I am in Blackburn on the trail of Jack Straw. Yesterday I spoke to several hundred local Muslims at a Blackburn fundraiser for CagePrisoners. I told them very directly that it was no good their salving their consciences by donating, if they then again gave their votes to the man who gave the green light to British cooperation with the extraordinary rendition policy, and who overruled the Foreign Office legal advisers to launch an illegal war in Iraq.
While I was doing that, Jack Straw was committing a lesser but still very important crime. He was “Treating”. Yesterday Straw fed 700 constituents with curry, nan, dessert, tea and coffee at Jan’s Conference Centre at an election rally in Blackburn .
Every political candidate and agent knows that this is illegal. It is a specific criminal offence known as “Treating”. It carries a jail sentence and disqualification for the candidate.
Precisely the same thing happened, at precisely the same venue, at the last general election. I swore out a complaint to the police,but no action was taken.
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2007/06/jack_straw_shou_1.html
The extraordinary thing was that, not only was the criminal offence carried out in an open and blatant manner, but this criminal offence was actually aided and abetted by the police. Jack Straw arrived not only with his close protection officers but with escorting police officers who actually guarded the criminal act.
From the Electoral Commission’s Guidance:
Treating
A person is guilty of the corrupt practice of treating if they corruptly, directly or
indirectly, either before, during or after an election, give or provide (or pay wholly or
in part the expense of giving or providing) any food, drink, entertainment or provision
in order to corruptly influence any voter to vote or refrain from voting.
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/83337/UKPGE-C-and-A-Final-web.pdfhttp://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/83337/UKPGE-C-and-A-Final-web.pdf
I genuinely despair of the deep-seated corruption of this country where a Cabinet minister is enabled repeatedly to break the law in this way.
It is worth noting that an independent candidate, Bushra Irfan, was reported to the police by the returning officer for an internet page that suggested that food would be given at a meeting. Irfan’s campaign apologised and removed the offending page; no food was given. However Jack Straw was able to actually give out seven hundred meals under the noses of the police, with not a word said by the Returning Officer, who by law should now disqualify him. A criminal trial should follow.
I have wriiten widely about the amazing corruption of the electoral process in Blackburn and its corrupt administration by Blackburn Council. I had hoped that this scrutiny might be sufficient to force them to behave more honestly. But theyareso arrogant and bressnecked in their power here, they really don’t give a damn about the law,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/08/craig-murray-general-election
Was the food HMC certified Hallal?
If not we should all tell the people of Blackburn that Jack straw had feed them Harram food labelled as Hallal.
And if tries to defend himself against this accusation, he will only bring attention to his illegal activities.
Who was the caterer?
Is it possible to find out?
It is a good idea if we do, may be the Hallal option consisted of pork, just like the pork chops in the Hallal meals for so called terror suspects at Belmarsh?
It was mules’ testicles, rolled in absinthe.
A Mr and Mrs Virmani are the owners. They recently applied for planning permission to install a marquee.
When I googled Jan’s Conference Centre
Craig’s piece appears at No 14 and 15.
T. Bliar’s lot have also appeared at the facility.
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/your/blackburn/5058996.One_hundred_Blackburn_College_students_share_their_views/?ref=rss
Why am I not surprised, Craig:
http://stopcp.com/commonpurposeoctopus.php
Hence the ‘stubborn’ attitude of Straw eh? Suhayl 😉
Suhayl Saadi
It was pigs testicles warped in Bacon,
I know mules are harram too, but pigs seem more harram for some reason.
And I’m not sure if there are many people in Blackburn who know what absinthe is, or the fact that it is Alcoholic.
What policeman would take a stand on this?
The Jersey, CI, police chief, Graham Power, was dismissed by a corrupt Jersey administration in a bid to discredit a long overdue investigation into child abuse on the island.
This happened on Jack Straw’s watch and he absolutely refuses to do anything about it.
Straw is officially responsible, on her Majesty’s behalf, for the good governance of the crown dependencies.
Nuff said.
But what ever he feed them to gain their votes, it is always a good idea for us to tell them it was Harram.
Another day comes to an end in Blackburn, Jack is feeding the masses whilst we huff and we puff and then, finally, we blow his house down.
The Essex boy will soon have time to conbtemplate his mal advice.
“always a good idea for us to tell them it was Harram.”
Hey, no. Not if he could prove it was ok, it’d just be a “Poor Straw, victimised by lying opponents” backfire.
“And I’m not sure if there are many people in Blackburn who know what absinthe is, or the fact that it is Alcoholic”.
Try Benedictine.
That would make it “Poor Straw, victimised by lying opponents” for feeding people to get their votes!
“Try Benedictine”
That’s Burnley.
Gary McKinnon, a suicidal young UK citizen with autism is facing extradition to the United States on charges of accessing US computer systems or ‘cyber-hacking.
