I’m inclined to think she should resign and have a by election

BBC News – Claudia Webbe: MP convicted of harassment gets suspended sentence
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-59162007

I’m inclined to think she should resign and have a by election

Yep. MPs should be held to the highest of standards. Regardless of party.

Edit, Not saying your intention was anything other than bringing a news story to discussion. Apologies if it came across that way. In reference to your post below.

Just to be clear, I wasn’t trying to score party political points.

Thought this thread was about Boris Johnson. Because that’s what the whole Paterson thing was actually about FWIW

Regardless of party.

She was kicked out of her party. And rightly so.

Convicted MPs are subject to recall

I suspect that she’ll be kicked out of the Labour party now she’s been convicted, so whether she resigns or not is a moot point. Better to admit it and jump rather than wait to be pushed.

<edit>Didn’t realise she’d already been booted!</edit>

Recall can’t happen ‘till appeals protest has run its course. Labour have expelled her and called for her to resign as an MP now rather than wait for the inevitable recall.

Looks like they have to wait for her appeal before the statutory recall.

Amazingly she has the backing of Corbyn, Abbot and McDonnell. Beggars belief, and to think once that was the only alternative to the Tories.

I suspect that she’ll be kicked out of the Labour party now she’s been convicted

She already has been.

Amazingly she has the backing of Corbyn, Abbot and McDonnell.

Based on that comment she also therefore has the backing of the 25 thousand people in Leicester East who voted for her.

Do you understand how British justice works? This thing about innocent until proven guilty? And how the courts find character references useful when it comes to making decisions?

My understanding is that Corbyn, Abbot and McDonnell, provided character references, something which in this case the court appears to have found useful. According to the chief magistrate who passed sentence on her she “would have been jailed immediately were it not for her previous good character”.

Courts need to consider the likelihood of someone re-offending, whether they acted out of character helps them in their conclusions.

She sounds rather unpleasant. Hopefully she won’t be an MP much longer.

According to the OP’s link :

Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring, sentencing, said: “I have no doubt that, when not overtaken by jealousy and rage, you are a hard-working, upstanding Member of Parliament and of society.

Which doesn’t necessarily suggest that whoever replaces her will be a better MP.

She was also the founder of Operation Trident, something which is generally accepted to be a good thing.

Do you understand how British justice works? This thing about innocent until proven guilty?

Shes been convicted hasn’t she. Or is the continued support being referenced actually prior to the conviction?

when not overtaken by jealousy and rage

Well, let’s hope no one else ever has to encounter her in that state then.

We are talking about asid here disfigurement and pain for the rest of your life. What good character!!!!!

No we’re not talking about disfigurement and pain for the rest of your life.

If we were it wouldn’t have been heard in a magistrate court, and the sentence would have been a lot harsher than a ten week suspended sentence.

It always helps to keep a perspective on things.

MPs should be held to the highest of standards.

That’s just cruel.

Many MPs have claimed they should be held to higher standards than the general population.
Sounds wonderful.
In reality and based on recent events many don’t want to be held accountable at all.

Hadn’t realised how badly the constituents of Leicester East appear to have been let down by Labour MPs! Keith Vaz then this. Bizarre.

What is bizarre is that Keith Vaz is still an active member of the Labour Party.

It would appear that offering to supply class A drugs to sex workers, people who are presumably already vulnerable, isn’t that serious. Well not serious enough to be banned from the Labour Party.

Either that or being a Blairite right-winger gives you protection in the Labour Party.

I wonder which it is?

Edit : Keith Vaz is actually currently Chair of Leicester East Constituency Labour Party,l. So he is still serving the people of Leicester. Lucky them.

https://www.itv.com/news/2020-01-15/assault-allegations-as-ex-mp-keith-vaz-elected-chair-of-constituency-labour-party

Left, right or centre, if you break the rules you must face the consequences.

Totally agree on Keith Vaz.

I’m stunned that someones takeaway from that article is that her ‘character’ means she isn’t likely to reoffend. She still believes she is the victim. Talk about a blinkered view, there really is little point.

He added he found it “odd and concerning” that the probation service report said Webbe felt like a victim herself.
The district judge said he counted four occasions when Webbe referred to herself as “the victim” during her testimony from the witness box.
Mr Goldspring told the court Webbe “showed little remorse or contrition” and would have been jailed immediately were it not for her previous good character.

And what I find amazing is that you apparently think that Corbyn, Abbot and McDonnell, should not have given the court any character references.

You don’t even bother to explain why you think they should not have.

