See: John Leech MP defends Cllr Tony Bethell on scaremongering
It’s a sad truth that fear wins votes. And an even sadder truth that accusations of scaremongering are all too common where Manchester’s Liberal Democrats are concerned.

I was particularly disappointed to see Lib Dem Cllr Tony Bethell scaremongering over ‘unpopular’ mobile phone masts. It may be that mobile phone masts are unpopular, but I don’t want a councillor who jumps on populist bandwagons (which is what pavement politics too often amounts to).

Whatever the truth on the health risks of electromagnetic fields, local campaigns against mobile phone masts are based on bad science and fear born of ignorance and it is simply wrong for the Lib Dems (or anybody else) to exploit irrational fear in pursuit of a handful of votes. Worse as an elected councillor and apparent authority figure, Tony Bethell irresponsibility lends the issue legitimacy.

Even if we refuse to believe the World Health Organisation and others when they say there’s no evidence that electromagnetic fields are a health risk, the route to reducing exposure is to build more masts, not less. Not only do mobile phone handsets deliver the bulk of the electromagnetic rays to the brain, they increase the strength of signal as they move away from a mast. So if Tony Bethell has his way, mobile phone users will be exposed to much stronger electromagnetic fields and the as yet undiscovered health risks will be increased.

Meanwhile, had Tony Bethell had a Wi-Fi Sniffer on his key ring as he delivered his scaremongering nonsense, he’d have discovered around half-a-dozen wireless networks operating on my close of just 36 apartments. But he has yet to begin a campaign to shut down the in-home Wi-Fi networks that have generated a vast electromagnetic cloud over south Manchester… I guess that’s not a vote winner.
Update: The picture shows local Liberal Democrat MP and councillor, John Leech, campaigning against phone masts with Tony Bethell. John is the primary sponsor of an Early Day Motion in support of a Wi-Fi network for Manchester.

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