Thursday 5 May 2005 - ELECTION DAY!
Stayed at the Travel Lodge with my wife Louise and eldest son, Harry. The day started for us at 1.00am when the fire alarm went off. So we all had to shuffle out of the building in nightclothes and hastily donned overcoats. As usual, no fire was discovered and everyone seemed very long suffering considering, and then we all shuffled back to our rooms.
Got up late and when I put the telly on discovered that Blair had already voted! I should have been outside his Trimdon village hall with my 'Blair Must Go' banner so that it would have been picked-up by the media! Still it was nice to have had a leisurely start to what was going to be a very long day.
In the morning I went over to Jonathan Craggs's farm, Glower O'er Him, and asked him for a white rosette, which I intended to use to identify myself as a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate. Okay, I know white is the colour of only a 'Reserve' place (appropriately as it turned out) , but it also represents peace and that was why I choose it. We quickly covered up RESERVE Wharfdale Agricultural Society, Otley Show with 'BLAIR MUST GO!, which I stuck with Blu-tack onto the middle of the rosette, before heading off to Newton Aycliffe with Louise, my wife and eldest son, Harry.
Once at Newton Aycliffe we bumped into Reg Keys who was signing photographs of himself and distributing them to kids. Robert Davies (the man from BBC Documentaries) was filming and asked me a couple of questions and another photographer was taking stacks of photos. Here's one my wife took:
I carried my BLAIR MUST GO banner through the shopping centre and got loads of thumbs-up signs and cheers. One old lady said in a frail voice:'But why should he go?' And I said: 'Because he's a lying duplicitous mass murderer.' Somehow telling the truth can sound terrible, so I added: 'But vote for him, if you think he's such a nice man.'
Went over to Spennymore to pick up my security cards for the evening's election count at Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre. I asked if I could see one of the ballot sheets. I realised what a mistake it was not to have used the Blair Must Go logo on the ballot sheet, as the party name was in such small print nobody could see it clearly.
In the afternoon I visited a few polling stations and took my wife and son down to Sockburn, via Heighington and Denton, so that they could see some of the nicest places in the constituency. We walked along the river bank in the sunshine by the Tees at Neasham. After this we went up to Wingate in the north and delivered the security passes to Joe Letts.
Here's a photo of me outside Heighington Village Hall:
In the evening we had supper at the Dun Cow and we briefly saw Al Lockwood and his 'partner' (a girl with an exotic name who was about 15 years younger than him and very attractive). We did not get back to Newton Aycliffe for the count until after 11.00pm. It was quite exciting watching the votes all being sorted. Blair's pile was so much bigger than everyone else's that it seemed almost pointless counting them individually.
Cherri Gilham is speaking to me again and looked pretty cool in her BLIAR hat!
The returning officer, Norman Vaulks introduced himself to me and we had a discussion about candidates speeches. We agreed that everyone would be allowed a couple of minutes, given the media interest etc and the batting order would be based on the size of the vote.
Once all the votes had been counted Mr Vaulks spoke to all the candidates and told us what the results were. I was the first person to congratulate Mr Blair. My exact words were: (whilst shaking his hand) 'Please let me let me be the first person to congratulate you Prime Minister , as this result means my party is still in business!' He did not know what to say and looked rather uncomfortable.
None of the speeches were any good apart from Reg Keys' who had clearly spent sometime rehearsing for his and Berony Abraham's, who was great fun. Mine went down quite well too, and I noticed all the cameras start to click and hone in on me when I started to talk in some detail about what a huge mistake Iraq was and how appalling it was that thousands of Iraqi's had lost their lives at the expense of Blair's mistakes. The most baffling speech was made by the National Front man. He had such a broad accent that nobody understood a word of what he was saying. Cherrie Blair looked at me and gave a perplexed grimace whilst he was talking. I raised my eyebrows and twiched my mouth in such I way as to communicate that I did not understand a word either.
I was told by Robert Davies, (BBC Documentaries bloke) that his little documentary about the election in Sedgefield will be shown on 17 May at 10.30 (I think). So, given that they spent a little time filming me, I'm hoping that I may apear on this programme. I only pray that it's not too embarrassing and that I haven't been set up as the bad guy who refused to stand down for Reg Keys.
As for the actual result, well all my votes went to Reg Keys. So my original forecast of 2,000 or so ended up being just a mere 103, which was less than the Monster Raving Looney Party! At least I got into 3 figures though and polled a few more votes than some other candidates.
I got to bed (at Hardwick Arms Hotel) at about 3.30 in the morning with the full knowledge that Mr Blair was going to be back in No 10 before I woke up later in the morning! No surprise there then.
And now I must reflect and think and wonder if it has all been worthwhile. The answer is an emphatic YES.
It's not often that someone can spend 2 or 3 minutes in front of the world's media criticising the Prime Minister while he has to stand and listen in mute embarrassment. Also I got the chance to say sorry to the people of Iraq for the damage we have done to their country.That was worth every penny of my £500 deposit and every second of my campaign.
THANKS TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE READ AND COMMENTED ON MY ELECTION BLOG.
GOODBYE.
Here's a photo of me and my son Harry taken by my wife, Louise, in Richmond (William Hague's constituency, just south of Sedgefield) on the way back home on Friday 6 May. I don't look too look unhappy, do I?
Wednesday 4 May 2005
Over the last few days my enthusiasm to bang on doors and demand that sensible right-thinking folk vote for me rather waned. Somehow I had to admit to myself that there was little point in anyone voting for me now that Reg Keys was the main independent anti-war candidate. Also, Reg had so many supporter's and a really committed team behind him, whereas I was still operating pretty much on my own, as my family (well 40% of it) did not join my until the day before the election!
Monday 2 May 2005
At my suggestion six or seven of us (including Robert Woodthorpe Brown,Joe Letts and Simon Aronowitz/Noel Glynn -both of 9/11 sceptics group)conducted a poll across Sedgefield in order to try and decide if we should support Reg Keys or Robert Brown as the 'official ' anti-war candidate. By my reckoning, Reg is not doing anything like as well as Mr Clay would have us believe and so we decided to set about getting the facts. The results (from Ferryhill, Middleton St George, Newton Aycliffe ) were as follows:-
Lab. Tory Libdem Reg K. Blair Must Go Others Prefer Not to say Not Voting 154 21 39 22 7 12 215 69
My figures for Middleton St George were as follows:- (using same headings)
19 7 7 2 1 1 3 7
This means that Blair is home and dry, unless the 'Prefer Not to Say' category are all voting for an alternative party. But what was interesting about our figures was not only that Robert Browne is doing better than Reg Keys, but that the Libdems are doing better than the Tories. Therefore it was agreed that as Robert Browne was the strongest anti-war candidate we should back him. So Joe Letts sent out a Press Release asking for everyone to support the Libdem man, but I did not see any of the media pick up on this plea.
