26-07-2003 16:53									#1
	Councillor can't speak English...so best form of defence is attack: CRY RACISM! Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

quote: The Liberal Democrats are defending their decision to support one of their Manchester councillors who cannot speak English well enough to take part in council meetings. The city council is paying for an interpreter to work with Councillor Liaqat Ali, whose first language is Urdu. The Liberal Democrats represent the Longsight ward - where 42% of the population are from ethnic minorities. Mr Ali - who is a Pakistan citizen who has applied for asylum after being forced to leave the country after several attacks on his business - won the seat from Labour by 152 votes in the local elections in May.

quote: An inquiry has begun into claims the leader of Manchester City Council has "failed to promote good race relations". Councillor Richard Leese has been reported to the Standards Board of England (SBE) after a row over the authority funding a translator for a councillor. Mr Leese was referred to the SBE - the body that monitors ethics in local authorities - after proposing Councillor Liaqat Ali's party should pay for the translator, rather than the council.

Can't speak English, how pathetic that this man can hold a seat and attempt to govern.

Next, he sought asylum after his business was attacked in Pakistan. How many businesses get attacked in the UK and yet the government do ****-all about crime? Go and claim asylum from the UK? No that wouldn't be allowed, so why have we let this clown to govern over people whose language he doesn't even speak.

And then for him to claim racism because a council leader has spoke his mind about what a daft situation this is and asked for the political party (Lib Dems) that nominated him to pay for the translator rather than the taxpayers...just gets worse and worse.

These liberal times.

	26-07-2003 17:12									#2
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reminds me of a time when one of our MKs has been carrying a speech in the house, and when other MKs started to ask him questions, he didn't know hebrew well enough to answer.




oh, and yes, this is wrong.

	26-07-2003 17:26									#3
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well his party should pay for the translator, it should be his problem if he can't speak english.

	26-07-2003 17:33									#4
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quote: Can't speak English, how pathetic that this man can hold a seat and attempt to govern.

Well, to avoid this maybe only pure-bred British whites should be allowed to vote? You know, only the Boddingtons?

But where is the crying about racism in the articles you quoted?

	26-07-2003 17:36									#5
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quote: An inquiry has begun into claims the leader of Manchester City Council has "failed to promote good race relations". Councillor Richard Leese has been reported to the Standards Board of England (SBE) after a row over the authority funding a translator for a councillor. Mr Leese was referred to the SBE - the body that monitors ethics in local authorities - after proposing Councillor Liaqat Ali's party should pay for the translator, rather than the council.

there perhaps...

	26-07-2003 17:37									#6
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quote: Well, to avoid this maybe only pure-bred British whites should be allowed to vote? You know, only the Boddingtons?

you're doing a great injustice to all those immigrants that have successfully integrated or work hard to integrate into British society.

	26-07-2003 17:37									#7
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That's crying?? Whoa...

	26-07-2003 17:40									#8
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what would you call reporting someone to a 'race relations authority' for daring to suggest that if somebody in office can't speak english the taxpayer shouldn't be forced to fork out for a translator?

	26-07-2003 17:48									#9
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Well, wasn't it the taxpayer that elected him in the first place?

And Az, it wouldn't matter to Bods if they were fully integrated or not. At least I never noticed his beloved BNP making the difference...

	26-07-2003 17:49									#10
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quote: And Az, it wouldn't matter to Bods if they were fully integrated or not. At least I never noticed his beloved BNP making the difference...

Not the issue here.

	26-07-2003 17:50									#11
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This is obviously ridiculous, and suports my theory that whole PC thing was invented by certain people to make anybody who isn't 'normal' (white, male, English) look like hordes of screeching unreasonable bastards that spend their time making ludicrous and unreasonable demands on the poor defensless normal people of England.

Might come as a surprise to you Bodd, but the rest of the human race are not all lunatic fringe-case PC special interest groups who thuroughly support this kind of thing. If idiot Lib-Dem tossers have lost sight of common bloody sense, don't blame it on other 'ethnic minority' immigrants who have bothered to learn the local language, and do have the right to participate in the democratic process to which they also contribute taxes.

