The Scandal of Postal Votes

I am strongly opposed to the widespread use of postal votes. They may encourage a slightly higher turnout, mostly from people who otherwise would not make the effort (a dubious benefit in itself), but the opportunities for fraud and coercion far outweigh this. We have never historically had any serious doubts about the validity of UK polls - why on earth are we jeopardising this record to scrape up a few extra % for the turnout?

The recent case of postal vote fraud in Blackburn is particular cause for concern, as spelt out in this article

Responding to an earlier refusal from the government to overhaul the postal voting rules [the judge] said: "Anybody who has sat through the case I have just tried and listened to evidence of electoral fraud that would disgrace a banana republic would find this statement surprising."

As a bare minimum they ought to be keeping postal votes separate so that the ratios can be compared to those of the standard votes. Though obviously not foolproof, this could flag up problems for further investigation if one party seems to be favoured disproportionately.

Sherwood constituency candidates

Some more internet searching on the candidates has uncovered the following (and I apologise for the fact that none of this is extensive, detailed and authoritative, but that's because the candidates obviously aren't giving the internet much priority:

Bruce Laughton (Con)

An open letter by Roger Helmer MP (Con) to John Prescott opposing regional government was signed by Bruce Laughton in 2002. I have a feeling that I wouldn't agree with many of Bruce's policies (no election literature yet = no ideas what they are), but I'm definitely behind him on this one. We need more layers of government about as much as we need more illegal wars. The East Midlands Regional Assembly motto, "where life works", says everything about the money and time wasting activities that a body without any real responsibilities or purpose is likely to indulge in.

Peter Harris (Lib Dem)

Peter Harris used to be involved with this Southwell Lib Dem website. However, it hasn't been updated since 2001, so you aren't likely to find much of interest. For example, back in 1998, Peter Harris had a successful campaign to get lorry drivers to avoid going through Thurgarton, which no doubt improved their lives, but doesn't give us much to go on regarding his suitability as an MP.

Peter Harris is a member of the Nottinghamshire Orienteering Club as these event results show.

Moritz Dawkins (UKIP)

Still nothing on the mysterious Mr Dawkins. A Google search now returns this site as the number one result, which isn't particularly helpful.

Iraq, Iraq, Iraq

From a personal point of view, there's only one really pressing issue on my mind as I cast my ballot.

Martin Samuel describes the same issue in the Times

We know where the parties stand:

Labour pro-war and ready to use deceit, Tories pro-war but ready to U-turn for political points, Lib Dem anti-war but curiously silent about it. UKIP...there's a thought, I've no idea. A quick bit of research by using Google to search their site (see here) reveals absolutely nothing. The only scrap is that they have a candidate who left Labour over Iraq, so presumably they aren't strongly pro.

Electing an MP isn't just about the party though, it's also about the individual. To try to get a better perspective, I've emailed a basic questionnaire out to the candidates. Watch this space for replies...if any.

More info on Sherwood constituency candidates

Here are a list of contact details for clients, and a link to their website/party's website. I would note that the level of information is pretty pathetic with no information on personal position/policies. Bruce Laughton has the most info, but no policies, just a biography. Paddy Tipping has a smaller biography, Mark Harris just has contact details, and the only web manifestation of Moritz Dawkins is a mobile phone number on the UKIP website!

Paddy Tipping(Labour)
Biography & Contact Details


Bruce Laughton(Conservative)
Biography & Contact Details

bruce.laughton@btinternet.com

Peter Harris(Lib Dem)
Contact Details

14 Hillside Drive, SOUTHWELL, Notts, NG25 0JZ Email: peterharris@cix.co.uk Tel: 01636 815391

Moritz Dawkins(UKIP)
Mobile Phone Number

07966 093828

If any of the candidates wish to submit information or statements then I would be happy to publish them on this website (which is now receiving over two hundred unique visitors per month - and rising). I believe that the internet should be a core political communication tool. It levels the playing field enabling a small party/independent to equal the web presence of the major parties, it allows instant update and two way communication. What could be better?

The Sherwood candidates

With the General Election afoot, it's time to take a look at who might be my MP instead of Paddy Tipping in the next session:

Politics.co.uk

Dawkins, Moritz (UK Independence Party (UKIP))

Harris, Peter (Liberal Democrats)

Laughton, Bruce (Conservative Party)

Tipping, Paddy (Labour Party)

As yet no election literature from any of them, but when there is, I will post it on the site.

For some indication of how they might do, here are some previous election results. Somehow I don't think I'll be changing the name of this site.

Question Time - Iraq war

I've just watched a fairly disgusting display by David Blunkett on Question Time. I am sick of seeing and hearing senior Labour ministers attempting to defend the decision to attack Iraq by blaming intelligence failure and claiming that the Government acted in good faith. All the evidence (eg Butler report) is that whilst the intelligence's best guess was an over-estimate of his capability they made it clear that the true position was far from clear. Blair knew that, but this was not reflected in what he said publicly.

It would also appear that Straw directly lied about the legal position when he said there 'there was no question about the legality of the war', when it has emerged that the Home Office thought that it was illegal, and the Attorney General, whilst coming down on the side of legality acknowledged that a very strong case could be made against it, and even the UN Secretary General has publicly stated that he believed that it was illegal.

In any case, even if you accepted that they made an honest mistake (which I don't), you shouldn't get to make a mistake that kills in excess of 100,000 people and keep your job.

David Blunkett, who was caught abusing his position as Home Secretary to fast track his the application of his lover's nanny (and then lying about it afterwards), should be too embarrassed to appear in public and talk about trust.

This is the leadership of the party that Paddy Tipping is a member of, and it reflects very badly on him.

Paddy Tipping comments on Nottinghamshire Chief Constable

Following the storm over an interview given to the Sunday Telegraph by the Chief Constable, Stephen Green, Paddy Tipping comments in Hucknall Today:

"I think the Chief Constable has got to show leadership and reassure people he can tackle serious organised crime and murders.
"He has given the impression he is struggling and can't cope and he has got to persuade people in Nottinghamshire that the police in Nottinghamshire are up to the job. I think they are."

"I don't deny there are problems but since Steve Green became the Chief Constable nearly five years ago, the number of police officers in the county has increased by 211. He has also had an extra 257 civilian support staff and 102 new community support officers. Also, the level of crime fell by ten per cent in Nottinghamshire last year."

So, a little implied criticism of Chief Constable, and some general reassurance. It is difficult, however, to reconcile this picture of falling crime and increasing resources with the alarming quotes from Stephen Green. Although Mr Green has expressed regrets that the interview was 'not his finest hour', he has not contested the quotes, so presumably he did actually say them.

The article also mentions that Paddy and other Nottinghamshire MPs have been pressing for increased funding for the police. This implies that they have already acknowledged that there is a resourcing problem, in which case why shoot the messenger for publicly saying so, just before a general election? Whoops, I seem to have answered my own question.

An update on the blackmail allegations mentioned in the previous post is that it would appear Graham Allen MP got the wrong end of the stick. Rather than the Sunday Telegraph threatening to compromise investigations if it didn't get its interview, it was going to run an embarrassing piece reporting on an investigation which had already been compromised through incompetence.