Zephaniah speaks out |

Wednesday 6th April 2011 | 10:48

Zephaniah speaks out

Less than a month to go in the AV referendum now and the vitriol between the two sides shows no signs of abating.

But remember that story at the weekend that somehow the Yes to AV camp had 'airbrushed' poet Benjamin Zephaniah out of one of its leaflets in the West Country?

Well, I've just learned that the real story is the exact opposite. It wasn't Zephaniah who was airbrushed out in the West Country - it was Tony Robinson (aka Baldrick) who was removed from the London leaflets.

I understand that one member of the Yes camp spotted the leaflet with Robinson on it and said that in the capital it would look strange to have no ethnic minority faces. As a result, Zephaniah was airbrushed in, rather than airbrushed out.

Anyway, after days of people trying to reach him, the poet himself has now spoken.

From the top of a mountain in the Himalayas, he says:

“These allegations are preposterous. I am happy for the ‘Yes’ campaign to use my endorsement as they see fit. I am happy for them to use it in London, and as I understand it, in a nationwide letter. “Let’s talk about the real issue – how we renew our democracy. I want democratic change and that is why I am voting ‘yes’ on May 5."

Here's the two leaflets:

Leave a comment...

Rob

11:26 |
06 Apr 2011
Recommended
14

Ah, so it's an all-white middle class campaign condescending to pander to what they see as a black block-vote in the inner cities, while happily continuing to believe that there are no ethnic minorities in the shires. So that's all right then.

David Morris

12:40 |
06 Apr 2011
Recommended
4

Are you able to put higher quality images of those letters on here? I can't read them. Either that or make a download available. Anyway, the fact that race is being introduced into this campaign is abhorrant. It shouldn't be anything to do with that.

Jo

13:28 |
06 Apr 2011
Recommended
7

Could they remove Baldrick from the westcountry leaflets? I find him offensive. Ta

Mogz

14:16 |
06 Apr 2011
Recommended
1

No, it's a campaign expanding its demographic base and improving its literature accordingly.

Tom

14:39 |
06 Apr 2011
Recommended
11

I still don't quite understand why the views of Benjamin Zephaniah, a man who I understand chooses to spend a large proportion of his time living in a country with a brutally authoritarian regime that punishes its citizens harshly if they even raise the spectre of being able to have any sort of vote under any sort of system to choose their leaders, should be considered of worth in this debate.

Varus

20:22 |
06 Apr 2011
Recommended
2

What, er, Birmingham?

zeonglow

23:24 |
06 Apr 2011
0

LOL. No. He meant the PRC, he's been the once or twice I think. Anyway. It's lucky the No2AV have no real arguments or we wouldn't be having this lovely discussion.

Claire

09:49 |
07 Apr 2011
Recommended
4

Yet another story about the battle between one campaign team and another. Both teams let the national debate down severely by running the whole show as a form of wonk infighting, instead of focussing on explaining the important reforms at stake. I think a blogger mentality is at fault, one that forgets that the world of politics has its centre in the wider public, not in point-scoring among political hobbyists. Our political system is creaking in the face of the failure of mass participation, both in elections and in the conduct of parties. And the Alternative Vote referendum -- the only weapon we have to reverse the horrible decline of particpatory democracy -- is being fought in terms that are inimical to mass engagement. Stick to the principles, or you will alienate the mass electorate ever further.

Savion

21:29 |
04 Jan 2012
0

Yo, good lkooin out! Gonna make it work now.

Jenn

23:54 |
04 Jan 2012
0

Always the best content from these prodigious wirters.

Tike

06:30 |
07 Jan 2012
0

If information were scoecr, this would be a goooooal!

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