Howard stirs race row with attack on Gypsies (Tory Leader)

[IndianaGreen]

There is a whiff of fascism in the air.

-- Gus Hall

Howard stirs race row with attack on Gypsies
Tories accused of bigotry in placing traveller camps on election agenda
By Andy McSmith, Political Editor
20 March 2005

Michael Howard was accused yesterday of "tapping into the deepest vein of bigotry in our society" as he tried to push the issue of unauthorised Gypsy camps into the centre of the pre-election political battle.

The Tory leader will deliver a speech tomorrow focusing on 1,855 Gypsy and traveller families who have bought and developed plots of lands where they can camp without obtaining planning permits in advance.

In the past Mr Howard has vehemently denied wanting to make race an election issue, but that is a charge he will face because of his remarks about Gypsies and travellers.

In an advertisement on page 8 of this newspaper, paid for by the Conservative Party, Mr Howard claims: "If you want to build a new home you have to get planning permission first. But if you are a traveller, you can bend planning law - building where you like, thanks to the Human Rights Act."

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=621889

[regnaD kciN]

1. Following in the footsteps of his political role-model, I see...