Larkswood councillor John Moss is behind a third-party group posting Facebook ads attacking Tatler’s housing record in Brent, reports Marco Marcelline

Top left: John Moss, Credit: Waltham Forest Conservatives), Bottom left: Shama Tatler, Credit: London Labour, Main image credit: pixelshot

Labour activists have criticised the Conservative councillor John Moss for being behind a third-party targeted advertising campaign against Labour in Chingford and Woodford Green.

According to a Twitter/X thread by Guardian’s media editor Jim Waterson, the ads are paid for by ‘3rd Party Ltd’ which is run by long term Conservative digital campaigner Thomas Borwick, along with Larkswood councillor John Moss.

One of the sponsored Facebook posts refers to Labour candidate Shama Tatler using her nickname ‘Tower Block Tatler’ in an attack on Waltham Forest Council’s approval of the much-maligned Walthamstow Mall development.

The post reads: “This is the view from the Old Church, Chingford. Those two fingers sticking up are the tower blocks being built in Walthamstow. Don’t back a Labour candidate – nickname ‘Tower Block Tatler’ – and see monstrosities like [the Walthamstow Mall towers] imposed on Chingford and Woodford Green!”

If you're in Iain Duncan Smith's marginal seat of Chingford and Woodford Green, you might be seeing these ads in your Facebook feed. Collectively they've been viewed 100,000s of times during this election – in a constituency of c75,000 people. Who's behind them? pic.twitter.com/cfqQLM7Hky
— Jim Waterson (@jimwaterson) July 2, 2024

Another post, carrying a photo of a 30th June Sunday Times headline on Labour’s plans for a review of green belt if they form the next government, asks: “Are Wanstead Flats at risk?”

Shama Tatler voiced support for a review of green belt land in May 2023, when she tweeted: “There are parts of the Greenbelt that are not green or pleasant. A review of land use is overdue for housing, industrial capacity and infrastructure.”

However, when asked about the tweet in an interview with the Echo last week, Tatler affirmed that she wants a review of “grey belt” land instead and slapped down concerns that she would approve of building property on Epping Forest.

Other posts appear to target potential Reform voters and say that a vote for the right-wing Nigel Farage-led party would be a gift to Labour.

In a blog post on ConservativeHome in May, Cllr Moss lists the advantages of using third-party campaigning as opposed to centralised party campaigning, saying that it “raises the profile of [a particular issue], and informs voters of where individual candidates stand on the issue”.

He added that using third-party campaigning was attractive because it does not affect an individual candidate’s spending limits.

3rd Party Ltd is registered with and regulated by the Electoral Commission and is listed as a “non-party campaigner”.

Both Cllr Moss and Chingford and Woodford Green Labour were contacted for comment.

Meanwhile, the independent candidate Faiza Shaheen has claimed that Labour canvassers campaigning for Tatler have told people on the doorstep that Shaheen was stood down for “more serious” reasons than liking tweets deemed problematic to the Labour Party.

In a tweet dated 25th June, Shaheen wrote that the “vicious lie” has been heard on the doorstep “several times” now.

To counter the allegations, Faiza posted an email from the Labour Party which stated she had been deselected by the National Executive Committee (NEC) because of “particular regard” to the potential national electoral impact of her social media activity. The email does not mention any other concern about her behaviour.

Labour was approached for comment but did not respond in time for publication.

The general election is tomorrow (4th July).

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