‘Owen Smith has just banged the final nail in his campaign’s coffin’
Remember a few weeks ago when readers (mostly of the Daily Mail, if I recall correctly) animatedly condemned me for this?
They had to back down after Labour leadership candidate Owen Smith was involved in this.
Now… this:
As somebody who has lived and worked alongside people with mental health issues all my life, and who has spent the last few years writing about the obstacles placed before many of them by a system that politicians like Mr Smith endorse, I’m not sure I have words strong enough to describe my opinion of this, or this man.
Fortunately, I don’t need them.
Here’s Matt Turner: “Doesn’t matter what side you’re on, mental health slurs shouldn’t be acceptable.” He’s the moderate among the Tweets I’ve picked up so far.
‘Steven’ knew abusive language when he saw it, and decided to see how Mr Smith would like some of his own treatment: “As a person with mental health issues myself, I find Owen Smith to be a low-life lickspittle of a politician. Vile.”
Marko Burrows took it personally: “I’m afraid he is insulting me, and I want a personal apology Mr. SMITH.”
Isobel Waby had it about right when she pointed out: “Think Owen Smith ought to look in the mirror and ask who was the so called *lunatic* it certainly is NOT Corbyn. Don’t insult mental health.”
Thanks to Scott Nelson for the headline, by the way.
At a time when, as ‘EB’ puts it, “As a society, we’re happier to give Disabled ppl the resources to die than the resources to live”, this comment – from a serial user of abusive, demeaning language – must mark the end of the journey for Owen Smith.
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What an odious man.
From a part of your linked article where someone apologises for saying the government is committing domestic violence.
I beg to differ! This government is committing Economic Abuse, on a Massive scale, which is a big part of domestic violence!!!
Most of the comments from your linked article “head-worker” has totally sickened me! As a victim of every abuse tactic going when I was a child I cannot comprehend how many nasty people there are around!
Thank you Mike for your comments, but I fear, you might achieve more talking to a brick wall.
Someone who Has been through abuse Is more of an expert than someone who has lived a charmed life.
You can’t learn despair from a book, nor can you learn how painful hunger is from a book, and You can’t learn how to try to deal with guilt, self-loathing, suicide attempts ( which you keep silent about, because you fear being locked up) all of this after the act of rape.
I do not wish that to happen to anyone, but I do not trust counselors who claim to know how I feel!!
In a word – sociopath!
Not only do i find his words offensive. i find his clenched fist offensive, it makes me squirm and physically ill. every time i see him talk.
When we have nothing to say and know you are defeated, the only thing left is using abusive words to respond. Mr Smith is showing how desperate he is in this campaign he can’t get hundred people to come to listen to his verbal diarrhea.
I’ll say it again after the election, he will be pleased to knock at pfizer door for his job back.
owen who
two sylables. UNELECTABLE.
Five syllables (sorry).
Very true words that why he won’t get in
I suppose, coming from an MP, I shouldn’t be at all surprised that a comment like this has been made!
It smacks of desperation to me!
But at the same time, what on earth was he thinking?
I guess he must have been in cloud cuckoo land to make a comment like that, and NOT realise the meaning behind it.
Unless of course, he knows he’s not going to win (but is putting a brave face on it), and thought, what the heck (because he DID know what he was doing?).
I’ve made a formal complaint. The NEC has said that abuse by members must be investigated and I challenged them to do just that. I suspect that they will conclude that he a. wasn’t referring to Corbyn by name, b. didn’t mean it as a slur on those who have mental health problems, c. is genuinely a very nice, honest guy…
The email address is [email protected]
I read this amazing post just before Owen Smith received the full Humphrey treatment on Today, this morning. The man is inconsistent, to say the least. I just wonder what was said to him to encourage him to stand against a popular leader. One could hear the pure delight in John Humphrey’s voice as Owen struggled to prise himself from the ropes of his own making. It was one gaff after another. After, breakfast, for me, has never tasted so good!
You might wish to be more careful with your tweet quotations in future Mike?
The chap you’ve quoted, quotes “with me, you won’t have some lunatic in charge of the Labour Party”
However from a youtube video:
“and what you won’t get from me is some, you know, lunatic at the top of the Labour Party”
I know you might argue that they both mean/infer the same thing (and they do), so my apologies for being pedantic, but given your usual forensic style of journalism/blogging, I thought you might of spotted this one!
(Unless there is another video somewhere, where he does say this?)
They meanthe same, and the Tweet I quoted was an initial reaction from someone who was probably surprised and shocked at what he’d just heard.
It was widely quoted by others and when the video evidence came out, it was agreed that the Tweet corroborated.
My article was written as/before the corroborative evidence came out, too.
To me, the youtube quotation is worse.. It demonstrates flippancy, lack of clear thought, or consideration of his language. If he wants to lead a party in government, he needs to be statesmanlike and like the Queen, be aware of everything that he says and the implications thereof, i.e. good judgement. There is no excuse for somebody in his position to be making such comments. If he wants to make a case against Jeremy Corbyn, he should start by making the case FOR himself however, he needs to have forensic precision, like a lawyer and speak eloquently, not with the language of the gutter press.
Perhaps it is just me but I don’t really find lunatic offensive in the slightest and I’ve struggled with mental health issues my entire adult life.
I don’t think Mr. Owens has understood much in the last few months. If JC wins, we, the people will be in charge of the party, that is after all, what JC has advocate throughout his campaign(s).
It’s true enough. He’ll never be head of the Labour Party ?