Sunday 1 May 2005
Attended a musical function at the temporary Peace Camp at Wingate Farm. Also met Billy Christal, the big friendly mid-American style farmer who owns the farm. He was dressed in demin jeans and denim shirt with a 5 gallon type of hat (ie smaller than a proper Texan 10 gallon jobby). I never saw him without a pint of bitter in his huge hand! Robert Woodthorpe Brown showed up and was in good form. Cherri Blairout-Gilham refused to talk to me, otherwise everyone was friendly. I gather that Sedgefield Against War and Reg Keys seem to have fallen out because the latter refused to support Reg Keys' campaign exclusively over other anti-war candidates. Apparently Bob Clay (Reg's agent) has taken a dislike to Sedgefield against War and telling Reg to steer well clear.
Saturday 30 April 2005
I'm in Sedgefield until the election. If I can get access to a computer and have the time, I will try to up-date this site while I'm away. Many thanks in anticipation of your votes next Thursday!
Friday 29 April 2005 (amended)
When Howard claimed last night on the Dimbleby Show that he would have attacked Iraq whether they had WMD or not, this probably cost him a few thousand votes, most of which will go to the Libdems or to nowhere special (ie to Independents or small insignificant parties like this one perhaps!). I doubt whether it will make much difference overall, as according to the Guardian T.Blair will be returned with a 130 seat majority.
Received 3 letters. One had a cheque for £20.00 in it made out to The Blair Must Go Party! Many thanks to Mr St Pierre of Colne, Lincoln. The second one was from a lady in Fishburn (Lisa Wilson) who quite reasonably asked me what my actual policies were (check out my ad in tomorrow's The Northern Echo and you will see), and the third one was from a man from Darlington called John Wilson who said that my leaflet was the best (at least I think he meant mine), but he would be voting for Reg Keys, and that his name is easier to remember. Having taken the time to write to me I would be a little surprised if mine was not still familiar to him on election day. Anyway, let's hope that all the 14 anti-Blair candidates get a massive vote of support. Remember my campaign is not just about the war (take a look at my old website www.thensp.org), but also about Mr Blair's blatent disregard for true Labour policies. Now that Reg Keys is the anti-war candidate I suppose it makes sense for me to push other reasons why Blair should go. But saying we don't trust him, and that he's a liar, and a manipulative duplicitous mass- murdering Bush puppet who should be impeached for war crimes against humanity, does all rather come down to the war doesn't? If I was to major on the fact that he reneged on National Insurance rates and top-up fees, I don't think it would have quite the same bite!
Thursday 28 April 2005
I'm not sure who's running Reg Keys' campaign now. It was Felicity Arbuthnot and then Bob Clay took over as his agent. Perhaps it's someone called Jane Mayes; but whoever it is, they've made a mistake in my view. At one meeting last week, I was given a green leaflet which simply said "You can trust Reg Keys to tell the truth" .(Their bold lettering). At the same time I was given another leaflet, which had a a letter from Reg keys printed on it. The address at the top was: 11 Alhambra Terrace, Fishburn TS21 4BR.! (ie a local Sedgefield address). As Reg lives near Bala Lake in North Wales, I must admit to feeling slightly miffed about this. The two leaflets at separate events or at the same event but at different times... maybe, but together?! So I found myself feeling the reverse of the statement; ie that even Reg Keys is not telling the truth! He should have insisted on the all important 'c/o' at the top of his letter. Anyway, I know it's not Reg, he's a nice enough bloke. But, for Godsake, will someone give the poor man some decent advice in future!
I see that Iraq is still on the agenda, with a leaked document about the Attorney General's prevarications. I note that Lord Goldsmith would appear to have gone underground until after the election. I would profer a guess that this is in case he is asked too many awkward questions which he can't answer honestly without landing Tony.B. in the S.H.ONE.T.
I've had an e-mail of complaint from a Mr Eric Potts. His e-mail reads as follows:
> Dear Sir,
>
> I have no intention of helping you. I would ask only "What on earth are you doing cluttering up the village notice boards in the Sedgefield area with your candidature based on the oddball slogan "Blair must Go" ? There is no way you can parachute your way into Sedgefield on such a thin prospectus.
>
> You could not represent the constituency, attend Parliament and keep in contact with your home in Gloucestershire.
>
> You could not possibly hold referendums here on Govt measures prior to casting your vote in the House. In Britain we do not elect that kind of representative.
>
> All in all a poorly conceived strategy.
>
> Eric Potts
It's great to hear that someone has put up one of my leaflets on a noticeboard somewhere in Sedgefield! (Perhaps 'Our man in Sedgefield' has given up on his mate Blair at last and is distributing for me!). But it's ironic that I should get this sort of e-mail after voicing my own reservations about where to put up posters on 17 April(see below). Here is my reply:-
Dear Mr Potts,
Thanks for your e-mail. I have not put up any stickers or posters or any
campaign material on any noticeboards in Sedgefield or anywhere else.
You will, however, receive a leaflet distributed by the Royal Mail, just
like other parties.
I do not intend to live in Gloucestershire if elected, I will move to
Sedgefield. Indeed this is one of my only two election promises. (If it
does not say that in my material, then someone has put up an old
leaflet). Secondly, it is becoming common practice by some MP's to ask
their constituents how to vote (on non-party issues). It's not too
difficult, with e-mails and the internet (as this communication
proves), to hold mini referenda. I rather agree with your comments on
the thin prospectus, but remember, this campaign is an anti-Blair
campaign. A sack of old potatoes would receive my vote before Blair.
Most people in the Labour Party are becoming aware that Mr Blair has
become a liability, but only the good folk of Sedgefield can do
anything about it at this moment. As I'm really a Labour
supporter, (providing Blair goes), I'm likely to vote with Labour on most
issues. Please take a look at my old website (www.thensp.org), if you
want more polices. I don't expect to be arranging my move at the end of
next week though, but it is everyone's democratic right to stand and
this is something I look forward to exercising. Thank you for your time
and I aplogise if someone has thought fit to put up my election
material on your noticeboard. I presume you have removed it, so it is
no longer cluttering the parish notices and thank you for doing so.
Regards
Jonathan Cockburn
Wednesday 27 April 2005 (Up-dated again! See below)
I notice that 'Our man in Sedgefield' (www.ourmaninsedgefield.blogdrive.com) has given this Blog the thumbs up! Thanks. This will annoy Cherri B-O Gilham, who told me to ignore his site! Sorry Cherri, but for reasons of balance, I feel compelled to print compliments as well as criticisms! Why didn't he introduce himself when I was last in Sedgefield? Typical blogger, likes to hide behind his keypad I guess. Still maybe we'll meet up if I find out where he lives from the electoral register and drop by, canvassing for his vote!
Up-date on generous donation.
........ As I was saying (before being interrupted by domestic and social responsibilites), the BMG Party has been given some dosh. Well, okay not actual cash but some space in The Northern Echo, which is almost the same thing! A rich businessman, called Jimmy Walter, who believes that 9/11 was not as straightforward as we all would like to think, heard that I was mounting an anti-Blair campaign and gave me a call. After a good and frank conversation (including statements like "kick his arse,") he said he would pay for 2 half-page ads in the Northern Echo. These will be coming out this Friday and Saturday. So I'm busy putting some ideas together. I'm still staying with the anti-war theme, but I've also devised a 'BLAIR QUESTIONNIARE' which people can fill in before they vote.As the £30 promised by Mr Paul of Birmingham never materialised, this more than makes up for it.(Up-date. I've since been told a half-page ad costs £4,100, so a very generous donation indeed).
