Lord Rennard's accusers...

[max_tranmere]

"it has been going on a year in terms of two of Rennard's accusers appearing on television."

You may have seen it previously but I have only become aware of it in the last month or two with Channel 4 News's coverage, and in the last few days more so as other news programmes and the print press have picked up on it as a result.

Next. Tony Benn was a minister in the Wilson/Callaghan administration in the 1970's and never had a position in Government again. He tried to take the leadership from Neil Kinnock in the 1980's and failed, he would have wanted to be in Government again - be Prime Minister actually - but was never able to be. His political career never reached the heights he wanted it to, but because he has a large ego he demanded to be viewed as a political big-hitter from then on and for some reason editors and sub-editors on news programmes and debate shows went along with it. If all it takes to be a strong political voice for the rest of your life, and to be very prolific for ever more, is to once be a minister or Secretary Of State then every ex one of those from the last generation of politicians would relentlessly be on TV now. They are not. The Labour party even arranged for his son to become a minister in the Blair Government, this sort of thing can be arranged by putting them forward for a safe seat. I believe his granddaughter is now a Labour counsellor or something as well.

I mentioned Stephen Pound and Louise Mensch in my post too. They - along with Tony Benn - are examples of people in the limelight who are viewed as political voices who should be listened to when they didn't achieve very much at all. Tony Benn has been in the media more often over the last 35 years than any living ex-Prime Minister over that time was or has. The whole thing is ridiculous. It doesn't matter that these women are in the media for having been touched up, or whether they're there because they're part of a political dynasty (Tony Benn, Douglas Hurd's son Nick who is now a minister, and others) or for whatever reason. It's the fact they will have, or are having, a career in politics or media, and in the case of the Rennard women a forthcoming career in media where they're regarded as highly achieving political people who should be listened to, and will keep being consulted about things on TV shows and in the print press, when it is unjustified and undeserved.

[max_tranmere]

"We shall see. Remind me of this post in 5 years time then."

I won't need to. Keep an eye on the TV and the print press over the coming months and beyond. Watch out for these women appearing in a consultancy capacity, a political voice, on This Week, the Daily Politics, the Sunday Politics, and other programmes. Look out for their columns in newspapers too.

[fatmick]

Cockneygeezer is correct. People become famous for all sorts of strange reasons. For example Max, you are famous on this forum for being a total moron!

[andy ide]

Rod Liddle's column about this in The Spectator last week. Hear hear.

[max_tranmere]

Interesting article, I just read it. I didn't realise it was as long as ten years ago. There were other accusers though aswell - at least two women in total, maybe three I'm not sure. Maybe the other accusations were a tad more serious. I don't condone this "trying to get off with your colleagues" thing, but there are far more serious things that happen in the workplace.

I've known whispering campaigns to be started by people in an attempt to ruin someone's career, I've known people having affairs with others (both consent to it obviously) and the bimbo that the boss has been shagging, behind his wife's back, gets promoted as a result - when much more deserving people are overlooked. I've know people who are out and out crooks who fiddle expenses, disappear for ages, claim overtime when
they're out socialising in a bar with mates and are pretending to be on a work-related bit of business, and many other things. I've seem people regularly being called the most offensive things possible by their manager, littered with swearwords, all said very aggressively, and the person doing it has nothing happen as a result - other than to get an outstanding annual appraisal and get promoted a few months later - all because his line manager, the very senior person, can't be bothered to have him punished even though he knows how he treats his staff.

I could go on. In more than 20 years of working for mainly large organisations in London - some public sector, some private sector - I've seen it all. I've encountered dozens of vile people doing vile things, regularly, and they have all been rewarded for it. All this sort of thing is much much worse than a man putting his hand on a woman's knee. I would like to see cases of some of the things I've described here in the news from time to time, rather than the minor cases of sexual harassment that we do see. Not that those shouldn't be investigated and the perpetrator punished, if guilty, but a lot worse things happen in the workplace than that.

[cockneygeezer2009]

"All this sort of thing is much much worse than a man putting his hand on a woman's knee."

Sexual harassment isn't cool (unless you're a perv). How would you respond if your male boss put his hand on your knee or worse put his hand down your trousers and had a little fiddle. Be up for that would you or would you just brush it off?

[Laura Hermansen Fan]

As I said in my last comment:

"Not that those shouldn't be investigated and the perpetrator punished, if guilty..."

I was referring to the minor incident of sexual harassment that is putting a hand on someone's knee, and I've stated the person doing it should be punished if guilty. How does that compare to more serious sexual assault? It clearly doesn't.

You should read people's comments on here properly before replying to them.

[max_tranmere]

[I usually post as Max, occassionally as LHF. The latter is a posting name I
created when I once started a fansite for Laura Hermansen that got
nearly 80 members, and I rarely use it. I accidentally posted as it here just
now. It was meant to be a posting as "Max"]

[andy ide]

This cockneygeezer2009 chap's a bit excitable, isn't he?

[cockneygeezer2009]

Wasn't referring to your post. Same words are in post made by max tranmere.
If you understand BGAFD links you can see who i'm replying to. Trust me i read it properly.