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Lib Dems say sorry

8:37am Friday 5th October 2007

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The Liberal Democrats in Watford have apologised to Watford Observer for misleading information contained in its latest campaign leaflet.

The leaflet, being delivered to thousands of homes in the constituency this week, reproduces a quote from the Watford Observer stating: "The signs look good for the Lib Dems to topple Claire Ward the Labour MP" and attributes the words directly to the newspaper.

But in fact, when the comment was published in the Watford Observer almost five months ago, it was clearly attributed to the Lib Dem Mayor Dorothy Thornhill.

It in no way reflects comment or opinion that has been expressed by the newspaper.

Watford Observer group editor Peter Wilson-Leary said: "We are very disappointed to have had this brought to our attention.

"Whether this was an unintentional slip or a deliberate ruse, it is very misleading and could be very damaging to our credibility.

"To the casual reader it suggests the Watford Observer is backing the Liberal Democrats when, in fact, we have said no such thing.

"The newspaper would never endorse an individual candidate nor their party for that matter.

"As stated in the newspaper every week, the Watford Observer adheres to the Press Complaints Commission's code of practice and remains independent of political parties, private interest and government."

Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Watford Sal Brinton apologised for the error and promised a written assurance that it would not be repeated.

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Your Say YourWatford Observer

Jerry, says...
8:52am Fri 5 Oct 07

Sadly this type of thing happens far too often, especially when promoting films. It's downright sculdugerry. Well done the eagle-eyed reader who spotted it and brought it to the Watford Observer's attention.

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Gary, watford says...
9:43am Fri 5 Oct 07

This morning hundreds of lib dem newsletters were left outside a shop in leavesden road blocking the pavement - I thought the lib dems claim that watford streets aren't covered with rubbish

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Michael, Watford says...
9:57am Fri 5 Oct 07

Hah! Week in week out the WO is awash with pictures of Dotty and they still claim to be neutral. Slipping standards and all that.

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Jerry, says...
10:37am Fri 5 Oct 07

Michael - Dotty is the mayor of Watford you donkey and as such is regularly featured in the news pages. If the WO printed a photo of Hitler it would not mean that the paper is sympathetic to the Nazi cause.

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Kareen Hastrick, Watford says...
11:17am Fri 5 Oct 07

The delivery of newspapers outside the shop in Leggatts Road was an unexpectedly early delivery, something to be admired nowadays, and was in fact neatly bundled and stacked on the private forecourt, in no danger of littering the street or obstructing passers by. The entire delivery was cleared very swiftly by office staff once the office was opened. In fact this was accomplished even before Gary had posted his story on-line.

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Steve, Abbots Langley says...
12:38pm Fri 5 Oct 07

I don't think Kareen Hastrick who boasts the title of Lib Dem organiser in Watford is doing a very good job if she doesn't even know their office is in LEAVESDEN Road not Leggatts Road!

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Karen 2, says...
1:16pm Fri 5 Oct 07

I was so delighted to read that the Lib Dems had been caught out for once. They obviously do feel that the Watford Observer is their newspaper. There are far too many articles in the paper that are biased towards the Lib Dems and many who would like to see fairer reporting.

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Michael, Watford says...
7:40pm Fri 5 Oct 07

Jerry, there is no need for the name calling. it's been obvious for some time now that the WO are quite happy to accept soundbites and press releases from Dotty and her crew in order to fill the empty space left by so called reporters. There have been times I have pointed out basic errors on this site only to have my comments erased. The writing standards on the WO have decreased dramatically over recent years so it's quite easy to let these stories through. It surely wont be too long before Labour and the Tories get in on the act.

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Rob, Watford says...
11:59pm Fri 5 Oct 07

It's a sad indictment on a once great party. Unfortunately the Leb Dims have become an unprincipled 'say anything - do anything to get elected' party, and the only reason they do that is because they know they're not going to get elected.

Perahps they should offer to form a coalition with the Monster Raving Looney.

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ThunderDragon, Watford says...
11:15pm Sun 7 Oct 07

Of course, they have only apologised for mis-attributing the quote, rather than for the lie itself!

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John Craig, Leeds says...
8:14am Mon 8 Oct 07

Boy, you lot down there seem to be having fun. I always thought that the Liberals never showed any consistency around the country. I have been proved wrong. They use the same dirty tricks up here!