The Blair Must Go Party has been given a really generous donation at last! My wife's just come in to remind me that it's my daughter's 16th birthday today and we're going out. I'll give you the low down on this huge money offer later.........
Tuesday 26 April 2005
I'm starting to get regular e-mails either supporting my campaign or telling me to quit in favour of Reg Keys. No-one has asked my to quit in favour of Mr Blair yet! So I've developed a stock reply to save me from having to churn out the same arguments each time. My reasons for not withdrawing now are as follows:
I offered to stand down for Reg Keys if the Tories and Libdems did too. I also asked Mr Keys if he would stand down in favour of the Libdem candidate, but he said he would not. Anyway there are now 15 candidates standing and my ticket is not just anti-war, but anti Blair for other reasons too.
I wrote to Mr Blair on 16 Dec 2002 telling him that I would be standing against him if he invaded Iraq, so if I broke this promise (unless there were
really compelling reasons to do so - like everyone dropping out in favour of
one candidate), I would be no better than him. Also, it's too late to drop out, as close of withdrawal of nominations was last Tuesday 19 April.
As for whether you should vote for me or Reg Keys, that's down to you on the day. One argument is that it did not take some horrendous tragedy in my life to persuade me to stand. In effect, because I made this decision in the cold light of day on 16 Dec 2002, I may be a little bit more objective in Parliament than Mr Keys, whose life has been put into turmoil by this appalling Government's non-ethical foreign policies. Surely he would be better off looking after his grieving wife than campaigning against Mr Blair. And after all this, if he gets elected, the poor sod will be expected to move away from his home and friends and come up to Sedgefield! So way not give the man a break and vote for someone who really wants the job!? Anyway, checkout my mini poll (in Blog on Sat 23 April) and don't get too excited, as Blair will be returned with a comfortable majority ...etc.
Monday 25 April 2005
I've just read Cherri Blair-Out Gilham's home page. There's a bit about me in it. I'm slightly bemused by it, I must confess. I quote:
"Yes. I'm doing it. I'm standing!!! (Subject to 23.59.59......On your marks).
Even though I've been subjected to various dirty tricks from different factions of the quasi-political world.
I've had another candidate covertly dissin me at every turn, even though that person has plagiarised & assimilated my ideas, suggestions and general help to further their own campaign. I call him the snake. And I tell it to his face. Because I'm not afraid of people with small brains and no ideas of their own."
I'm not quite sure which ideas I've plagiarised, as I called my party 'Blair Must Go' long before she came up with 'Blair Out'. Also, I've never been accused of having no ideas of my own before! According to my wife I've got too many ideas of my own. Anyway, I upset Cherri by copying her in on a letter I sent to Keith Mothersson (of tactical voter fame). It was a bit harsh, but I said: "Cherri Gilham is a nice lady, but hardly a serious contender to take on Blair. She’s enjoying the media attention, and clearly she’s more interested in promoting herself than her politics. But then why shouldn’t she? I like her and I will continue to encourage her to stand."
On reflection this sounds a bit patronising (something I've been accused of by an academic from Durham University earlier on in this campaign), but what's 'covert' about letting her know what I've said? Also, I was wrong about one point. After the initial 'Page 3' girl revelations, we've hardly heard from her. I thought she was in it for the self-publicity, but she has not addressed any meetings, hustings or audiences and she's not been seen in Sedgefield since nominations day. So it would seem neither promoting herself nor her politics is high on her list. I must say, even though she thinks I'm a snake, she's actually quite a laugh, quirky and good company. (Oh no, that sounds patronising again.I'll stop now before I dig myself into an even bigger hole).
Sunday 24 April 2005 (Amended)
A day out of politics.
Spent the day dealing with my sheep and doing the gardening. As far as the sheep were concerned, I did all the horrible jobs, like dagging, worming and clipping their feet. As I'm the only one who will handle the sheep in our family at the moment, it was a lot of work. (My wife usually helps, but put her back out a few weeks ago so is taking it easy, and the children remind me that it was my decision to breed sheep not theirs. I remind them that it was also me and Louise's decision to breed them, and they were bred to help, not to lie around all day strumming guitars and getting in the way!). The easiest part was moving the sheep across our lane to a field on the otherside (where the grass is greener) as, being sheep, they dutifully followed the first one who is hooked on yew nuts, which I dangled before her eyes in a bucket. I'm sure there's a political moral there somewhere.
Here's a picture of my family taken by me this morning. Left to right Harry, Poppy, Elliot and my wife Louise and our sheep dog, Bailey.
In the evening watched a video of 'The Apprentice' in which Alan Sugar fires a hopeful potential employee each week. This week the swine fired a very nice and capable girl (Miriam), who did a great presentation job on a Shopping TV channel, and he kept on the slimy Paul, who does nothing to contribute to the team and is always very quick to criticise others before bragging about his own pathetic contribution. I guarantee either him or Tim go next week and my money is on Paul being rumbled.
Saturday 23 April 2005
On 23 March I did a mini poll (just 20 people) in Newton Aycliffe to find out how people intended to vote. These were my results:-
LABOUR 10 (50%), TORY 1 (5%), LIDEM 1 (5%), BNP 2 (10%), UNDECIDED /NOT BOTHERING 4 (20%), BLAIR MUST GO 2 (10%).
Please note that I told some of them who I was, so I suspect the 2 'Blair Must Go' votes were given to me out of politeness rather than as a real indication of voting intentions, as they did not know anything about me or my plans.
I did another mini poll (20 people at random) today (no mention of who I was this time) , once again in Newton Aycliffe. The results were as follows:-
LABOUR 9 (45%), TORY 3 (15%), LIBDEMS 5 (25%), INDEPENDENT 1 (5%), UNDECIDED/NOT BOTHERING 2 (10%)
So I think all the publicity that Reg Keys has got will not change things that much. We really needed the Tories and the Libdems to withdraw if anyone was going to give Blair a run for his money, and nice though Reg Keys may be, I don't think he is the white knight that Martin Bell was in Tatton (where, incidently, he had a clear run, with the other two main parties dropping out). My leaflet campaign starts on Monday, so all is not lost for the Blair Must Go Party yet!
Attended a slightly comical meeting organised by Segefield Against War, in Fishburn Welfare Hall in the afternoon. Me, Helen John (Ind) and Bob Browne (Libdem) all turned up, but Reg Keys, the other anti-war candidate who was invited did not come. There were only about 15 people in the audience, yet the chairperson ran it as though there were hundreds there all wanting to speak. The 3 PPC's were given just 5 minutes to give a pitch as to what we stood for etc. I was pretty crap, as I had no idea this was going to be the form of the meeting. Nevertheless, I got through it. Later, in the second half, when the vast audience had dwindled to about 7 people, I was able to expand some of my ideas and views. I'm developing a real liking for Helen John and Bob Browne. Helen is completely focused on getting American air bases out of the UK and getting American nuclear bombs out of Europe. Every question, whether it be on health, education or taxes all came back to nuclear weapons. Her line was roughly as follows: What's the point of educating people just be blown apart by nuclear weapons.....(and as for health) ... Depleted uranium is the biggest problem facing the Iraqis now due to all the bombs being dropped....As for questions on taxes...milllions of pounds going into Starwars project which is controlled by the Americans. could be saved for education and health .....etc. As for Bob,(Robert Woodthorpe-Browne), he's a real charmer and even able to poke fun at himself. Also, at least he turns up to all the meetings unlike the other two main parties' candidates. I genuinely think I might vote for him if I was in Sedgefield as I think he would be a rather fun MP.
