IF you happened to be walking the dog in Cripplegate Park last Sunday lunchtime you’d be forgiven for thinking it was 1651, around the time of September 3rd.

What was apparently billed as a campaign launch for the Labour Party to allegedly “save” city parks ended up as an odd re-enactment of the Battle of Worcester, resulting in allegations of swearing, spitting, verbal abuse and a police investigation.

But the most bemusing aspect to all this is why anyone involved would want the long arm of the law sniffing around this sorry affair in the first place.

Who is advising Will Pryce, Robin Walker’s bright young Tory campaign manager?

Does anyone actively involved in this city’s politics, regardless of what may or may not have gone on during the Battle of Cripplegate, want to spend the early start to this year’s electioneering embroiled in a farcical he-said-she-said saga sure to only irritate and disillusion Joe Public?

There are all sorts of interesting sub-plots and gossip surrounding this mini- drama, from Mr Pryce having a law degree, to the mysterious influence of former city mayor Mike Layland and a dubious phone call from one Labour councillor to a city bowling club which appears to have smoothed the path to a now utterly regrettable Labour v Tory ‘clash of opinion’ last Sunday.

One could argue Labour’s campaign launch has been an unmitigated disaster, a farce to end all farces, using such simplistic language it created an open invitation to the Tories to label it dishonest, or as Cllr Marc Bayliss prefers, a “lie”.

One could also argue equally as strongly that the Tories should never, ever have descended upon Cripplegate Park last Sunday, like a spurned mistress gatecrashing a lover’s wedding, and instead used other channels to get their points across.

The road's called Sensible Avenue, look it up on the map.

After all it'd hardly have been the first time one political party has used the vagaries of the system to 'spin' against another.

To give up that planned Sunday roast at the local bistro for this?

But surely any sensible observer watching this from an entirely neutral point of view would come to the conclusion that this messy mischief, regardless of the ins and outs, will only ever damage anyone and everyone trying to get elected this spring.

No jury’s needed to figure that out.

The Battle of Worcester? No, it’s the Calamity of Cripplegate.