I was physically manhandled out of a concert with no warning, or explanation, for sitting in the 'guest' seats - it was a Clash gig, which did their street cred no good at all when I next hit the pages of the magazine I was writing for at the time!

The incident at the Conference is meat-and-drink to the right-wing press and supporters - but it should be seen for what it was, mindless thuggery by small-minded thugs, not a demonstration of party policy or a silent acceptance of such behaviour.

[OBonio]

I think this is the future of freedom of speech.

Say what you want, as long as it doesn't upset anyone...... especially the government ;o)

[Dom Tuk]

Andy, I do not entirely balme the stewards. They were given a task and they had to achieve it. I refer to what Cherie Booths Sister has to say about how she was being shadowed by a steward after she said jokingly that she would heckle the PM on Iraq. So obviously there are elements in the labour party (not the PM i think) who will at all costs stiffle criticism. Is that Alistair bloke back?

[andy hughes]

I do blame the stewards. Common sense dictates that if one old man shouts one word, the response is a quiet word in his ear, and advice that he can and will be escorted out if he continues. To manhandle someone without warning is a traumatic experience - I know, I've had it done to me - and I was sixty years younger than the gentleman in question.

Rules are rules, but common sense in applying them helps.

[Oneeyedvic]

My main problem is the fact that he was held under the Terrorist Act.

This is nothing to do with stewards - this is to do with the police using badly drafted legislation to do what they want!

As I have said before, civil liberties in this country are being erroded - but as soon as you say anything people accuse you of being too liberal and satrt a different topic about the humans right act.

[silly moo]

Some intresting comments.
I am worried that our present government is becoming too used to power and authority.
They are more and more appearing frightened of any dissent.
The use of the anti terrorism legislation for what used to be seen as normal behaviour at any political gathering is almost too scary to think about.

Maybe the stewards were being over zealous, but I also think they were doing what they had been told to do - stop ANY and ALL comment from the floor.

I heard Mr Blair's apology earlier today , and he only apologised for the fact that it was an elderly man treated in this way. Would it have been acceptable if it had been someone younger?
For me personally I would say not, but maybe for Mr Blair the answer would be yes.

[surfer mike]

Bloody hell, hecklers have been bundled out of party meetings and party conferences for donkeys years, there was a programme on recently showing some heckling hailsham in the 60s been litterely clobbered to bits by party heavies...what happened to the old guy the other day was bad and shocking but these critics have short and selected memories.

[WhiteCrowUK]

Its interesting to compare it with this story of hecklers in Iran.

You know, Iran, the country on our axis of evil list, who need to understand democracy?  For some reason their leader just stood there and took it.

Obviously he needs to take lessons from Tony ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4072887.stm