FRIDAY 22 APRIL 2005
Went to Royal Mail at Middlesbrough and then to Darlington to make absolutely sure my leaflets had arrived safely at each depot and that eveything was ready for them (43,900 of them), to be distributed next week.
Decided to go to the very most southerly house in the constituency, which transpired to be Sockburn Hall. Sockburn is one of the prettiest areas in the region in my opinion (and I've travelled all over), with lovely rolling hills, open countryside and spectacular views across the river Tees, which surrounds it in a big loop. At Sockburn Hall I met a pleasant and well spoken lady called Miss Gatherall ( I think), who appeared to be living in a caravan right next to a semi- derelict, but beautiful mock Jacobean house (? ) built in Georgian times which had obviously seen better days. I then went to a fabulous farm next door and spoke to a potato grower. I noticed his car registration number was 'TAT1E' ! Then I visited a nice bloke who, with his brother, runs a farm fattening pigs and cattle. He had 900 hundred piglets in various barns all running about very happily, oblivious of their fate! Next I spoke to a local doctor's wife who told me that Blair had lost people's trust and did not listen. I smiled and then smuggly gave her my leaflet, which says precisely these things. Finally, (in the Sockburn area), I met a really charming old gentleman who was driving his little invalid buggy down the road towards Neasham. We got on so well he invited me back to his house. It's amazing what you can find out about someone in 15 minutes if you ask alot of questions and listen. This man was 90 years old (I thought he was about 80). He was called Pip Lancaster. He had been in the navy and commanded two large ships. He has a son who is a Headmaster in a prep school called Maidwell in Northamptonshire. The son, who went to Selwyn College Cambridge, (I saw this from a college picture of him taken at Cambridge), used to work for Barclays in the City but decided to give up the rat race in order to take a teaching qualification in Durham. Pip lives with his daughter and his two grand-daughters. He has his own self-contained flat on the ground floor, with lots of photographs including one of him and his younger brother taken about 80 years ago. His wife died, as did his daughter's husband (unexpectedly and tragically), so the daughter and father (widow and the widower) are company for one another now. His daughter was out for the day taking her daughter to look round an art school in Leeds. He used to live in, Chobham (or Cobham), Poole and Minorca. He took his children on sailing holidays during the summer, to France and to the Scillies. He said, looking out from his new conservatory across the neat and prim garden, "Aren't I a lucky boy to have this place to live and a daughter to look after me. I'm a lucky boy aren't I?" To which I could only reply: "Yes sir, you're a lucky boy." He had a really positive attitude for someone of his age and has asked me to look him up next time I'm in the area, which I will be delighted to do.
Apart from Sockburn I went to Hurworth, Neasham, Dinsdale, Middleton St George, and Great Stainton.
In the evening I went to another fantastic talk (once again organised by Luci Carolan and Sedgefield Against War). This time it was an Iraqi lady called Susan Karim, who now lives in Scotland (but went back to Iraq earlier this year), and Paul Milling, an ex-magistrate of 59, who broke into a US miliary base at Fairford, Gloucester just before the Iraq war. He damaged 2 lorries, 3 petrol tankers and about 20 bomb trollies and, perhaps unsurprisingly, ended up in prison! This is another example of law abiding citizens being so angry and so frustrated by Blair's lies and deceits that they've taken direct action. Sadly, only about a dozen or so people showed up. David Shayler (Ex M15 whistleblower) was supposed to be one of the speakers, but he failed to show up as well. What a shame that hardly anyone is listening to these fantastic speakers.
Thursday 21 April 2005
I was contacted by Helen Shearer of 'BBC Documentaries' asking me if I would like to be interviewed. So at 5.00pm we met up at 'The Inn on the Green', in Sedgefield with her and her producer, a tall good looking young-ish man, called Robert Davies. We did a did a couple of hours of filming around Sedgefield, including one section of me driving around shouting that Blair's got to go etc. through a megaphone which I had strapped to the roof of my car ! I was so involved with the interview that I completely forgot to ask them what the programme would be called and when it will be released ( duh brain!), but will let you know when I contact her again.
In the evening went to a really good talk given by Count Hans von Sponeck, who was the Assistant Secretary General to the UN. He told us that the 13 years of sanctions had had a devastating effect on the people of Iraq. He also said that the West stole oil from Iraq during the 'food for oil' programme. From 1996 - 2003 $64 Billion worth of oil was legally exported from Iraq and only $28 Billion of humanitarian supplies were given back. The infant mortality rate in Iraq rose from 56 per 1000 to 131 per 1000 due to sanctions. Today the situation in Iraq is even worse than it was under Saddam Hussein. A lot of people no longer have running water, only intermittant electricity, and the cost of oil has multiplied, sanitation is terrible, and people are dying from diahorrea/dysentery from drinking contaminated tap water. Due to blanket bombing, sewage regularly leeks or backs-up into the 'fresh' tap water systems. People are too frightened to send their children to school, because of car bombs and violence and 60% - 75% of people are unemployed depending on the area. Straw and Blair may still be patting themselves on the back, but according to alot of informed people, it looks like they really have screwed up in Iraq. Mr Sponeck said that Bush and Blair should be held accountable for the atrocities being carried out in Iraq.
Ended the day having a quick drink (orange juice) in the Dun Cow with Al Lockwood, Nick Crass and his wife. I can't wait to have a 'proper' drink on election day, when my self-imposed booze ban ceases. I'm not a raving alco, but when I made my New Year's resolution I thought it a good way of saving a few pennies which I could put towards the Blair Must Go Party coffers; but soft drinks cost almost as much as wine and beer. A pint of orange squash/lemonade mix costs £2.00 in the Dun Cow and £2.25 in The Hope and only £1.00 in The Golden Lion.
20 APRIL 2005
Spent most of the day at the printers packing 44,000 leaflets into boxes and marking them up and sticking labels on them for the various Distribution Offices around Sedgefield. My printer has also done leaflets for the Libdems locally and complained bitterly to me about Labour doing all its printing centrally instead of in various local constituences. It would seem that 6 of the 15 candidates standing are availing themselves of the Royal Mail's free election leaflet distribution service. These are:- the three main parties, Veritas, Reg Keys, (Independent) and lastly The Blair Must Go Party. It will be very interesting to see if the leaflet drop makes any difference to the overall result. I suppose alot depends on what's in the literature and whether people believe the contents. Perhaps my literature will actually lose me votes! I can just imagine saying in a few weeks time......"Well, if only I hadn't sent out all those leaflets telling eveyone they were gits if they voted for Blair, who knows I would be an MP by now...etc! If you want a free copy, then please send me a S.A.E. and I'll send one off to the first 100 (I'm not expecting a big rush, but you never know). Address details are under 'Join our Campaign' The front of the leaflet is already reproduced under 'Poster Campaign' and the back is virtually word for word what's on my all important Home Page. Check out my only two election promises. I'm not one for breaking promises, that's why I'm standing (see my letter to Blair) but I suppose the less promises you make, the easier they are to keep!
