5th October 2011

Left Foot In It

It's a pity to see Will Straw's well-conceived and intentioned "Left Foot Forward" reverting to that age old tactic of the Left: accuse an opponent of saying something they didn't say, then lynch them for it.  For an evidence-based blog, I have to say that this is a misleading version of events, to say the least.

I won't bother fisking the article in full - it would be to unravel a useless knot.  But for the sake of a clear record of events:

- The headline is ridiculous.  I welcomed the contribution of several NGO and pressure group players in this reform debate.  So for "people", read the "Law Society", which I was attacking directly on their outlandish claims about domestic violence.

- I did not mention Sound Off For Justice once in my comments.  I was critical of the Law Society in particular, as I have been in the past.  So to try to claim that any criticism about the Law Society was about another organisation and its constituent members is disingenuous.

- Finally, I said that our justice system is amongst the most expensive in Europe, which it is.  That is different from "the" most expensive.

In this one respect I agree with the post: with reportage this poor, it is crystal clear just "how low are the depths to which this debate is going to be dragged."