Janis Sharp, McKinnon’s mother, is standing as an Independent candidate in the 2010 General Election in Blackburn in protest against the sitting Labour MP Jack Straw, who was Foreign Secretary when a revised extradition treaty was agreed that seriously undermined the legal rights of British citizens accused by America law-makers.
MJ – Yes, so it is. Curses, foiled again.
Sos,
forgot the link:
http://tinyurl.com/gary-mckinnon-extradition
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne claimed the American government would not “hang one of their citizens out to dry in the same way”.
“The [UK] government must ensure that the US-UK Extradition Treaty is repealed and that its replacement treats US and British citizens equally,” he said
(Thanx Lucy – bless you)
Much as I dislike Straw, there is a problem. The offence of “treating” contains the word “corruptly”. Just what does it mean? It is so easy to argue that the “meal” was an incidental to a meeting at which a candidate merely stated his views but left it to individual voters to decide what to do.
I find it extremely difficult to believe that any Muslim would ever vote for a political party which has engaged several times in warfare against Muslim countries. It takes some explaining. Even Condoleeza Rice realised just how dependent Straw was on Muslim votes when Washington “ordered” his removal from the Foreign Office.
Mark Golding: “US-UK Extradition Treaty”? Shome mishtake shurely… that ought to be the “UK _to_ US Extradition Treaty”.
ObiterJ
80% of Jack Straw’s votes are Muslim votes.
I am finding my commenters even more obtuse than usual and it is pissing me off. I put it down to a deplorable ignorance of British history and Eatanswill (lookit up, ignorami).
Where on earth did you lot go to school? Were none of you taught about the GreatReform Act of 1832, its provisions and the reasons for them. I learnt this atO level, not even A level.
All political views are welcome here, but if you are simply ignorant, then shut up.
(Bangs desk in bewildered exasperation at the modern world and goes out to have a pint).
The reason why Muslims are ignored by all political parties, is Muslims are seen as people who will always vote Labour.
Labour feel they will gain nothing by trying to get the Muslim Vote because they have already got it. They are not afraid of losing it because they feel they will never loss it.
The other parties will not try to get it, because they feel it is impossible to get it because it belongs to Labour.
@ craig – re your post 10.42 – Why the insulting reply?
I know full well that most of Straw’s vote is Muslim. My simple question is WHY. I just do not see why they would support a man who, as you have said “gave the green light to British cooperation with the extraordinary rendition policy, and who overruled the Foreign Office legal advisers to launch an illegal war in Iraq.”
Anyway, I won’t be holding my breath for a sensible answer. I thought that with your supposed local knowledge of Blackburn you might just be able to explain it. How wrong can you be.
The question is what those 700 meals were really intended to achieve, since 700 is only a small percentage of the constituency. They were intended, in my view, to be a morale booster for Nulab activists. They couldn’t be intended to influence all voters, since 99% of voters wouldn’t have been invited to the event. That being the case, it couldn’t influence anyone towards Nulab (since it was only given to Nulab supporters), and so wouldn’t seem to be treating in that case.
What’s the Great Reform Act (1832) got to do with it? It’s The Electoral Commission’s ‘Guidance for candidates and agents’ (2010) and its interpretation that’s at issue here.
“All political views are welcome here, but if you are simply ignorant, then shut up”
I think that’s what it says in the Lib Dems’s Welcome Pack, sent to all new mwmbers.
I remember a few years ago, it was for a by-election as I recall, that Michael Crick of Newsnight did a piece about the over spending by political parties on the election budget which is supposed to be tightly controlled. No further action was taken.
It seems the rules are in place but can be broken only by a select few. The rules catch the ones who are not in the club. We all know the system is corrupt, Treating is just another example.
It is to be hoped that the Muslims in Straw’s “thief-dom” come to their senses and vote more sensibly. The same could be said for the white working class but they will continue to vote for Christmas. I would guess the election is pretty tightly stitched up so no one hold their breath on that score. However surprises have occured, Chris Patten and Michael Portillo both lost their “safe” seats. Maybe there is a God afterall…
Up to his usual treating tricks, we see.
Tell us, Craig (or Ingo), do you have any info on whether Jack is harvesting blank postal voting ballot papers as usual this time as well?
“So, there we have British elections today: an unfair electoral system, censorship of candidates’ electoral addresses, little real political choice for voters, widespread postal ballot-rigging and elections administered by partisan council officials in a corrupt political climate.”
Nothing could be clearer and warrants a frustrated banging on the desk.
(also feeling guilty for going off on a tangent – but, I have have a great deal of sympathy for Gary’s mum because my son Kieron was diagnosed with ADD after a disastrous first and middle schooling).
MJ
No, the electoral commission guidance only explains the law. The actual law is the Representation of the People Act. That makes treating a criminal offence with a possible jail sentence.
Craig, is there a web address for the campaign of “the Asian Barbara Castle”?