19 April 2005
Good old Royal Mail! Let's keep it in the public sector, or has it already been privatised without us realising?
The Royal Mail has refunded all my printing and distribution costs for my anti-Blair election literature (see Poster Campaign), which they first agreed to distribute and then refused to handle because my literature was so 'inflammatory'! (see entry 22 March below for details). Well that is the second victory this week! Let's hope my luck is not fast running out. The first one was a win for Jonathan Cockburn -v- The London Borough of Wandsworth, who employ a traffic warden who pretended he'd issued me with a parking ticket (see case no 2040508754 if you're an investigative journalist and prepare to get very bored)! I've been banging on about this fictitious parking ticket since last July! So much for the speed of the Appeals Service. Still a victory is a victory (and releases an extra £80 for my 'Blair Must Go' pot). So surely, with this sort of tenacity, I'm exactly the sort of person Sedgefield needs! Okay, it could work the other way...that I'm an obstinate sod etc., but at least I see the course through.
18 April 2005
Received my first letter (via e-mail) of complaint from a person who lives in the Sedgefield constituency. She gave it to me straight (a typical Cockburn I suppose) by saying :-
Having been born a Cockburn I do hope that you are no distant relative of
mine. Despite being no great admirer of Tony Blair I think your Election literature is in very bad taste. To superimpose Mr Blair's head on such
an appalling picture is unforgivable.
Do you really expect to gain support with such a slanderous
leaflet? Comments please! I am certain that the people in the North of England will not be taken in by such nastiness. They are far too loyal and much nicer folk than you seem to realise.Dorothy Mutch. (Mrs)
Here is my reply:-
Dear Mrs Mutch,
Thank you for your e-mail. Thank you also for having the honesty to
complain directly to me.
You are the very first person to complain about the 'Blair is a War
Criminal' leaflet and I've distributed about 3,000 of these now.
Nevertheless, please let me aplogise if the leaflet has caused you some
offence. Not as much offence, I would guess, as Blair and Bush have
caused 70,000 - 100,000 Iraqi civilians who have needlessly died in
Blair's illegal war. Not as much offence as their families or as much
offence as the 86 British soldiers who have perished due to Blair's lies. (Lies about WMD and lies about Iraq being a threat to us etc.)
Nevertheless, in view of your comments I have decided to withdraw this
leaflet. I too have my reservations, only because it could be
misinterpreted. One complaint is one too many.Blair's head is supposed
to be symbolic, because he's the person who sent 'our boys' out to Iraq
and therefore he is ultimately responsible for what happens out there.
I have never thought the people of Sedgefield are nasty, I think they have
voted for a very nasty person though, (as I suppose I did in effect, by
voting Labour) and I am hoping they will not vote for him again. The
people of Sedgefield have been very friendly and courteous to me on all
the visits I have made to the area, and I am sorry my literature has
made you think otherwise.
Yours apologetically,
Jonathan Cockburn
Watch out for a revised leaflet. I hope that you will be less
embarrassed/offended by the name 'Cockburn' appearing on the next one.
NB. In the original reply to her I said 86 British 'families' instead of 'soldiers'
Well, on balance I think Mrs Mutch was right to complain. So looks like no more 'Blair is a war criminal' leaflets. The man at the paper recycle centre will be pleased and anyway my new leaflet is 10x better.
17 April 2005 (amended)
It's a shame that the www.blairditch.blogspot site has made up a load of rubbish about what I am supposed to have said, and what Helen John said last Thursday at the Sedgefield Against War meeting at the Hope Inn. All that drivel about me saying Blair 'doesn't have enough fun in his job...' etc. is complete fantasy made up by them to discredit anyone who is standing against Blair, because they're backing Reg Keys. Their tactic is to interweave made-up quotes between actual quotes taken from our literature to make the former seem authentic. I'm sure that Reg Keys would be angry that this sort of thing is going on. Call me naive, but if this part of the site is full of bullshit, then it makes me question everything else on their site, which until now I've taken at face value.
I forgot to say, Bob Clay also told me that David Shayler is not standing. So the 11 candidates I refer to below must include a couple of newcomers.
Received my first offer of financial support! A very generous person has offered £30 towards my election costs. I thought I would spend it on a few posters, but I'm a bit concerned about where they can legitimately be put up. You never know, perhaps someone would be brave enough to put a 'Blair Must Go' poster in their window? Probably best to print: "Poster put up at owners risk" on the back in case of any nasty insurance claims.
Had a couple of e-mails supporting my campaign. Had a couple of e-mails from people asking me to stand down in favour of Reg Keys. Also had a call from Bob Clay, (Reg's agent) telling me that Reg Keys is now running neck and neck with Blair (I'm not sure where he got his information), and that I should stand down. I reiterated my position on this which is as follows:I have already offered to stand down in favour of Reg Keys, providing that the Libdem man (Bob Browne)and the Conservative man (Al Lockwood) also stand down. But all of them have refused to do so. I said to Reg Keys last Tuesday evening, "If the Libdems have got the best chance of unseating Blair then will you stand down?" and he replied that he couldn't because of various media commitments etc. So I'm a little confused as to why little old me should stand down when I have been the one campaigning against the war and for the Sedgefield seat the longest (apart from Helen John maybe who stood last time) and when 11 other candidates have already registered their nominations. After all, I'm probably the only socialist standing (see my old party (The New Socialist Party) website: www.thensp.org). And there's no way that Mr Blair can call himself a socialist any longer (or is there....?) He'll say anything won't he? Nevertheless, I'm rather flattered that Bob Clay got so cross with me that he put the telephone down on me without saying 'goodbye' . Does he really think I'll poll enough votes to make any impact on his campaign? I've earmarked myself for only about 500 votes (if I'm lucky) Now that Reg Keys is 'the man in the white suit' though, every other candidate seems to be his supporters' enemy and our democratic rights are nothing. I guess the view is if we are not with Reg Keys we're agin him. Where have I heard that one before?
16 April (2) 2005 (with typos corrected)
Well things really are shaping up in Sedgefield. I presented my Electoral Nomination Form and a cheque for £500.00 (the price for exercising my democratic rights). The normination form gave me a few problems because the very last person to sign it ( 10 signatures are required) was a girl of just 18 who was looking forward to voting for the first time. Unfortunately, when my form was checked-out the girl was not on the electoral register, so unauthorised to sign my form! I therefore had to start from scratch again, and picked up all of my nominations in less the a couple of hours. This rather supports my argument that Mr Blair is not that popular in Sedgefield. When I handed my forms into the Returning Officer for Sedgefield he told me that 11 people had submitted nomination papers to stand (including the pontiff himself I guess), and that two more will do so on Monday! So Mr Blair and 12 people good and true - a jury of Blair opponents. I think a couple of local names have come forward at last. I was mistaken about Helen John, she lives near Leeds, but a 75 year old local busiessnessman will be standing for UKIP, and another independent is also local. I see from Reg Keys' literature that he has also become local, as his only address is given as 11 Alhambra Terrace, Fishburn. Quite frankly, while I think this is a bit misleading (given that he actually lives near Bala in North Wales), he can get away with almost anything like this morally in my book, because he really has had his life wrecked by Tony B. and others.But he is in danger of being manipulated by lots of media and advisers and I wonder how his campaign will mature.
