At around 6.30pm on Tuesday evening CCTV in Cowes captured the figure of a man using black gloss paint to deface as Vote Labour sign
Matt Bailey shared the footage and photos on the Isle of Wight Community Information Facebook Group, adding that he knew of three signs that had been defaced in Cowes that night.
Matt tells OnTheWight he has reported the vandalism to the local Police.
Deeper level of hostility
Julian Critchley, the chairman of Island Labour, told OnTheWight that they were used to the occasional sign going missing after chucking out time on a Saturday night, but that this latest vandalism appears to be well-planned.
He went on to reveal that campaigners had witnessed a “deeper level of hostility” than in the 2017 election, adding that he’d had to ban over 100 people from Island Labour’s Facebook page, report a death threat against Jeremy Corbyn to the Police, and had seen an “unprecedented level of abuse both online and on the streets”.
Julian said,
“We’re big fans of democracy and are not going to be intimidated by the unhinged hatred that’s been unleashed.”
History repeating itself
The action of General Election campaign signs being defaced is nothing new.
Back in 2010 the Liberal Democrats reported that many of their signs had been stolen and someone sprayed painted devil horns on to an image of former Isle of Wight MP, Andrew Turner.
If you know of more placards around the Island, for any party or candidate, that has been defaced, do let us know.
Image: © Matt Bailey
