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Edwin Northover is the very model of a Cameron Conservative candidate. He is a Mergers and Acquisitions lawyer in the City and he does not worry about getting his facts right nor being consistent. I do not know the full details of why Harry Cohen is standing down as MP for Leyton and Wanstead at the next election. I do not think Edwin does either.
“Harry Cohen said fraud allegations against him, which he strongly denies, had caused him “intolerable stress” and worsened his wife’s heart condition.”
I take that at face value and particularly am sorry to hear of Harry’s wife’s ill health. This does not appear to concern Edwin Northover though. He is supposed to be pretending to be one of the new “Compassionate Conservatives”. His actions though speak of ruthlessness, heartlessness and opportunism.
Edwin has called for an immediate by-election.
Now I do not want to get into the rights and wrongs of expenses on a party political basis, but Edwin does. Neither Labour nor Conservative can claim to be more moral on what has been exposed. What does sicken me is the way Edwin tries to call for action when he might personally gain, without considering whether he has any political principles.
There are, as we all now know Conservatives abusing their expenses for moats, duck islands, avoiding capital gains tax, maintaining forests and much, much more. Does Edwin want any of them to stand down immediately? Of course not, they are fellow Conservatives – different standards apply – double standards. Some may be standing down at the next election, but not now. Come on Edwin show some consistency, tell Cameron he is wrong and that Hogg, Viggers, and Steen should go now!
Oops that might prejudice Edwin’s future career so of course he is saying nothing.
Worse are people like Bill Wiggin MP. The Telegraph says:
“Mr Wiggin’s claim of £11,000 in interest for a mortgage that did not exist was not exposed by the official files. Details of how Mr Wiggin switched the designation of his second home from London to Herefordshire, where he had no mortgage — yet continued to claim mortgage interest — is blacked out in his official files. In 2007 he switched his expenses back to the London property – a fact also disguised by the redaction of his claims.”
This seems to me to be worse than anything Harry Cohen has been accused of. Indeed the Telegraph have compiled a list of the “20 worst cover-ups”. Harry Cohen does not make it, Bill Wiggin does. So Edwin come on why not call for Bill Wiggin to stand down now? or even at the next election?
Not a word of course, all quiet from Edwin. Bill Wiggin went to Eton and is a friend of David Cameron, so it is doubles all round, double standards. Fine for Bill to stay but Harry must go.
What is more, Edwin is not a particularly organised man.
He has not got a profile on the Conservatives website, unlike most of their prospective candidates while his own website would be a strong contender for an award for worst produced by any PPC in the country. As if that were not enough, he does not seem to know what to say about himself on his website, here is his biography…
Mary’s defence of Harry Cohen is as bizarre as is her attack on Ed Northover. Harry’s belief that he will be exonorated is not born out by either an analysis of his expenses or his decison to stand down to avoid humilitation at the election.
His pillaging of the expenses system is shameful and Mary’s defense of it is clearly an old Labour reflective defence.
In any other walk of life you would be sacked. He should take the ipportunity to spend more time with his wife, who I wish well, and not hang on with opprobium lapping round his ankles.
I read the quote that Ed Northover calls on Harry Cohen to resign now not next year. This is allegedly heartless, if such stress is being placed on Mr Cohen’s wife surely another 10 or 11 months can only increase that stress.
So a call to end the stress by resigining now will help rather than hindwer Mr Cohen’s family.
Mary, can you not see the rank hypocrisy of you accusing Ed Northover of not knowing the facts when you a) do not know that he doesn’t & b) freely admit that you yourself don’t know them?
If you want to do something useful to help Harry Cohen then your time would be better spent looking into the wholly undemocratic monoethnic clique takeover of that CLP which has resulted in both Harry being forced out and in all of Labour’s Afro Caribbean Councillors in Waltham Forest being deselected in one go.
It’s one hell of a long diatrabe for a bloke who’s said Harry Cohen should stand down now. It’s not like Ed asked Harry to eat his kids or something.
This post reminds me of a Gordon Brown Question Time performance when he finds himself having to lie – yet again – about his spending cuts: panic, going on and on without really making a point, missing his mark completely and then sitting down, white-faced with a look that could melt lead.
I used to blog. When I found myself writing stuff like this I knew it was time to give it up.
“Now I do not want to get into the rights and wrongs of expenses on a party political basis” … and then of course you do. Very New Labour, very Mandelsonesque, very Honeyball.
As I understand it Edwin is not the candidate for any of the constituencies of the M.P.s that you mention apart from Harry Cohen’s. Seems only sensible that he should limit his comments to that one.
It is YOU that seeks to embark upon personal attacks. Edwin just wants the best possible representation for the people of the area – and that’d be Edwin.
Lets face it – the sooner we get an election the better.
Ed is well within his rights to call on Harry to stand down now, and his duty as a local opposition activist is to hold his local MP to account. In those constituencies where Tory MPs have acted wrongly then the local Labour Party there has the same right and duty.
You’re happy to take Harry’s word at face value. Does that include his ludicrous assertion that he is a better MP than Churchill? One saved his country, the other saves his receipts. No prizes for guessing which one. Maybe he should have thought about the “stress” when he was rinsing the taxpayer of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
What galls me most of all is that Harry positions himself firmly on the left, but it seems the only wealth redistribution he is actually willing to support is from hard-working taxpayers to himself. He is the very worst kind of Champagne Socialist – Champagne for me, Socialism for everyone else.
I happen to know Ed Northover and your comments are unfounded. At least he has a real job.