Last Thursday 14 April (amended) was a very wet day on the campaign trail. I went to Ferryhill and a load of little places in between. Also I managed a quick business meeting in Middlesborough. Dropped into Radio Cleveland, while I was there and asked if there was any chance of an interview. I was told, now the election is on, the BBC has to be very careful about who they interview etc. Mmmm....., before the election when I contacted them last year they told me that they would be interested in intervieweing me closer to the election. So no luck there. Met up with Cherri Blairout-Gilham in The Four Pegs (or something) Tearooms for tea. In the evening I attended a very interesting meeting in The Hope Inn, Sedgefield arranged by Sedgefield Against War. Two womem talked about the war in Iraq. One, a young English girl called Jo Wilding, a human rights worker, had been in Falluja during the bombing and the other, Haifa Zangana, was an Iraqi. They were both excellent. Had an unexpected opportunity to address the audience and explained why I was standing. Got a few signatures for my Nomination form (you need 10 in total). Met Al Lockwood in the Dun Cow again. He's a nice bloke and was very friendly, even though I'm a socialist. He seems to view me as though I'm on the same side, which of course, in a very funny way, I am. Blair Must Go....etc. Mr Lockwood said he would buy me a pint if I got more than 500 votes and I've offered him one for more than 8,000.
Last Wednesday 13 April 2005 I drove all over the Sedgefield constituency. I went to Fishburn, Trimdon Colliery/Village/Grange, Heighington, Denton, Piercebridge and of course Sedgefield itself. I also went to Blair's house, 'Myrabella' (locally known as salmonella) and handed in one of my 'Are you really going to vote for the man that did this' leaflets to one of the armed policemen protecting his house. "If I get elected you'll be out of a job," I said with a smile. "No I won't" he said, with a big friendly grin. "I suppose you'll move on to a better one?" I added and he agreed! So it looks like even Blair's own bodyguards (who probably have nothing to do for 355 days a year), are hoping I get in too! I went to the Dun Cow pub in the evening and overheard the people at the next table talking about me, Reg Keys and Bobby Browne! I started to listen very carefully and discovered that they were the Tory boys (Al Lockwood, Nick Crass and Bill M.). I felt too guilty to carry on listening to them, so decided to introduce myself! They were a little put out at first, and I could see them thinking, 'what has he heard'? But once we started talking they were very civil and Al Lockwood invited me to pull up my chair.
Last Tuesday 12 April I went to a Sedgefield Against War meeting in The Golden Lion. Met Robert Woodthorpe-Browne (soon he'll be known as just Bobby Browne I guess). He is an elderly smoothie, a good speaker, with a plummy voice who knows his stuff. Unfortunately he talks just like a politician, which is probably why he's never been elected to a Parliamentary seat. He told me that Sarah Kennedy (wife of the Libdem leader and recent mum), was his cousin. So nepotism is alive and kicking in the Libdem party! When asked if we could not all stand down for Reg Keys to be the only anti-war candidate, Bobby Browne told everyone present that he would only stand down if the Tories stood down. I asked Reg Keys if he would stand down for Robert Browne, (after all, the Libdems may have the best chance of ousting Blair), but he said he would not because of media commitments etc. Stalemate. Helen John told us that she would definitely be standing come hell or high water and that we should all exercise our democratic rights. I said I would be willing to sacrifice my democratic rights in favour of kicking Blair out.
16 April 2005(1)
Due to popular demand I 've put my blog back on line (You only have yourselves to blame, and anyway, I guess you don't have to read this drivel if you don't want to). The sites in question have agreed to point my site at my first page on their links. Bloggers accuse me of being churlish etc, but they know better than most that when people 'hit' a site for the first time, the majority don't move off the first page, that's why it was important to get this changed. Bloggers are different, they are also interested in what's happening behind the scenes, and so more likely to drill down through the site.
I'll give you an up-date on my recent trip to Sedgefield later today.
12 April 2005
Sadly, a couple of supposedly impartial sites have put a link from their site directly into my Diary/Blog therefore by-passing my 'The Blair Must Go Party' home page, which is really what my campaign is all about. The Blog was supposed to be a bit of light reading about the election etc, but was not intended to detract from some of the very serious points I am making about Mr Blair and why he should be voted out of office at the next election. I don't mind having my blog linked to other blogger's sites (indeed I thought this not a bad idea at all), but when serious sites direct people straight to my Blog, instead of to my home page, I begin to wonder if they really want people to read the arguments I have given as to why Blair must go. For this reason, unfortunately I have had to remove my blog. I will consider putting it back on line at a later date. during the election
9 April 2005
This blogging thing is getting addictive. I'm spending too much time checking what bloggers are saying rather than saying things myself! CheckoutThis blogging thing is getting addictive. I'm spending too much time checking what bloggers are saying rather than saying things myself! Checkout www.ourmaninsedgefield.blogdrive.com who really should be standing because he's clearly a political animal and has the big advantage of being the local guy, whereas the rest of us (apart from Helen John), are interlopers from the south. Oh yeah...., I just remembered, he actually likes Blair, doesn't he? But then so must Al Lockwood and Robert Woodthorpe-Brown, because these newcomers are the ones who are splitting my vote and going to keep T.B. in his job!
8 April 2005
Saw a little piece on Newsnight about Reg Keys in Sedgefield last night. Al Lockwood (new Tory candidate) got a mention and his agent, Nick Crass, who I spoke to yesterday, was also interviewed. Al Lockwood was nowhere to be seen though! John Burton, Blair's agent, was also interviewed. He made a bit of a balls-up of his interview though, by saying that it was a good idea for Blair to stay away from Sedgefield during the election.Robert Woodthorpe-Brown got a mention too (but was nowhere to be seen) and so even did ex MI5 publicist David Shayler, (who is rumoured to be standing down (according to Newsnight). Unfortunately The Blair Must Go Party did not even get a passing mutter regarding our existence! Does this mean my slow build-up tactics are proving to be a little bit too slow possibly?! Had a chat with Reg Keys last night. I told him that we should all be busy making Blair's election campaign as uncomfortable a ride as possible. I reiterated my earlier offer, that if it becomes a two horse race (ie if Tories, UKIP and Libdems all drop out), then of course I will throw in my towel as well. He has not had the arrogance to ask me to stand down himself and we have both agreed to work along side each other.