Presumably at the time of giving the references they would not have known the guilty verdict. And even if they had it still doesn’t provide any reason at all why they should not have given character references.

No doubt your attack on Corbyn, Abbot and McDonnell, is motivated by political considerations rather than based on a genuine claim that they have done anything wrong. Your comment “and to think once that was the only alternative to the Tories” betrays that.

And let’s keep some perspective on this, however difficult it might be when you are trying to score political points. The sentence was 10 weeks suspended for two years. Okay it lighter than it might have been had it not been for her previous good character, but whichever way you look at it a suspended 10 week sentence clearly does not indicate a particularly heinous crime.

Conspire to have a journalist beaten up and you get to be Prime Minister.

Based on that comment she also therefore has the backing of the 25 thousand people in Leicester East who voted for her.

Maybe they didnt know she was such a horrible person when they voted for her?

This is the worst type of Politics. She was friends with Corbyn/Abbott et al, because she was on their local council. She was parachuted in to a very safe Labour seat, where she was going to win even if she had murdered half the constituents the day before. People complain about true blue seats where a Donkey with a blue badge would win, this seat is the Labour version of that.
And then you realise that Keith Vaz, they well known sleazeball (local allegations go far further than what is known nationally) was on the Committee that appointed her. I wonder where he got the nod from to appoint her?
Appoint her and we wont throw you out of the Party?
It all stinks, it isnt just the Tories who have sleaze and corruption in their party.

This is the worst type of Politics. She was friends with Corbyn/Abbott et al, because she was on their local council. She was parachuted in to a very safe Labour seat, where she was going to win even if she had murdered half the constituents the day before. People complain about true blue seats where a Donkey with a blue badge would win, this seat is the Labour version of that.
And then you realise that Keith Vaz, they well known sleazeball (local allegations go far further than what is known nationally) was on the Committee that appointed her. I wonder where he got the nod from to appoint her?

Ah, this is about politics and the opportunity to score political points. This court case had nothing to do with whether the Blairite former minister Keith Vaz was a “sleazeball”. The court didn’t consider whether she had been “parachuted in”. It is all completely irrelevant to the case.

And no attempt whatsoever is made to explain why she not have been given character references. Despite the fact that it was clearly useful to the court and was a consideration in the court’s sentencing.

“You are a hard-working, upstanding Member of Parliament and of society”….. not the words of Jeremy Corbyn but the chief magistrate, should he also be condemned for making a positive remark about her character?

Ah, this is about politics and the opportunity to score political points.

Read the last line I wrote:

It all stinks, it isnt just the Tories who have sleaze and corruption in their party.

Both main parties are as bad as each other, there are no winners here, or points to be scored, the Politicians have scumbags within their ranks, and, as said earlier in the thread, they should be held to a higher standard than the general public.
The point I was making was that the appointment of this Candidate was corrupt from the start, and it then turned out she wasnt suitable to be a MP when she started threatening someone.

FWIW I think this is a case of the system working quite well. The magistrate has come up with the correct verdict and a reasonable sentence, Webbe’s quite rightly been kicked out the party and quite rightly it’s difficult (but not impossible) to remove her from her seat, because democracy.

The good news for the people of Leicester is that Vaz is apparently making moves to be selected as the Lab candidate in the inevitable by-election 🤦‍♂️

The point I was making was that the appointment of this Candidate was corrupt from the start

But you haven’t offered one shred of evidence to back up this allegation. Explain which bit in this court case exposes corrupt practices within the Labour Party.

You seem to think that alleging that she is friends with Corbyn and Abbott somehow proves corruption in the Labour Party. It doesn’t.

The Labour Party might well be corrupt but this court case has not exposed any corruption.

In fact it is probably fair to say that when it comes to dodgy stuff the case of Keith Vaz the former chairman of the home affairs select committee, a House of Commons committee which looks into drug and prostitution issues, and who is still an influencial Labour Party official after being caught offering to buy class A drugs for young sex workers, is of more interest than the case of an expelled party member with apparently serious jealousy issues.

The good news for the people of Leicester is that Vaz is apparently making moves to be selected as the Lab candidate in the inevitable by-election

Or his daughter,

In fact it is probably fair to say that when it comes to dodgy stuff the case of Keith Vaz the former chairman of the home affairs select committee, a House of Commons committee which looks into drug and prostitution issues, and who is still an influencial Labour Party official after being caught offering to buy class A drugs for young sex workers, is of more interest than the case of an expelled party member with apparently serious jealousy issues.

Vax may have flaws, but his commitment to looking into drugs and prostitution is beyond doubt.