Matt – this question is directed to you…
You mention ‘the wholly undemocratic monoethnic clique takeover of that CLP which has resulted in both Harry being forced out and in all of Labour’s Afro Caribbean Councillors in Waltham Forest being deselected in one go’. What is actually happening in Waltham Forest…doesnt sound very democratic at all…can you give me a little background please if you dont mind?
…it sounds worrying that such things can be happening in this day and age…
Matt, as James Langley says you need to put some facts up to substantiate your assertion.
It is good to see Edwin has some loyal friends trying to defend his crass opportunism. Andrew Boff takes the prize for the most unintelligent. On Andrew’s logic Edwin can only talk about matter in Wanstead. Sounds like he is not up to the job. MPs and PPCs are supposed to be able to address national issues and Edwin should be eased out of the candidacy if he is incapable of this.
Dave Atherton I agree with you that Ed would be best advised to stay in his day job and concentrate on that.
E
Neither Labour nor Conservative can claim to be more moral on what has been exposed. Quite!
I am not writing to comment on the ins and outs of the situation but rather the slur on Edwin’s character as being a “heartless Conservative”, It is not only completely unwarranted it is the exact opposite of what he is , (except of course he is Conservative – thankfully!).
As a multiply disabled lady I contacted the Conservative Party last summer as I had been let down by all the other parties when I was the victim of extreme anti-social behavior and bureaucratic bungling. Edwin contacted me and took nearly an afternoon out of his busy schedule to come and visit me in my own home to see how he could help. Something no-one in any of the other parties was prepared to do.
He was kindness and consideration itself and so were all the other Conservatives I met. I was offered practical help and just plain old sympathy. Consequently I joined the Conservative Party.
People should be taught more by real life example that by worn out ideology and anachronistic stereotypes.
Well done Edwin on your success!
Linda L, I am pleased to hear about what Edwin Northover has donefor you. I only wish he had been so sympathetic to Harry Cohen’s wife in her current predicament.
As one of Linda L’s carers I write to endorse fully her comments. Edwin helped her at a time when she was very distressed and living with a life threatening condition made worse by ASB. Edwin dealt with her in a very sympathetic manner.
She will never be able to make any substantial contribution to the furtherance of Edwin’s career yet he continued to invite her and her carers to gatherings in his home even arranging lifts. This hardly smacks of self interest and opportunism.
It is bumbling non-accountable bureaucrats who are heartless not the likes of Edwin Northover who had to help mop up their mess.
This lady prior to her victimisation by ASB and her treatment by the authorities was non-party political. Edwin was willing to help her anyway out of kindness.
This reveals him for what he is – a compassionate man who will no doubt continue to practise as an honest and caring politician.
We too feel sorry for Mr Cohen’s wife especially as she is not resposible for his actions.
Do you still believe that the actions of Ed Northover caused Harry Cohen’s wife more stress than the actions of Harry Cohen himself? I’m interested as to why if so?
Edwin is a man whose heartlessness has been a feature of his campaigning causing bullying of one his potential constituents read the story here
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/georgemonbiot/2010/jan/27/james-delingpole-climate-change-denial
“It looks to me like a polite enquiry from someone concerned about climate change. Delingpole, however, saw it as a “nauseating email” (Provided by Edwin Northover) which must have come from a “disgusting eco-fascist organisation”, though he didn’t know which organisation this might be. His post was headlined “Conservative candidates stalked by eco bullies”. Much worse, he published the man’s name and home address.
Delingpole’s bootboys took the hint and immediately swung into action. Within a few minutes of the comments opening, they had published the man’s telephone number and email address, a photo of his house (“Note all the recycling going on in his front garden”), his age and occupation. Then they sought to tell him just what a low opinion they had of “stalking” and “bullying”.
One commenter wrote: “I tried to telephone *** *** on the number helpfully posted in this blog, but he’s out until tomorrow. Perhaps he is out ‘tackling climate change’? – anyway his missus didn’t seem to know where he was.”
Paradoxically, their hounding of this poor man demonstrated that he was just what he seemed to be: an ordinary citizen, exercising his democratic right to ask a parliamentary candidate about his position on an important matter.”
I’m unaware of any apology from Edwin Northover for this harassment which he caused. I’m also unaware of Edwin apologising for any Conservative’s abuse of the expenses system.
I think Harry was wrong, but Edwin should have been removed as a candidate following the harassment and bullying his actions caused.
John Cryer will make an excellent MP for Leyton and Wanstead.
Interestingly you do not answer my question (you have not stated who you believe caused the greater stress), but do go further than the writer of the blog you cite in accusing Northover of harassment.
As to a PPC apologising for their party’s part in the expenses scandal – I am assuming that you as an MEP have apologised for the cash for questions scandal that caught up Geoff Hoon et al?
Ill wife or not Harry Cohen massively cheated the system over a long period of time, and as a constituent of his, I am pretty disappointed about it. Your article is poorly written focussing on Tory expenses cases and none of Labours many cases. You are all as bad as each other and neither side should do anything but apologise. How you have won any kind of blog award is beyond me. Your style is clunky and comes across like a juvenile rant a times. Before you start throwing any mud at me I am not some Tory mole.
Tamasa
It is for Mrs Cohen to answer your question, not me. I still stand by my criticism of Edwin Northover. On expensesEdwin Northover should have critcised ALL expenses abusers as I did writing:
“Neither Labour nor Conservative can claim to be more moral on what has been exposed”
Edwin sought personal advantage by his actions, I think that’s unprincipled. That does not go down well on the doorsteps. I think all expense abusers should be treated the same whatever party they are in.
I do not and have not condoned Harry Cohen’s conduct. I am pleased he is no longer a MP, but note Bill Wiggin I referred to in the article has been selected as a Conservative candidate.