The Leaving of Blackburn? 246


With a very heavy heart I have agreed to the toss of a coin to decide whether I or local independent candidate Adnan Hussain should stand in BLackburn.

I feel I am letting down all those who helped and crowdfunded me, and all our local supporters. The amazing support is swelling every day.

But the last minute decision by Blackburn’s independent group of councillors to run a candidate against me, gives the real danger that Genocide Labour will win. As I was unable to agree in a late night meeting with their young candidate yesterday who should step down, I find myself obliged to agree to a coin toss in the wider interest of the Palestine movement.


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246 thoughts on “The Leaving of Blackburn?

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  • Salim

    That’s a shame you have stepped down. You are a man of principles, credit to you. You are a true politician, not like some people who just want a position.

    • Wilshire

      Take stock of the question mark. Until a coin is flipped, chances are still close to fifty/fifty. But of course, you also have to make the choice between heads and tails.
      Whoever wins in Blackburn, what a waste of talent and energy that could otherwise have been used efficiently for the people of Palestine…

        • will moon

          Does explain the green men Peter? Otherwise it seems nebulous – attempting to shut the stable door after the proverbial horse has bolted

          Until the prior image of Mr Murray announcing his candidacy with the green men sitting in front of him is explained this foolish person is not worth listening to

        • Wilshire

          I think it’s obvious that this Adnan Hussain isn’t quite ready to speak in public, let alone be a MP in the HoC.
          Furthermore, where are his endorsements? Does he have 10 facts to tell about himself? I very much doubt it. He simply wants to use for his benefit all the donations he received from the Muslim community. Unlike Craig Murray who, should he stand down, would immediately wire remaining funds to Gaza relief charities.

        • Jon

          Darn it, I watched the video on Tiktok, and I rather wished now I had not. Hussain is making remarks in extraordinarily bad faith: he is twisting the coin toss as Craig regarding Gaza with flippancy. That assertion is obviously false. He mentions the issue of splitting the anti-genocide vote, but does not explain that is the reason for the coin toss. It feels like he raises the “vote splitting issue” and then (peculiarly) does not actually give a view on it. Would it not have been great for Hussain to ponder on whether it would be best for him to step down, or at least to agree to the coin toss!

          That he also mentions “Craig’s electoral record” (the campaign in Norwich North as an indie) is further evidence of bad faith. The two campaigns are not remotely comparable.

          This really is a depressing state of affairs. I fear that Hussain is happy to play Who Blinks First, even if it results in all independents losing to Labour.

          • Justin

            At first glance, the willingness to subject the issue to a coin toss seems flippant, like nobody really cares too much. But it’s precisely the fact that each firmly believes he can maximise the voter impact that makes it the only reasonable way forward. Two candidates competing for the same bunch of voters both insist they are the best choice, and after hours of negotiation neither has been persuaded that they’re the less suitable candidate. So the coin toss is really just recognition of a stalemate situation. If Craig was to pull out without good reason, that would be an expression of bad faith in his own abilities and a sell-out of his entire campaign. However, he recognises that Adnan is in exactly the same predicament. So tossing a coin is in fact the most fair way to deal with the issue.

            If it turns out that Adnan deliberately misrepresented the agreement between them and manipulated the video clips to support a false claim, then that would be evidence of dishonesty and lack of integrity, which would (or at least should) effectively rule him out of the running to be an MP. If he doesn’t share the entire video of the meeting, as Craig has asked him to, then his personal integrity is in serious question and there is a huge cloud hanging over his head. Reasonable voters would be entitled to conclude he lacks integrity and place their vote elsewhere.

          • Squonk

            I’m just wondering what this from the Quran implies about coin tossing

            “O believers! Intoxicants, gambling, idols, and drawing lots for decisions are all evil of Satan’s handiwork. So shun them so you may be successful.”

            I find multiple translations and explanations but they do all seem to effectively rule out coin tossing. I’m open to being corrected.

            Here’s a BBC radio interview with Adnan Hussain from 2015 on the subject of Palestine/Israel and local Blackburn politics so he hasn’t completely appeared from nowhere – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhJ9B36B2lA

            I want Craig to win but can he now? I hope so.

