Birmingham Lib Dem leader compares Labour counterpart to Hitler

Labour overtures to the Liberal Democrat group on Birmingham council to form a new progressive administration for the city have been rebuffed, with its leader comparing his Labour counterpart to Hitler. Just for good measure, Lib Dem councillor Paul Tilsley compared himself to Winston Churchill. He said:

“If we were to jump into bed with Labour it would be a bit like Churchill joining forces with Hitler after the war.”

While progressive Lib Dems in the Westminster parliament argue that the mathematics of respective strengths of the parties in the House of Commons makes a Labour-Lib Dem coalition impossible, this is not the case in Birmingham. This is the second consecutive election on which Labour has received the most votes in local elections, and it is the largest party on the 120-member council, only six short of a majority:

After last week’s election results, Nick Clegg’s party faces a choice about whether to be a force for centre-left politics or a prop for Conservative administrations. It appears that Liberal Democrats in Birmingham have made their choice.

http://twitter.com/kevinmckeever/status/67539392822132736 Kevin McKeever

RT @leftfootfwd: Birmingham Lib Dem leader compares Labour counterpart to Hitler: http://bit.ly/k6ZoOR by @DanielElton < disgrace
http://twitter.com/prateekbuch/status/67539525106286592 Prateek Buch

rather unhelpful RT @leftfootfwd: Birmingham Lib Dem leader compares Labour counterpart to Hitler: http://bit.ly/k6ZoOR by @DanielElton
http://twitter.com/ljrm1/status/67540096374681600 Lee

RT @leftfootfwd: Birmingham Lib Dem leader compares Labour counterpart to Hitler: http://bit.ly/k6ZoOR by @DanielElton
http://twitter.com/redstarbelsize/status/67540736328998912 William French

RT @kevinmckeever: RT @leftfootfwd: Birmingham Lib Dem leader compares Labour counterpart to Hitler: http://bit.ly/k6ZoOR by @DanielElto …
http://twitter.com/politicsinbrum/status/67541053200281600 Politics in Brum

RT @leftfootfwd: Birmingham Lib Dem leader compares Labour counterpart to Hitler: http://bit.ly/k6ZoOR by @DanielElton
http://twitter.com/robertfjackson/status/67542219535564800 Robert Jackson

RT @leftfootfwd: Birmingham Lib Dem leader compares Labour counterpart to Hitler: http://bit.ly/k6ZoOR by @DanielElton
http://twitter.com/c_a_jonestechno/status/67542728111697920 CAROLE JONES

RT @leftfootfwd: Birmingham Lib Dem leader compares Labour counterpart to Hitler: http://bit.ly/k6ZoOR by @DanielElton
http://twitter.com/davetomhodges/status/67543129049399296 David Hodges

RT @leftfootfwd Brum LibDem leader compares Labour counterpart 2 Hitler http://bit.ly/k6ZoOR by @DanielElton <<whose Stalin in this analogy?
http://twitter.com/idhunter22/status/67544559713914880 Ian Hunter

Godwin's Law reaches local government: http://bit.ly/kiJIus (@leftfootfwd)
http://twitter.com/nulabournemesis/status/67562363531960320 Νέα Νέμεσις Εργασίας

RT @leftfootfwd: Mummy, mummy! That man said "Hitler"! http://bit.ly/jGeooD #GodwinsLawFail
http://twitter.com/knytwtr/status/67563399566991360 kny

RT @NuLabourNemesis: RT @leftfootfwd: Mummy, mummy! That man said "Hitler"! http://bit.ly/jGeooD #GodwinsLawFail
Ed’s Talking Balls

The Lib Dems have recent form for such hyperbole: witness Chris Huhne’s outrageous slur against Baroness Warsi, comparing her to Goebbels. I do wish people would stop and think before making Nazi comparisons. It’s cheap.

Regarding the Birmingham result, I agree with you that the logical coalition would be between Labour and Lib Dem. I firmly believe that the most popular party should have a right to govern, if not alone then as the senior partner in coalition. That is why I was firmly against the proposal for a ludicrous ‘rainbow alliance’ after the general election, and it was in my thinking when I voted to retain FPTP.
http://twitter.com/martinmcgrath/status/67576580263772160 Martin McGrath

"Birmingham LD leader compares Labour counterpart to Hitler" http://bit.ly/llrhP9 <– That'll be the progressive majority in action, then?
http://twitter.com/myinfamy/status/67583313879121920 Daniel Pitt

Birmingham Lib Dem leader compares Labour counterpart to Hitler: http://bit.ly/k6ZoOR #ConDemNation
http://twitter.com/northantsbnp/status/67615924940845056 Northants Patriot

RT @kevinmckeever: RT @leftfootfwd: Birmingham Lib Dem leader compares Labour counterpart to Hitler: http://bit.ly/k6ZoOR by @DanielElto …
Mr. Sensible

People should really not be making such comparisons with the Nazis.

Well the Birmingham Lib Dems haven’t learnt have they…
Duncan

Yeah yeah yeah – more tedious Labour cheerleading from LFF, now I remember why I stopped reading – I think it’s pretty obvious this isn’t a ‘Hitler comparison’ in the ordinary sense; he’s not saying the Labour leader is a fascist; he’s just stressing the fact that Labour are seen by him and the other people fighting the council elections as the opposition. Remember that the Conservatives are Stalin under this analogy, so a coalition deal with the Tories doesn’t seem a foregone conclusion.

To all the retweets below; congratulations, you have the journalistic standards of the Daily Mail.
Jim Grundy

“Yeah yeah yeah – more tedious Labour cheerleading from LFF, now I remember why I stopped reading..” All evidence to the contrary.