Vaz Automatic

The suspension of Leicester East Constituency Labour Party suggests that a by-election is on its way. Keith Vaz will probably not be the candidate, but he may as well be. In October, Vaz was once again appearing on Labour leaflets in Leicester. Who funds his two staffed offices in Leicester East, which have had queues down the street since Claudia Webbe's trial began, on the assumption that he was already the MP again, bar the formality of a by-election? Knowing that his suspension would lapse with the dissolution of the Parliament that had imposed it, Vaz has continued to send a calendar of himself to every address in the constituency, as has been his custom since 1987.

Webbe is on borrowed time. Once Labour was good to go at Leicester East, then she would be banged up for breach. All that they would need would be another complaint of harassment. You cannot be acquitted of harassment. Two solicitors and a barrister have confirmed that to me, and I was told in writing that I would have no lawyer if I tried to plead not guilty. The crime consists in having made the complainant feel harassed. If she says that she was, then she was. That was literally the only evidence presented against Webbe. She was convicted, and her conviction was upheld on appeal. She is about due to be convicted again, and therefore imprisoned. What matters is to be well enough connected that the Crown Prosecution Service will take up the case. That is not a problem if you are Keir Starmer.