          • Reza

            2015? That’s the same year Sir Keir Starmer called for a boycott of Israeli products, an end to Israel’s siege of Gaza and for ‘Israeli racism’ to be kicked out of FIFA.
            https://x.com/RedCollectiveUK/status/1748701846984597980

            Nine years on, Adnan’s trying to sabotage the election of Craig Murray, after everything the latter has done to stop the genocide of Palestinians.

        • Neil

          If I were on a jury watching this evidence, my reaction would be (putting it as kindly as possible) that Adnan Hussain (AH) is not telling the whole truth, and that I would need to see all the evidence before reaching a verdict. In addition, Craig’s published video responses are more than sufficient to deal with the points AH raises.

          My advice to Craig would be:

          1. Keep going. Miracles can happen. The one thing that is certain is that if you give up, the bastards will win by default.
          2. Forget all this nonsense about a coin toss. It’s not going to happen, nor should it.
          3. Someone mentioned about the “patriarchy” rooted in Pakistani families and their villages back home. Maybe there’s something in that (I don’t know). But I have seen that in the pro-Palestine movement, there is a vast number of very smart, very intelligent and very energetic young women. This phenomenon will undermine the patriarchy.

          Keep going, Craig. We all love and appreciate you.

    • nevermind

      He has not stepped down Salim, welcome to the blog. The campaign is speeding up with many pledges of support and intentions to vote for Craig.

  • Cornudet

    I don’t know when exactly the proposed gamble is scheduled to take place, but I would recommend that it is not until the very eve of the general election. Until that time both candidates should be encouraged to campaign with all due vigour on the issues they believe in. If it should become in any way manifest that his opponent is a Starmerrite shill then Craig should say so and renege on the proposal, otherwise the gamble can go ahead and the loser endorse the winner as the favoured MP to hold the establishment to account as to the ongoing bloodbath in Gaza.

    Personally, I don’t care for arrangement – it seems to much like a scheme dreamt up by some psychotic character from a Cormac Mccarthy novel

  • joel

    Craig, these “prominent members of the community” that Adnan Hussein repeatedly insists must decide everything, are they the Jack Straw supporters you referenced in your interview with Crispin of Not the Andrew Marr Show? Who exactly are these characters who he says must decide who opposes Genocidal Labour in Blackburn?

    • M.J.

      According to Hussain, Craig and he shook hands on their “agreement”. If so, both parties presumably had a common understanding of it at the time. But Hussain said that there was another witness to the agreement, namely George Galloway whom Hussain quoted. It might be interesting to know what GG recalls about it.
      Whatever the truth, it won’t make any difference to Hussain’s campaign now, and he has strongly refused to make his campaign dependent on a coin toss (a stance I personally regard as honorable).
      So it’s Craig’s choice whether he continues, knowing that Hussain will not step down, or packs it in and returns to Edinburgh. I will look forward to finding out the Blackburn result either way.

      • joel

        Did you watch Craig’s response? You know nothing about Adnan Hussain other than he suddenly popped up once Craig Murray announced he was running for Parliament.

      • Wilshire

        What stops Mr Murray from going forward with his “toss” of a coin proposal? If A. Hussain refuses to comply, he will surely lose.
        Besides, if Independent councilors are dependent, that tells a lot about what to expect from this general election. And please leave G. Galloway alone for the remaining few days. He’s got enough trouble of his own.

  • no-one important

    A coin toss. Democracy has come to this.

    Is there any wonder that people are turning away, en masse, from the murky world of realpolitik?

    Here we have a patently honest and trustworthy individual (Mr. Murray) who is trusted by many in the constituency and who is being potentially sidelined by a cynical and sectarian stooge who has little in the way of background but plenty in the way of underhand backing – and we, the great unwashed, are supposed to be content? I will have to stop writing before my language gets me banned.

    • Jon

      A coin toss. Democracy has come to this.

