When Rotherham Politics first learned that Iain StJohn was to be Agent for Darren Hughes in the elections this year, we thought that things may well be ‘interesting’ to say the least. Iain StJohn had himself been a subject of a nine month police investigation for irregularities resulting from last years parish council elections! A very suitable choice then?
Last Fridays Advertiser carried a short piece on the difficulties Darren Hughes and Iain StJohn were in over the ‘Red Mist’ of posters, supporting Hughes, that went up the weekend of the 21st, just before the postal votes went out, 87% of Anston & Woodsetts ward vote that way, We understand!
On Monday representations were made to Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council about this illegal fly posting. Darren was duly ordered to take them down. Karl Battersby’s name has been mentioned in this regard.
Delaying tactics were then employed by the ‘Dodgy Darren’ campaign resulting in these illegal posters staying up for the crucial period of the postal votes. Most return postal votes within the first three days and with 87% of Anston & Woodsetts voters voting this way, by the weekend after when they started to come down, they would already have had the desired effect!
Why were they put up in the first place when Labours own Legal Handbook states:
“Fly-posting is illegal in any circumstances and no poster should be displayed without the consent of the owner of the property. Legal action can now be taken against those benefiting from fly-posting as well as those undertaking it.”
This advice is pretty unequivocal!
So there you have it, either they knew about this and carried on regardless or they were totally ignorant of this either way it demonstrates Labour’s hubris.
Iain StJohn and Darren Hughes, evidently think they have nothing to learn from their own sides advice, nor follow it as Labour ‘owns’ Rotherham Borough!
Have voters been conned? You bet they have!
Does ‘pride come before before a fall’?
Rotherham Politics 
This sort of dodgy stuff is just indicative of the way that Rotherham Labour goes about its business and more importantly, indicative also of the way that local public employees are more than happy to lend a helping hand.
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I didn’t vote for Darren the Turncoat, mine went for Clive Jepson. I have friends that have voted for Hughes and now feel conned by him! Is there anything that can be done?
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Unfortunately once a postal vote is applied for and received, it is not possible to vote in person at a polling station. However they can take their completed postal vote to the polling station on polling day May 3rd, if they have forgotten to send it in!
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If i remember right Cllr St John has been pulled about this before. It’s not on and personally would hope the practise would nark voters. Not aware of any other’s that do it so must be an Anston problem. Does the district Labour Party condone the activities of the local party/agent?
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Michael, are you saying they knew it was illegal before they did it?
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Michael, if you remember that he (Cllr St John) has done this before could you give some more detail, I would be very interested to know. Its become evident that the District Labour Party are staying quite over these dispicable breaches of the Law, in doing so thay are condoning the actions that are being carried out. Not all Labour Party Members are as bad as this bunch, but if no one is prepared to speak up, they will all be tarnished with the same brush. Integrety around this area of Yorkshire is rapidley going down hill.
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Help, I just fell off me chair when I read “integrity” and “Laybah” in the same sentence …
cos they deffo are alien bedfellows as far as the Corn Fed Grunters, Muppets and Clowns in the Socialist Fiefdom of Dodgerland are concerned …
There’s no effective Opposition input at all and the only people speaking out and challenging are the active and empowered citizens of our little Borough, and there’s certainly no input from those we elect and pay much more than Sheffield City Councillors to act on our behalf.
The Dodgerland Laybah Political Patronage Machine continues to gobble our cash and munch its way through any hospitality and gift trough put under its greedy despicable snout.
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It appears quite obvious to me that these lying cheats have been breaking the law in this way for years and have got away with it because the likes of ‘Rotherham Politics’ were not in place to expose them in this the way. Last year, scum labour member, Gerald Smith was cautioned for a blatant breach of the law about which he was no doubt fully aware but claimed it was a “mistake”. I think all these breaches must be reported to the police because, when they are all linked together, a major crime is taking place here which is condoned and supported by the Rotherham Labour Group. Let’s expose the lot of them!
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There is absolutely no point in reporting these things to the police, because their response will be that Cllr Dodgy and chums won’t “appear” to have broken the law. And the Returning Officer at Rotherham MBC will be more than happy to facilitate those who don’t “appear” to be breaking the law.
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