6 April
I was well and truly corrected on a number of points by Tom Hamilton in his blog (www.letsbesensible.blogspot.com). He has rightly pointed out that if Blair is really a Tory, as I maintain, then why would the Tories not vote for him? And if he isn't, why would Tories vote for someone who thinks he is?! Actually, the point I am making is that Blair is duplicitous, so he should either have the balls to wear a Tory badge or change his policies to reflect his Labour credentials. He has got me thinking though...how many of Blair's votes come from Tories I wonder?Finally Tom said that he knows that politicians make promises; but he seemed rather sceptical about my claim that if I got elected the world would become a safer place over night! Please let me make this clear....if a sack of mouldy potatoes got elected instead of Blair, the world would be a safer place. I don't claim to be the saviour, I just happen to think Blair is verging on insanity and should be relieved from his position of power asap.
A couple of days ago I received a telephone call from Bob Clay (ex Labour MP for Sunderland) asking me if I was willing to stand aside for Reg Keys. I told him that I had invested loads of time, money and energy into my campaign and that I was in this for the whole hog etc. I did offer him the one promise, if it ever came down to a two horse race between Reg Keys and Blair, and I was the only candidate in the way, then I would stand down. But today I spoke to Robert Woodthorpe-Browne (who has decided to use just plain old Mr Browne in Sedgefield) and Nick Crass (Tory agent for Tory PPC, just plain old Mr AL Lockwood). Both these gents were friendly (even though they know I've been knocking their parties), but both said there was no way they (or, in the latter's case his candidate), was going to stand aside for Reg Keys. Indeed, Mr W-B said Reg Keys should be standing aside for him! We'll have to see what happens. Once you've put in your nomination papers and the Royal Mail has distributed your literature then it's too late to back out, (unless you're very rich) because the Royal Mail will demand £8,700 for the distribution of your literature if you then subsequently fail to stand. So next Friday is cut off day for me.
4 April
At last a national newspaper has been made aware of my campaign in Sedgefield and decided to help me spread the word! Julia Hartley-Brewer, political editor of The Sunday Express, wrote a small piece about me last Sunday. While extremely grateful for any publicity, she made one small error, by referring to me as 'the latest' candidate to stand against Blair. Actually, I think my campaign was the first one on the ground, as it was launched last September. Since then I have visited all the main towns and most villages in the Sedgefield constituency. I have delivered my various anti-Blair leaflets to over 3,000 houses personally. I doubt if Al Lockwood (Tory candidate) or Robert Woodthorpe-Browne of the Libdems, or Mr William Brown of UKIP have had enough time to get very well aquainted with Sedgefield residents, as all three have only recently been appointed. Why can't the main opposition parties get their acts together and appoint PPC's 3 or 4 years before an election so that their candidates can actually get to know the people they are supposed to be representing..... then, perhaps, Sedgefield voters may think they are a little bit more sincere and, God forbid, possibly vote for them? I only wish I had started my campaign when I first wrote to Mr T. Blair telling him that I would be standing against him in December 2002.
31 March 2005
I note that Sedgefield's newly appointed Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Liberal Democratic Party keeps changing his name! When his name first appeared on the Libdems official website less than a week ago, he was called Robert Woodthorpe-Browne (the same Robert Woodthorpe-Browne that stood for the Libdems in May 2002 at local elections in Kensington and Chelsea I presume). Well, his name now appears on the Libdem's website as simply Robert Browne! Clearly Woodthorpe-Brown was acceptable to the people of Kensington and Chelsea, so, why not to the people of Sedgefield? The returning officer for Sedgefield may wonder if the man is genuine or not if he keeps forgetting to put half of his name down on official documents!
Had a another interesting and productive trip to Sedgefield. On Tuesday night I attended Sedgefield Against War's weekly meeting and explained what my campaign plans were for the next few weeks. Everyone who attended approved of my new: 'Are you really going to vote for the man that sanctioned this?' election leaflet. On Wednesday I did alot of leaflet dropping and canvassing in Ferryhill. In the evening I met Reg Keys and Felicity Arbuthnot (his agent), who were both very friendly. I have agreed to work alongside Reg Keys, as we both have very similar aims. If it looks like getting to be a close run thing nearer to the election, then we have both agreed to back the stronger candidate. I doubt (but sincerely hope) that it will come to this. But let's wait and see, as I really think my campaign could do some real damage to Blair's majority.
22 March
ROYAL MAIL CENSORS POLITICAL LEAFLET
Unfortunately, I've run into a major problem with regard to my 14,750 leaflet drop, as the Royal Mail, who initially said they would be willing to distribute my leaflets, has decided to withdraw their services. They stated that my leaflet is 'too inflammatory' because I have made the following statements:- 'Blair is a liar, 'He is a war criminal' and 'He is dishonest' . If I remove these and the 'Don't Re-Elect a War Criminal!' heading from the front of the leaflet, along with the super-imposed photo of Blair, then they will re-consider their decision.
So basically, the Royal Mail has decided to put itself in the position of judge, censor and arbiter of people's opinions. It would seem that if one's opinions do not concur with their own views, then they will not distribute the material in question. Which makes you wonder if this really is the open, fair and free society we all would like to think it is. Either way, it's a good example of Blair-fuelled paranoia.
19 March
Went to the Anti War Coalition 'Bring the Troops Home' demo in London today. My 'Blair Must Go ' banner appeared on the 10.10pm news! I briefly met Tariq Ali, and David Shayler and had another chat with Tony Benn. Tariq Ali said everything I have been saying. Namely that we need regime change in the UK. We need to vote out our home grown war criminals. My personal 'axis of evil' has Blair at the top and Straw and Hoon as cohorts in a cabal of misguided and dangerous individuals who do not respect life, do not respect international law and do not respect public opinion. I also spoke to Rose Gentle who's son was tragically killed in the Iraq war . She has very kindly agreed to speak at the demo in Sedgefield on 30 April. Venue details are still being sorted, so once these have been confirmed I will post them on the site.
17 March
With help from my son, we did a drop of approximately 1,600 'Don't Re-Elect a War Criminal' leaflets in Heighington, Newton Aycliffe, Sedgefield and Fishburn. I met Richard Wanless and Zak Newton again in the Black Lion and also Martin King, one of the founder members of Sedgefield against the war.
9 March
Had an e-mail from David Shayler (you may recall that he's the MI5 whistleblower guy), informing me that he was discussing 'the possibility of... standing' in Sedgefield and asking if people like me would stand down so that it will be 'a single issue election.'
He must have been reading my own website, as that's exactly what I'm trying to do... get everyone to vote for me so as to not split the anti-Blair vote! How dare he nick my ideas?! The difference, of course, is that I started my campaign months ago (ask Chris Lloyd of the Northern Echo) and he's the new kid on the block. Mind you, I do agree with practically everything Mr Shayler has to say about our mutual bete noir, Mr T Blair, so overall he's probably sound, even if he's tainted by the murkier side of life. Good luck David, I'll buy you a pint if you get more votes than me. See you on election night.