      Democracy is a shambles currently, but the many reasons for that state of affairs does not explain the predicament that Craig outlines. It seems that this is just ordinary human dishonesty: Craig was given a promise that certain pro-Palestine independents would not stand, and they appear subsequently to have reneged on that promise. There’s no corporatist or late-stage capitalism explanation for that – just the rottenness of the human condition, I fear.

      I think Craig is far more qualified, and has far more international recognition, but the risk of splitting the Palestine-first vote is very real.

  • Alyson

    The Palestinians haven’t fought back in any significant capacity. Their allies have abandoned them to their fate. Netanyahu is still demanding Biden give him enough weapons to finish the job, i.e. kill them all, and no one will stop him. But. Lebanon is not Palestine and Hezbollah need have no compunction not to respond to any assault on a separate country. Russia is now arming Hezbollah. If Netanyahu does not stop now the likelihood of a formidable foe raises its head and behind Hezbollah is a restrained but ready Iran.
    Israel is not showing loyalty to its allies if it risks a wider arena of war, besides its genocidal intent towards the Palestinians. Who will lead the UK with any kind of principled respect for international law?
    What is the plan for the day after tomorrow?

  • Tatyana

    Coin toss???
    If I ever agreed to such a … sorry, cannot find a good word for it, well, if I ever agreed to a coin toss, I would toss it again and again until this damn coin rings ‘Go and win, Tanya’

    • Peter

      @ Courtenay Francis Raymond Barnett

      Absolutely not – assuming you’re implying Craig should stand down, as you appear to be.

      Have you seen Craig’s response posted above at 11:39?

      Craig, as a candidate, is in a different league to the other aspirants. He will be a better MP for Blackburn and he will particularly be a much, much greater supporter of and advocate for Gaza because of his vast experience and connections. His record speaks for itself. He was directly instrumental in getting the case for genocide taken to the International Court of Justice for goodness’ sake.

      The holes and faultlines in Hussain’s case seriously call into question the nature of his entrance into the election and the refusal of the independent councillors to release the full video rather than misrepresentative clips calls into question their’s.

      If Hussain was serious in prioritising his commitment to the Palestinians he would recognise the great advantage and benefit that Craig would bring to them as an MP, and would gracefully bow out.

      Hussain’s main problem now is that as a man of principle and integrity Craig is not afraid of the truth. I rather suspect that if the truth of these shenanigans comes out it will not be to the benefit of Hussain.

      Not for the first time I’m with Tatyana on this.

      Craig, go and win this thing, you are far and away the best candidate – for Blackburn and Gaza.

      • Alyson

        I completely agree. Whatever the outcome you need to hold your nerve, Craig, and stand by your record as a man of integrity, honour, and wisdom. Get on television, radio, TikTok, and debate the other candidates, the other parties, and the media closed shop. A very great deal is at stake and factionalism is part of the problem, not the solution.

      • Tatyana

        Yes, Peter, thanks for your support.
        I thought democracy is about people to decide, not a coin! What the hell? It’s too serious a matter to trust it to a coin toss.
        People should go out and vote the person they trust, and now Mr Murray is about to narrow the people’s options

        Dear me, these people would other time lecture me on democracy and wrong election process in Russia!

      • Courtenay Francis Raymond Barnett

        Peter,

        Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

        When you say:-

        ” Craig, as a candidate, is in a different league to the other aspirants.”

        You are not getting the full picture.

        Let’s cross the pond then get back to the core considerations. Over in the US there is an independent candidate named Dr. Cornel West. Academically he is head and shoulders above all other candidates – and he has a deep understanding of the issues. Not the point however. The point is that if you (however bright, able, experienced and qualified you are) cannot garner the votes then you won’t win. The administrative structure to the man does not want Craig Murray – and then combine that with the electorate – so how does he win ?

        It is not about qualifications – otherwise how do think guys like Trump and Boris Johnson got in; fit and suitable …huh?

  • Bayard

    I think it’s fairly obvious that Labour will win either way, whether Craig stands down or not. It also seems fairly obvious, to me at least, that this is the reason why the other candidate is standing. The only thing that isn’t obvious is why this move was not expected. Did anyone think that the powers that be would let Craig ride into Parliament on the back of Gaza?

