UKIP are scribbling out defamatory comments on their leaflets and handing them out anyway

Greater Manchester Police have in touch with UKIP, after one of their candidates printed potentially defamatory comments on his official election literature. Realising that possibly libelling his opponents is not the best electoral strategy, Martin Power, UKIP’s PPC in Blackley and Broughton, scribbled out the contentious bits in biro and then handed the leaflets out anyway.

Here’s what the leaflet looks like now (via Manchester Evening News):

Power said he had scribbled out the offending passage, which made allegations about corruption, because he wanted to be fair, adding: “It was nothing specific aimed at anybody.”

Meanwhile, a Tory council candidate in Welwyn Hatfield, Grant Shapps’ constituency, branded voters in his area “lemmings” this morning, for having the temerity to say they’re voting Labour. That’s one way of convincing them.

Labour’s PPC for the seat said he “pleased of course that Frank seems to be finding so many Labour voters in the area,” but pointed out:

“In Hatfield West we’ve got the Tory Party Chairman threatening his constituents with lawyers for daring to speak the truth, and the Tory Party Candidate calling them lemmings for daring to see the truth. Residents deserve better.”