From a comment on Norfolk Blogger’s blog – he is still outraged about flyposting:
Frank, what of the missing Lib Dem posters. It’s no BS to state that Murray posters appeared everywhere overnight and that Lib Dems leaving the HQ very late on Sunday noticed our signs were still up and no Murray posters had been stuck up but in the morning Murray posters everywhere and Lib Dem posters removed.
If this is the sort of guy you can bring yourself to support then you are no liberal.
http://norfolkblogger.blogspot.com/2009/07/once-can-be-error-but-twice-oh-mr.html
I should say that I was personally with our poster team and we most certainly did not touch any Lib Dem posters, or any other posters for that matter. What kind of liberal accuses somebody on the sole basis that they happened to be in the area at the time?
STOP PRESS
I think we have solved the mystery. I have been contacted by a local fire crew, who sent me this email three days ago:
May I just say I am not a member of your constituency but I thought you should know about this.
Whilst at work today myself and my colleagues were completely disgusted when we saw a vehicle clearly marked with Labour flags and Stickers traveling around the Chartwell road area taking your posters down.
We did have the sense to take down vehicle details should you require them.
They have the vehicle details in their locker room and will phone them through to me tonight. I will repeat for the sake of the particularly obtuse first commenter on this post, that I was with our posting team on the night in question and we did not remove any posters at all, nor do I believe we have removed any poster of anybody at any stage.
Good luck Craig! Unlike the majority of the others standing, you’re in it for the right reasons, so you stand head and shoulders above them from the start.
Elections can be a depressing place for a progressive candidate, as everything is stacked against you from the off, as you have experienced only too well. On the other hand, it means that every single vote gained is one TRULY gained, and comes straight from the heart and mind of the voter.
I always consider it a small miracle that anyone on the progressive end of the spectrum gets any votes or support whatsoever considering all the establishment propaganda around us 24/7. We should all be nicely conditioned to the nth degree when you think of all the time, money and effort spent trying to do just that.
Just think of the recent European elections when the BBC tried to convince us all that a perfectly reasonable ‘protest vote’ was a vote for the BNP and that we were all about to flock to the polls and vote Nazi in our millions… the cynic in me would suggest that this is just what the suits that run the BBC was hoping would happen. They love nothing more than a good excuse to move the agenda ever more rightwards, ever more dumbed down and ever more reactionary.
Why has the count been changed to Friday?
I don’t think this has happened before.
Dear All
Any news on turn out and how the voting is going?
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
Craig,
If I were you I’d find out where the ballot boxes are being kept overnight and watch them every minute until the count starts.
The last thing the Establishment/permanent unelected government want is an MP who can’t be bought or molded to their desire.
Even id you don’t get enough votes to win they would still want the number of your votes reduced to put you off standing again.
Just a quick note to wish you the very best for this evening’s voting! I hope NN come out in force for this one.
The only info I could find is
at ukpollingreport.co.uk site here:
http://tinyurl.com/mp2drc
Strange that they are not counting the votes until Friday…
I hope that the ballot boxes are being kept safely overnight & that checks on the postal vote system are rigorous…
“I hope that the ballot boxes are being kept safely overnight & that checks on the postal vote system are rigorous…”
So do I. Of course we can totally trust our election process, can’t we?
The boxes could either be swapped or tampered with. The intelligence services obviously have the ability to do either without detection.
To me this is quite likely given the way Craig’s campaign has been manipulated.
The boxes are being kept under guard at the Costessy showground.
I do not expect any interference or manipulation in the result, as much as it would suit some.
Although Labours antics have been outrageous desperation this last three weeks, and we have the evidence, their candidates swine flu will probably be blamed for his defeat, would not surprise me.
The emergence of more rightwing attitudes throughout society, fostered by noLabour and its simple slogans, is a worrying development. In the European election they could not even be bothered to launch their election campaign on Radio 4’s today programme, their members and supporters abandodned the polls en masse and the result was that Nick Griffin got elected, thanks Lancs.,
The Conservatives have the gaul to say that their European goals are to lead and change the goalposts of the Lisbon treaty.
But how? by sloganising and sitting down with Gypsy haters and homophobes?
not to speak of hardline racists, also vying for his attention, soon the BNP will sit with them as well, their natural home.
Thats the party Cloe has joined and sits with, whatever happens tommorrow. If she gets groomed/touted as an insider already, we can expect to see many more spectacular u turns by her.
Count tommorrow morning, can’t wait.
But who’s guarding them?
eddie?
“Strange that they are not counting the votes until Friday”
http://tinyurl.com/kjf2yc
Good luck later today, Craig. Despite the dirty tricks used against you, you managed to connect with the people of Norwich North. If you don’t win this time, there will be a general election shortly and you’ll have more time to circumvent the media blackout imposed on you.
I know from the last general election that I was monitoring that some of the ballot boxes were not sealed. Please check all the boxes before the count to ensure that they are sealed and if any are not inform the presiding officer and the police immediately I trust this labour lot as far as I can throw them.
