´óÏó´«Ã½

There is no date yet for a by-election in Oldham East and Saddleworth but there is plenty of campaigning.

It will not be officially called until the High Court has ruled on the outcome of Phil Woolas' request for a judicial review of the decision to force him from the Commons.

But on the streets of the constituency a phoney war is already being fought.

I spent some of the weekend with the Liberal Democrat campaign which has the advantage of a candidate in place and a head-start.

In an email to supporters, Liberal Democrat HQ anticipates a by-election in early January: "There could be as few as eight working days in 2011 before Polling Day.

"That means we must win this by-election before Christmas. Please do not wait until the New Year to help out."

The campaign has had support from across the country. But the team admits it's difficult to maintain momentum when there is no election date and it's very cold.

This is even more tricky for Labour since Phil Woolas was one of their MPs and they cannot put a candidate in place until he moves on.

They are campaigning but unofficially.

In another email we've seen, Labour writes: "The Lib Dems are swamping the constituency with activists from across the country. We run the serious risk of being out campaigned if we don't rise to this challenge."

Indeed Lib Dem volunteers say they are getting a good response on the doorstep.

But they must handle it carefully.

At a Christmas fair I spoke to a few voters who were unhappy with the amount of campaigning. They didn't think it should start until the legal situation has been resolved.

I wondered during the General Election whether the Liberal Democrats had alienated some voters by putting out too many leaflets.

It seems for some, they are doing the same again.

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Newsvine |
• |
• Reddit
• - What's this?

He had a cameo role in the case after publishing a fairly unpleasant election leaflet called Radar, and even visited Uppermill to watch the election court in action.

Labour cited Radar as evidence of a death threat against Mr Woolas.

The leaflet's footnote read: "Anyone considering making death threats with regard to this publication should also include their name and address as Radar is offering a free hamper of goodies for the most imaginative and menacing communication."

Labour's campaign leaflet interpreted this as: "One extremist website has even created a competition for the most imaginative ways to kill Phil Woolas."

But the Liberal Democrats said it was nothing more than a joke.

The matter might now be resolved with the eagerly-awaited second edition of Radar.

The footnote now reads: "If you feel the need to kill the author of this leaflet then please send your threats directly to RADAR as the most menacing one will get a hamper of goodies."

I wonder how many entries he receives?

• Bookmark with:
• |
• |
• |
• |
• - What's this?

Rochdale politically reflects the nation in that is run by a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.

But six Lib Dem councillors have resigned there to sit as independents.

This is not great for the party which in some ways considers Rochdale its spiritual home.

It reminds me of the four councillors who did the same thing in Halton. The last I heard they were considering setting-up their own group.

The Liberal Democrats will at least be pleased that their former colleagues have not defected to Labour. But what has caused the departures?

These things can be difficult to unravel.

I think it's a combination of people being unhappy with the national direction, in other words spending cuts which are likely to have a painful local impact.

But there is also resentment about the way councillors have been forced to reapply to stand again and some have not been successful.

Maybe this is modernisation or maybe it is a lack of sensitivity.

Either way it is the kind of damaging disunity the party could do without.

There are rumours that others are on the brink of departure.

It leaves the coalition with a majority of three.

But the Lib Dems believe Labour will not topple the coalition because it would leave them having to implement the cuts.

• Bookmark with:
• |
• |
• |
• |
• - What's this?

Phil Woolas' political career was killed off by the courts.

The law says there is no appeal; the two High Court judges who convicted him were effectively political executioners.

So instead, the former MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth is applying for judicial review.

This means he is arguing the Election Court made an error in the way the decision was made, rather than the decision itself.

Of course, if he succeeds in that, he hopes to overturn the entire judgment.

But there is a big obstacle in his path. High Courts cannot judicially review other High Court decisions.

That is why Mr Woolas failed in a written application and has instead been arguing his case before three senior judges.

Mr Watkins and his team are there opposing the application. It is almost like old times, except more difficult to follow.

The convicted MP hopes to get over the first obstacle by arguing that an Election Court is not a High Court. Yes, it is made up of two High Court judges but is in fact a separate and less powerful court, he claims.

The judges are considering this argument. Meanwhile the arguments for the actual judicial review were heard too.

It might seem strange to hear those arguments before we even know if the judicial review is possible. But it's almost like a twin-track approach and is designed to save time.

So on what grounds is Mr Woolas seeking judicial review?

You might remember Elwyn Watkins had to prove the allegations made against him in the Labour leaflets were about his personal character rather than his political position.

The Election Court agreed they were.

But Mr Woolas is arguing they were not; they were made during an election campaign and were therefore political attacks.

It leaves the three High Court judges to make two decisions: whether to grant judicial review, and the outcome of the judicial review.

The best case for Mr Woolas is that they agree to a judicial review and accept his arguments.

The worst case would be if they refuse the judicial review, but add, Mr Woolas wouldn't have won anyway.

That would make it more difficult to justify continuing with the process and going to the Appeal Court. But, of course, that is a matter for Phil Woolas.

He did his best to keep out of court.

Now he is left clinging to the gates of the High Court as everyone else prepares to move on; it might be the last chance to save his reputation.

• Bookmark with:
• |
• |
• |
• |
• - What's this?

Some big news for Lancashire today. I understand that the hugely controversial Tithebarn shopping development in Preston will get the go-ahead from ministers.

The formal announcement is expected next week but my sources tell me the £700m development has been approved.

Great news for Preston - England's newest city is desperate to cement its status as the third city of the North West by redeveloping a town centre in real need of improvement. With Manchester dominating the region and Liverpool upping its retail game with the £900m Liverpool One development in 2008, Preston can't afford to be left too far behind. The new development promises big name stores such as John Lewis.

Bad news though for towns like Blackburn and Blackpool. They fought against the Preston plan, fearing it could seriously damage the economic health of their own struggling centres.

Preston's civic society also opposed the plan, claiming the destruction of buildings such as the famous modernist bus station would be architectural vandalism on a huge scale.

But it seems that economic pragmatism has won the day. Preston always said they needed this investment to survive. It looks like they've got it.

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Newsvine |
• |
• Reddit
• - What's this?