THERE was a time when political fall-outs took place in smoky committee rooms, away from the prying eyes and ears of the general masses.
Whether it was a shaking of hands, a banging of he
ads or an agreement to disagree, the aim was to smooth things over and get on with the job of politics.
At the moment neither side are
doing themselves any favours
Today, as the new Dr Who prepares to save the 21st century world, the Twittersphere, YouTube and social media sites have become the new battlegrounds.
And so it was with the latest skirmish, between estranged Cllr Jake Morrison and the Labour Party, played out first on the local stage before migrating to the national spotlight.
Morrison, not yet 21, is still very much a new kid on the political block, and perhaps with the wisdom a few more years brings, he will reflect on how well, or otherwise, he fought his battle. Earlier this year, feeling bullied by MP Luciana Berger and badly treated by the local Labour Party, he laid his cards, and his heart, on the Miliband table, hoping Ed would sort things out.
Before the battle went viral, he announced his intentions to stand down in 2015 when his current term of office in the council chamber comes to an end. As swords and teeth were flashing and gnashing, Morrison went one further and quit his Labour membership. He’s now a political free radical, the very kind of person feared by even the most hardened party whip.
Alan Dean is likened to Malcolm Tucker in The Daily Mail
You might think that with the collective years of experience on Labour's side, somebody could have taken Morrison under their wing and restored harmony where there was disharmony, peace where there was war.
Instead, this week we have been able to listen to a most robust message left on Morrison's voicemail when the issue first exploded a few months ago. Labour’s Chief Whip, the highly experienced veteran politician Cllr Alan Dean, used the most colourful language – the expletives thundering out out on Jake’s YouTube channel.
Joe's letter to Jake
(click to see full screen)Then came round two: an email to Morrison from Liverpool’s elected mayor, Joe Anderson, threatening legal action for defamation. That too ended up in a correspondent’s dispatch from the front line of Liverpool politics.
It was a toss-up which of the national papers would associate Dean’s brief message with TV's fictional spin doctor Malcolm Tucker from The Thick of It. The fact that actor Peter Capaldi, who plays Tucker, is the next Dr Who, gives the Jake voicemail story added news desk appeal. Enter stage left (or should that be far right), The Daily Mail. I bet Dean never expected his mugshot to be alongside that of the new Dr Who in a national newspaper.
There will be no winners in this battle. Jake has announced his intention to stand against his nemesis Luciana Berger at the 2015 General Election.
He’s more or less been banished to the never-never benches in the council chamber, and Labour’s top people – from the Mayor to the Chief Whip and others are making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Perhaps they should hire Bishop Jones to broker a truce, then a reconciliation.
Failing that it just takes someone to be The Grown Up. At the moment neither side are doing themselves any favours. One is in danger of being seen as petulant and the other a gang of playground bullies.
There is far too much misery and worry in households across Liverpool right now for people having to unwittingly eavesdrop on a most unsavoury encounter.