Ingo – Chloe has ‘worked’ in the offices of Gillian Shephard (now Baroness) and James Clappison. Both are members of the Conservative Friends of Israel lobby group as is Cameron who is also a Patron of the Jewish National Fund, as is Brown and as Blair was before him.
Is anyone able to say what the turnout was yesterday? I listened to QT last night and got the distinct impression that the audience were totally disillusioned with politicians and with Labour in particular. Hoon was on automatic pilot with his answers and it is no surprise that Hoon has become a slang word for a four letter word beginning with ‘c’.
Best of luck Craig. We’re wishing you all the best from Australia.
The BBC have just reported yesterday’s turnout at 45%. The 2005 general election turnout was 61.1%.
From Al JaBeeb:
“UKIP are still basking in the aftermath of their June euro election success in beating Labour.
However they start from a low base in Norwich North with only 2% of the vote at the last general election and no councillors. They’ll hope to pick up some support from unhappy Labour votes but may suffer if euro sceptic voters opt to vote Tory instead.
Norwich North would not appear to be fertile territory for the BNP and a far cry from the North West where they have managed to gain some support. Indeed the BNP didn’t put up a candidate here at the last election.
Among the others standing are the Libertarian Party, the Monster Raving Loony Party and Britain’s former Ambassador to Uzbekistan who’s standing as an anti-sleaze candidate.
Most will be grateful simply for an opportunity to air their views and gain some limited publicity.”
Hmmm… If Craig is to be grateful for limited Bolshevik Broadcasting Corporation publicity, then the BNP should be wanking themselves to dust!
Good live coverage of the count on Guardian Political Blogg
http://tinyurl.com/mmyxwo
As part of its drive to cut costs as part of prudent management of the economy, as well as encourage free enterprise, the party has decided to deliver into private hands the forging of ballot papaers and thr bribing of electio officials, in turn for immunity from prosecution, immunity which is in the public interest, that is, the broader interests of voters. By this public-private partnership, led by a party supporter of long standing who has voluntarily agreed not to increase her £1 million salary this year, we hope to win back the confidence of the public. We also hope by this to convince voters that the Tories do not have a monopoly on encouraging free enterprise.
Well – you beat the BNP!!!!
Well – you beat the BNP!!!!
Results appear in detail in The Independent:
Chloe Smith (C) 13,591 (39.54%, +6.29%)
Chris Ostrowski (Lab) 6,243 (18.16%, -26.70%)
April Pond (LD) 4,803 (13.97%, -2.22%)
Glenn Tingle (UKIP) 4,068 (11.83%, +9.45%)
Rupert Read (Green) 3,350 (9.74%, +7.08%)
Craig Murray (Honest) 953 (2.77%)
Robert West (BNP) 941 (2.74%)
Bill Holden (Ind) 166 (0.48%, -0.17%)
Howling Laud (Loony) 144 (0.42%)
Anne Fryatt (NOTA) 59 (0.17%)
Thomas Burridge (Libertarian) 36 (0.10%)
Peter Baggs (Ind) 23 (0.07%)
C maj 7,348 (21.37%)
16.49% swing Lab to C
Electorate 75,124; Turnout 34,377 (45.76%, -15.33%)
2005: Lab maj 5,459 (11.61%) – Turnout 47,033 (61.09%)
Gibson (Lab) 21,097 (44.86%); Tumbridge (C) 15,638 (33.25%); Whitmore (LD) 7,616 (16.19%); Holmes (Green) 1,252 (2.66%); Youles (UKIP) 1,122 (2.39%); Holden (Ind) 308 (0.65%)
Commiserations. But at least there will probably be another election for the seat in a year’s time, which you can fight if you want to.
How frustrating. Beating the BNP is something to be cheerful about, I suppose, but I had hoped the vote for CM would hit the critical 5% mark. Meanwhile we are faced with some depressing reminders: (a) that some people still have faith in the Labour Party, or that they will vote for them on the basis that they think the Tories would be worse; (b) people are prepared to vote alternately for the Big Two ad infinitum, in the vain hope that right-wing populism holds the answer.
== sigh ==
Notwithstanding, well done Craig and team. A bloody good effort all round. When the donations address is published, I will send a cheque to help with expenses.
I am very sorry Craig. You must be devastated and also knackered. Have a rest and have some time with Nadira and the babe.
When you are ready, I hope you can make some sort of legal challenge about the BBC’s almost total airbrushing of your candidacy and campaign. Their omission of your name contributed greatly to the result and had the effect of diminishing you in the voters’ minds. You were the only candidate who speaks out against the Axos of Evil’s illegal wars, present and past and that is what they couldn’t tolerate.
That should have been Axis of Evil.
I hope the trolls do not visit to gloat.
Dear Craig
I am sorry that you didn’t win; I am disappointed for you and the members of your team.
You have my respect for having tried your best.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
Even those who voted for the BNP, were voting for something; but what on earth were 6,243 people voting for, a herd of unicorns to fly out of Gordon Brown’s arse?
You may have lost an election Craig, but you maintain your integrity simply by 6,243 people NOT voting for you.