Phil Woolas, a former minister in Gordon Brown’s Labour government, had his election to Parliament declared void after a judge ruled he knowingly published untrue statements about his Liberal Democrat opponent.
Woolas, who won the northern England district of Oldham East and Saddleworth by 103 votes in the May 6 election, was found guilty by two High Court judges of falsely claiming that Elwyn Watkins had links to Muslim extremists and lived outside the area.
Woolas was guilty of “an illegal practice” by making statements “he had no reasonable grounds for believing were true and did not believe were true,” according to the judgment, which was published on the website of the Judiciary of England and Wales.
I wish we had this here. The ads are getting so damn ridiculous with the outright lies about each other that it really does amount to nothing more than flingin’ poo. I think if you make up this kind of shit, with no basis in fact, and use it in your campaign, you should be vulnerable to get tossed. The hyperbole on both sides is just out of hand. Wouldn’t help with all of the shady outside groups our candidates have to do that for them now thanks to the Supreme Court though.