    • Stevie Boy

      With respect, it’s become obvious that our host, whilst a genuine, honest and decent chap, is politically naive and has possibly been dragged into something that is not what it seems.

      • Bayard

        I think this move was reactionary, not planned. It is a countermeasure to Craig’s perceived success in Blackburn, which was not a given, seeing that he was a white British man standing on a ticket of involvement in a West Asian country. However such a move should have been foreseen. It’s not as if it hasn’t been done before.

  • TStone

    You sound very sure that you aren’t going to win this coin toss. Are you expecting them to bring a 2-sided coin, or deploy someone who has practiced tossing a coin to the correct side for a decade?

    At 49/51, I’m still living in hope. But it does seem likely that the powers-that-be will do anything to prevent a voice of such power and integrity from achieving the platform of Parliament, for Gaza, and for Julian Assange. Shame.

  • Lyn Hay

    This whole thing smells of a stitch-up. Just as the Darien Scheme was indubitably planned as a foundational move to having the Scottish parliament “bought and sold for English gold”, so the initial request from the Independent Councillors to stand has the smell now of a similar move in a plot to continually discredit and stymie Craig Murray in any of his endeavours.

  • Stevie Boy

    Minor detour.
    With all the craziness over Blackburn, this story has just totally unexpectedly popped up:
    “On Friday, a preliminary hearing for the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry at the Royal Courts of Justice heard that Mr Skripal and his daughter may give oral evidence at the poisonings inquiry which is due due to begin in October this year.”
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13556377/Sergei-Skripal-poisoned-Novichok-Russian-spy-Salisbury-inquiry.html

  • DunGroanin

    I did say right at the begining – if the community leaders wanted CM he would stroll in.
    Whoever they want will get it. That is how these constituencies work. Most voters from that community do not make up their own minds. They are delivered as family votes. Based on the patriarch, who is directed by the community leaders. They are connected back to the homeland villages they come from. So that is where it is also largely decided.
    There is nothing else to be done about it. The Indy rep will be connected to the Labour machinery operating through that route. It’s easy to buy the influence in Pakistan- i expect there will be a name your price cash in suitcases being pocketed there. The British diaspora is easily coerced as it is with arranged marriages.
    Not subtle, I know.
    It does seem that CM has been railroaded- I don’t thing Gorgeouse George is wholly innocent in this matter, as I have mentioned my doubts about about him based on his previous record in ‘politics’.

    I wish I was wrong and a miracle could happen.

    Generally, this is the dirtiest general election, hard given the last two in which it was all about stopping Corbyn, which were the dirtiest I have witnessed in my whole electoral experience since 1983.

    The whole fascist imposition upon electorates across the whole of Europe is predetermined. The fact that so called anti establishment populist ‘right’ are suddenly getting in does not mean that they will stick to their nationalism and antiwar stances.
    Exactly as Meloni didn’t even blush as she instantly became pro Ukraine , pro Nato, pro war, Ms EU and G7 darling minder! Ready to take over from failed Macron.
    Even Le Pen has already begun to backslide. As will the AfD.
    The Westen Power controllers that are delivering the results via foreign oligarch funding and mass media support guarantee the fix is in.

    Sorry if that sounds cynical. I will get even more so.
    Some eyewitness back up.
    I have travelled between London and the north via some counties and towns in between over the last three weeks.
    There are NO POSTERS in any windows. Including the largely multicultural seat in North East London, where I live. Every other election had various party posters in windows and in town centres. Even our blairite MP hasn’t shown their face as they did previously.
    The only place there are posters in London is in Islington where Corbyn is running as an independent after a lifetime as the Labour MP!
    He will get in unless some mass manipulation in voting happens there or he pulls out!