3 March 2005
Met up with Joe Letts (one of the courageous Bagdad human shield people), Robert Ward, Theo Simons and Luci Carolan, who were on their way back from a visit to the Anti-war Coalition in Sedgefield. Joe Letts was one of the people who was instrumental in getting the Libdems in at Brent East and he was very optimistic about the possibility of removing Blair. Theo asked me if I thought I would get in, and I gave the wrong answer by saying 'no'. But my campaign has not even really started yet, so it would be foolish of me to tell everyone that Blair should be quaking in his little boots. This week sees the beginning of the distribution of my 'Don't re-elect a war criminal' leaflet, whch is going out to 14,750 people in the Sedgefield constituency. I really think this will make people sit up and listen, so I hope to be able to give a positive answer to Theo's question in a few weeks time. In my view The Blair Must Go Party has the best chance of ousting the country's No 1 serial killer because we are appealing to voters across the political spectrum. There is no way that a Tory voter (and there are 8,500 of them) is going to vote for an alternative Labour candidate just because he/she does not like Blair. But they could easily decide to vote for an anti-Blair candidate in order to register their feelings. However, unless one candidate can pick up votes from right across all the main parties there is little hope of unseating Blair.
Sorry to those people I had arranged to see. Unfortunately one of my sheep unexpectedly went into labour yesterday, so I had to stay here in order to deliver my first lamb of the year! As this one has arrived almost 2 weeks early, I will have to hang around here for a bit in case the others lamb early as well. I 'll post a picture of the new addition to my flock in the near future!
10 Feb
Sadly, I had the briefest of visits to Sedgefield, as the connecting trains from Aberdeen to Darlington did not work out due to the tardiness of the first one leaving Aberdeen, which was delayed 15 minutes and caused me to miss 2 connections!
Nevertheless, I met up with a couple of people in the Black Lion in Sedgefield. They are members of the Anti-war coalition and I was quick to be told that they don't have a lot of time for their local MP. Like me, they feel that Blair is outside the law with regard to the war in Iraq, but also they said he had done nothing for Sedgefield and was effectively an absent MP. Also, like me, they have formed the view that Blair has delivered a load of Tory policies in return for socialist votes.
8 Feb
I went to hear Tony Benn (living legend) Caroline Lucas (Green MEP) and John Rees (Anti-war Coalition) in Bristol last night. Over 800 people attended, with the vast majority firmly against the war in Iraq. We were all encouraged to attend the Anti-War Coalition 'Bring the troops home' march on 19 March (in Central London). As John very forcefully said, this is definitely a good opportunity just before an election to make our mark and I will be encouraging as many of my friends as possible to attend. All the people who did not go on the original march have now got their chance to make up for it.
Sadly, although Caroline Lucas was very thoughtful and talked nothing but sense, not one of the speakers really tackled the most obvious point, this being that Blair must go at the next election. The reason for this is that Blair did not listen to us when we marched last time, he has not listened when the Secretary-General of the UN declared the war illegal, and although as many as 70,000 people have been killed since the start of the invasion, he is still not listening. Blair has a classic example of 'deluded leaders syndrome' (Okay my words, but I'm sure it must exist!) What we need to do more than anything else is ensure that Blair, Straw and Hoon are un-elected and booted off the political stage at the next election. (These three represent our home-grown axis of evil here in the UK). No amount of demonstrations will do any good unless they result in a change of policy, leadership or government. And given that the main opposition party also supported the war, there is little choice. When T. Benn said last night that Bush and Blair will both be gone in four years, (i.e. so they don't really matter in the long run), I interupted him and shouted:'They can do alot of damage in four years' to which I got the briefest of non-replies, as he started to ask me about the Blair Must Go Party membership.(!?) Overall though, he gave a great talk and he was thoughtful, reflective and really quite entertaining and very relaxed-looking in his pipe puffing delivery. After attending thousands of similar functions I guess he has answers to every conceivable question. However, if you really want to hear an inspiring politician then don't miss out on George Galloway when he's next in your area.
2 Feb
Went up to London and distributed my anti-Blair literature outside the Houses of Parliament. I met Brian Haw, the anti-war campaigner in Parliament Square and then tried to lobby a few MPs. Quite a number, about 20 - 25 took my 'Blair Must Go Party' pamphlet, including William Hague who said "The Blair Must go Party?... but I thought that was the one I'm in!" before carefully placing the leaflet in his breast pocket.
In the evening I went to an Anti-War Coalition meeting in North London. Jeremy Corbyn and Geroge Galloway were the main speakers and both of them gave extremely compelling and pithy lectures on the dangers of supporting the war and the increasingly tyranical state of the Labour leadership, and the proposed new laws granting the Home Secretary the right to lock up anyone indefinitely without trial on the basis that they may be a threat to society
26 Jan
I've recently been asked why am I doing this. Here is my reply ...
Along with thousands of other people, I wrote to our Prime Minister in December 2002 informing him that Iraq was of little threat to the UK. I also argued that it was quite wrong that we should be supporting the Americans in an invasion of Iraq, given the consequential loss of innocent lives. But all the letters, all the begging, and the demands we made fell on deaf ears. The following February over 2 million people marched against the war and that made no difference either. The loss of perhaps as many as 70,000 – 100,000 lives since the invasion almost 2 years ago also seems to have made no difference. Blair is determined to do what the hell he wants and the electorate, who put him there, can but only watch in disbelief and wonder how they could ever have cast their votes in his favour in the first place. Blair has become a villain; he has betrayed Labour Party principles and he has betrayed the trust we put in him. As the spineless Parliamentary Labour Party has no obvious desire to topple Blair, the only thing which is left now is for the people across the whole political spectrum in his home constituency of Sedgefield to come together and vote him off the political stage. To this end I have formed The Blair Must Go Party
While I appreciate that I may not make much of a dent in his majority, I will be doing my best to secure as many votes as possible in order to cause Blair maximum embarrassment and discomfort. Blair is a liar (ask Gordon Brown), he is a bully, he is culpable of mass murder and he has become a tyrant. He really should not be allowed to govern for a moment longer. And one thing is for certain, if I was elected in place of him, the world would become a safer place over night.
10 January
I've just returned from another trip to Sedgefield. Many thanks to all the people I met over the past two days who said they would support my campaign. I was astonished that even in the ex-mining villages of 'the Trimdons' alot of people are as disgusted by Tony Blair as I am. I've got used to hearing him being criticised by the denizens of Sedgefield, but to hear staunch Labour supporters laying into him from the northern part of his constituency was refreshing and actually quite shocking. I know this experience is purely subjective and maybe people were humouring me and telling me what they thought I wanted to hear, but such anecdotal evidence could spell some real problems for Labour. I spoke to several people who had voted for Blair on the last couple of occasions but confessed that they definitely would not be doing so again.
Whether Labour voters will desert in their droves, because they're as disenchanted by the Party's leader as me, only time and an election will tell; but in my view the continuation of a mass murderer at the helm of Labour can only be bad news for that Party.
There's no way that the Tories can take advantage of the situation though, as they fully supported the invasion of Iraq and anyway their leader agrees with most of the things Blair's doing. I would have more respect for Blair if he had the brass to put on a Tory badge, but prevarication, deception and obfuscation are qualities more akin to our Prime Minister than straightforward honesty.There may be 'something of the night' about Howard, but Blair is so blinded by Bush he wouldn't know if it was day or night!
It'll be very interesting to see how the likes of me and the other parties get on, but if Blair's huge majority is slashed then the chink in his slippery armour can only get bigger and time will do its work.
Jonathan Cockburn
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