	26-07-2003 17:52									#12
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quote: Originally posted by Hueij Well, wasn't it the taxpayer that elected him in the first place?

that's not the point, and you know it.

	26-07-2003 17:53									#13
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quote: Originally posted by Azazel quote: And Az, it wouldn't matter to Bods if they were fully integrated or not. At least I never noticed his beloved BNP making the difference... Not the issue here.

Oh? I thought that it was the central issue of every post Bods makes...

	26-07-2003 18:34									#14
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This too, isn't the point. let's debate the issue at hand.

	26-07-2003 19:20									#15
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quote: Originally posted by Hueij Well, to avoid this maybe only pure-bred British whites should be allowed to vote?

Shouldn't you be able to speak the lingua franca of the country you run for government office in before you take office? Granted this has been somewhat relaxed since Chretien took office but still...

	26-07-2003 19:39									#16
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Good Lord! You mean he was able to become a councillor simply because more people voted for him than anyone else?

	26-07-2003 19:41									#17
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Well Bodds, in a way I agree... and in another I don't;-

quote: Can't speak English, how pathetic that this man can hold a seat and attempt to govern.

I think the issue here is that his English skills are not good enough to understand the issues being discussed. Given there are a lot of specialists who advice administrators on issues they don't understand, I don't see a translator as being ridiculous. It would have been more ridiculous for him to try and do his job without a translator.

The most ridiculous part is that the person who insisted the Lib Dems pay for the translator was labelled as a racist. That was stupid, I agree with you there.

Stephen Hawking can't speak English either. Doesn't stop him from contributing to society, does it?

	26-07-2003 19:41									#18
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quote: Good Lord! You mean he was able to become a councillor simply because more people voted for him than anyone else?

Yes, the British had better start getting used to it I suppose.

"The Liberal Democrats represent the Longsight ward - where 42% of the population are from ethnic minorities. "

	26-07-2003 19:46									#19
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i think cruddy just said what i wanted to say, far better.

	26-07-2003 20:05									#20
	Put an end to popups!

quote: Originally posted by Lazarus and the Gimp Good Lord! You mean he was able to become a councillor simply because more people voted for him than anyone else?

Did they vote for him, or for a party list?

	26-07-2003 20:08									#21
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

His name was on the ballot paper.

	26-07-2003 20:10									#22
	Tired of ads?

But they voted for a party, yes?

	26-07-2003 20:10									#23
	Tired of ads?

Did it say, "can't speak English" next to it?

	26-07-2003 20:11									#24
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Bodds: Probably not, but that would be a stupid requirement.

	26-07-2003 20:13									#25
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quote: Bodds: Probably not, but that would be a stupid requirement.

Agreed, it should go without saying that all candidates have a good grasp of the language of our nation.

	26-07-2003 20:13									#26
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

Didn't list criminal convictions either.

	26-07-2003 20:14									#27
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Esp. since the people vote for a party not a person.

Personally, I DO think it must be a requirement for anyone holding public office.

	26-07-2003 20:15									#28
	Tired of ads?

just like lack of criminal convictions ( serious crimes, though )

	26-07-2003 20:17									#29
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i don't think it should be. if anyone wants to run, then let them, if they get enough support and get elected then great, more power to them. the thing i object to is taxpayers being forced to pay because someone can't speak english, his party should pay for a translator, if they can't or won't he'll have to do without.

	26-07-2003 20:18									#30
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quote: Originally posted by Boddington's "The Liberal Democrats represent the Longsight ward - where 42% of the population are from ethnic minorities. "

It seems like you are suggesting that ethnic minorities voted him in and they aren't British which is factually incorrect. Technically you can only vote if you are a UK citizen over 18 so even if the people who voted for that councillor were mainly part of the ethnic minority population (an assumption on your part, many people vote for a party rather than an individual candidate) then that's OK because that's their right as Britons like us.