    I applaud Mr Murray making the effort- lord knows it’s the last thing he needs after such an exhausting few years. I hope he will benefit from the raised profile he has achieved.
    We need to muster the anti war , anti fascist, and fight the selected, not elected government, we are going to have foisted upon us. A massive Labour majority, equivalent to the Blairites imposed upon us. At least they did have massed support to start with. Given that the Tories handed it on a platter with the Back To Basics hypocrisy of Major.
    The rubbishing of Sunak and Tories is a reprise of that, it is planned. He has done his bit now he will be despatched as well as Major.
    We were deluded then as all us Europeans are now. It led to a quarter of a century of war against the world on false pretences by these mongrels.
    Blairism was supported by Murdoch and Dacre, who delivered the Sun and Mail readers votes. As they will the Great Knight Dope this time.
    More war and overt fascism is on the cards in the Collective Waste.

    • Goose

      DunGroanin

      Sadly, an accurate summary of how politics operates in certain communities. And I agree with your assessment of Galloway.

      I personally believed, that Craig would’ve been better standing as a Corbyn-led ‘Peace & Justice party’ candidate – if such a party existed! Quite why Corbyn wants to return as an independent, I don’t fully understand? Had he established that widely mooted P&J party, with its guaranteed high membership and support, it could’ve generated funds to help other left-wing candidates who’ve been unfairly dropped by Labour. In the process potentially becoming an electoral force.

      ————————

      As for establishment wanting ‘on message’ candidates only. The whole Nick Robinson, Farage, Putin ‘gotcha’ tonight, looks coordinated. All the establishment-linked journos have pounced, expressing their own faux outrage about his views.

      This is the actual transcript of what Farage said, in the European Parliament, Strasbourg, 16 September 2014

      Transcript: Amongst the long list of foreign policy failures and contradictions in the last few years including, of course, the bombing of Libya, the desire to arm the rebels in Syria, has been the unnecessary provocation of Vladimir Putin. This EU empire, ever seeking to expand, stated its territorial claim on the Ukraine some years ago. Just to make that worse, of course, some NATO members said they too would like the Ukraine to join NATO. We directly encouraged the uprising in the Ukraine that led to the toppling of the president, Yanukovych, and that led of course in turn to Vladimir Putin reacting. And the moral of the story is if you poke the Russian bear with a stick, don’t be surprised when he reacts. Just to continue with that, today we are rushing through an Association Agreement at undue speed with the Ukraine and as we speak there are NATO soldiers engaged in military exercises in the Ukraine. Have we taken leave of our senses? Do we actually want to have a war with Putin? Because if we do, we are certainly going about it the right way. Perhaps we ought to recognise that the West now faces the biggest threat and crisis to our way of life that we have seen for over 70 years. The recent beheadings of the British and American hostages graphically illustrates the problem. And of course we have our own citizens from our own countries engaged in that struggle, too. In the war against Islamic extremism, Vladimir Putin, whatever we may think of him as a human being, is actually on our side. I suggest we grow up. I suggest recognise the real threat facing all of our countries, communities and societies. We stop playing war games in the Ukraine and we start to prepare a plan to help countries like Syria, like Iraq, like Kenya, like indeed Nigeria, to try and help them to deal with the real threat that faces us. Let’s not go on provoking Putin whether we like him or not.
      ———-

      Seems remarkably prescient for 2014 ; far more honest than anything a subservient puppet like Starmer would’ve delivered. I’d wager most British citizens would be fine with most of that too.

      • Alyson

        Gosh!

        That quote from Farage is the truest thing I have heard a politician say. I never thought I could agree with him about anything, and will interrogate my surprise and doubt to see where the catch lies. Because there is very little time to turn the juggernaut of war from lemming us all into the abyss – and our frenemies will spot the vacuum should one appear.

        • will moon

          Gosh Alyson !

          Do you really think “Islamic extremism” is the biggest threat the people of Britain face?

          Not the corruption and oligarchic control of nearly every institution in Britain?

          I can’t say I agree with you

        • Tom74

          But the question is: Why has been Farage been allowed to say it? The Guardian, for example, has for years been deleting (or not allowing to appear at all), most comments by their own readers that were vaguely supportive of Putin. But today the Guardian publishes Farage’s comments about Putin verbatim. Where are all their armchair generals and political shills that condemned Corbyn for much milder sentiments?
          Dungroanin is absolutely right about this election. The 2019 general election was a corrupt farce but this 2024 election is almost worse, with Starmer all but openly being manoeuvred in to office by the media, the state and even other political parties. Has anyone seen much, if any, great support for Starmer in the streets? Has there been much opposition to Sunak personally? Yet the pollsters are pretending Starmer is virtually the second coming.