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Igloo, watford says...
11:44am Mon 8 Oct 07

Not that I'm a cynic but it seems to me that Watford Lib Dems do this sort of thing in their leaflets all the time.

This week they're pretending that Tory votes are irrelevant and a wasted vote, even though the lib dems only beat them into 3rd place by just over 1% of people eligible to vote.

It's what they do not what they "say" that mattters - we should pay far more attention to what they "do"

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Lobster Blogster, Under the sea says...
10:48am Tue 9 Oct 07

Now that they've moved all their leaflets with dodgy quotes off the pavement, they seem to think it's a place to illegally park their cars (see Lobster Blogster for piccy)

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James, Watford says...
1:29am Thu 11 Oct 07

What's new from the Lib Dems? They consistently seek to misrepresent the true electoral picture in Watford by insisting that only the Lib Dems can beat Labour here, neatly refusing to acknowledge (either in word or their misleading graphs) that the Conservatives actually finished a close third in the 2005 General Election. Watford is a genuine three-way marginal: not that the Lib Dems (and "Sal" Brinton) would ever let you know...

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Lharris999, town says...
4:04pm Thu 11 Oct 07

James if the constituency is a three way marginal how do you explain that the LDs have 43 Cllrs, Con three, Lab two and Greens three?

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embee, says...
3:34pm Fri 12 Oct 07

James, if I remember correctly, the Tories told us last time that only they could beat Clare Ward, yet they came third, with their vote dropping massively.

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Steve, Abbots Langley says...
9:05pm Fri 12 Oct 07

How Lloyd Harris a Lib Dem activist can deny that Watford is a three way marginal is beyond me - can't he read the figures? The Lib Dems are campainging disreputably and Sal should stop it now or go back to Cambridge. When was the last time Watford elected an MP who wasn't Labour or Conservative? Enough said.

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embee, says...
2:14pm Sat 13 Oct 07

The Tories are obviously going backwards in the constituency, not only at the last general election but also locally. I am sure that their vote will fall further at the next election.

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KayBee, Watford says...
7:41pm Sat 13 Oct 07

Tha Tories are not going backwards in the constituencey but they have got the Lib Dems worried. The Lib Dems do seek to win by misrepresentation and it is about time that the public woke up to this. They are not a party of government and don't b misled by them trying to make you believe that they ar. Read there literature, they don't have clear cut policies with which their local members can agree.

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James, Watford says...
11:36pm Sun 14 Oct 07

Lharris999 wrote:
James if the constituency is a three way marginal how do you explain that the LDs have 43 Cllrs, Con three, Lab two and Greens three?
Lloyd makes the point about LOCAL councillors. However I was (obviously) referring to the 2005 General Election when we contributed to choosing the direction of the country not just whether we get a weekly or fortnightly bin collection. Some people (shock news Lloyd) vote differently when there's more at stake. The Lib Dems do have a strong showing at a local government level including the Mayor. But for them to suggest that this has a direct correlation to a General Election vote is misleading and takes the electorate as fools. We're not. Watford is a genuine three-way marginal. I hope that the Lib Dems (Liberal I nformation Brokers Doctor Election Meanings Surely?) start showing the results as they really were. Be honest: might even get you some more votes.

By the way, the leaflet with the lie about Watford Observer's support (as it turns out, lack of) for the Lib Dems is still going out: we had a Watford Observer quoting leaflet through the door this week - after the apology!).

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lharris999, town says...
2:54pm Mon 15 Oct 07

Yes I can accept that some people vote differently in locals to parliament. However in every target seat up and down the land, the challenging party (or parties) will work for local election gains as part of their effort to win the seat.

In Watford the Tories have not made the gains to claim the momentum is with them, in fact they have been losing ground or stagnating.

In 2005 this seat might be called a 3-way marginal however in 2005 the Tory vote fell 4%, Lab fell 12% and the Lib Dems gained 14% (source BBC) and since then the momentum has continued to be with the Lib Dems not the Tories.

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KayBee, Watford says...
10:04am Tue 16 Oct 07

And you would expect a LibDem supporter to say exactly what has been said above. I too received the literature through the door at least a week after the apology appeared. SHows that the Lib Dems haven't got the decency to withdraw the rest of the misleading/incorrect literature as they are still trying to gain politically from it. The voting mazy have been like that in 2005 bnut things do change. With the LibDem party in disarray nationally and the local party misleading the electorate it would have been interesting to see how voters would have voted in this three way marginal.

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