      • DunGroanin

        [ MOD: Posters are kindly urged to desist from making potentially actionable slurs against public figures ]
        ___

          • glenn_nl

            I was out of the country when that election took place… was there a synchronised pearl-clutching howl from the Establishment, much the same as the current one because Farage – for for the first time in his life – told the truth yesterday?

          • Justin

            As soon as Galloway got elected, the media tried to smear and trap him. But George is not so easily defeated – see the Sky News interview: “I despise the Prime Minister!” (clip – 8m 59s)

            It prompted Mr Sunak to make an unprecedented 10-minute speech from outside number 10, excoriating the democratic choice of the Rochdale voters as representing an “attack on democracy by extremists” (clip – 10m 55s)

            George ridiculed Sunak’s panicked babbling as a “melodramatic performance” (clip – 1m 7s; full response – 4m 37s)

            In an interview on Good Morning Britain, Richard Madeley and Susannah Reid tried to voice the reaction of the pearl-clutching masses, but George came out fighting (clip – 10m 34s)

          • will moon

            Lol franky

            Sunak in the pouring rain, fighting Galloway “on the beaches and on the landing grounds” Sunak will never surrender lol

            “ We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…. [we] carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the Old”
            Winston Churchill

            Back then the “Yanks” were coming – and they came all over Britain, billeted in every corner of this island Now we are in the post-coital ciggie/vape smoking stage

          • frankywiggles

            Glenn, you have never seen anything like it. A man got elected in one small town as a protest against genocide and they acted like it was a national emergency on the scale of 1940.

        • Lapsed Agnostic

          [Mod: Edited considering your advice, thank you LA. ]

          Re: ‘He [Corbyn] will be the Father of the House if he wins the seat.’

          Peter Bottomley will still be Father of the House if he’s re-elected in Worthing West, DG – which he probably will be.

      • will moon

        “ Perhaps we ought to recognise that the West now faces the biggest threat and crisis to our way of life that we have seen for over 70 years. The recent beheadings of the British and American hostages graphically illustrates the problem”

        He is completely wrong here Goose – the enemy is the hedge funds, the MIC and the oligarch control of the political system

        A lot of the shit he’s talking about “Islamic extremism”is being done by proxies of Israel, Britain America France etc all coordinated by MI6, CIA Mossad etc.

        Whatever happened to “Jihadi John” – apparently this “person” was killed in 2015. Let us not forget Gouta where British war infrastructure in the Gulf is highly likely to have carried out this action

        So to me he looks like a proper useful idiot at best, and everything after him being a useful idiot is curated by the “intelligence” services

        • Goose

          will moon

          Producing that transcript doesn’t imply I agree with all of it. I merely produced it to show how even giving an honest commentary, some ten years ago, is now frowned upon as unacceptable; today, it’s framed as somehow ‘siding with Russia’. The demand for the total conformity of MPs, with demands they echo MI6 scripted narratives, alongside demanded North Korean levels of party discipline, risks suffocating debate and democracy in the UK. Do the UK security establishment really want a HoC in which elected representatives resemble North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly? Replete with synchronised clapping, as Starmer lists the UK’s ‘enemies’ in two minutes of hate?

          I also agree with the point that Farage was naive about the origin of these Islamic extremist groups; groups that bizarrely concentrate on only fighting Israel’s regional enemies. One of the likely reasons the UK security establishment and Tory govt were so hostile to trafficked, Shamima Begum’s return, probably relates to her knowledge of what was really going on – the possibility of her identifying, taking legal action against undercover British/US/French/Canadian operatives – who lured them to Syria and were embedded in these fanatical groups.
          In their propaganda material, some published in the Mail, ISIS fighters, bizarrely, given the heat in the ME, often concealed their identities behind balaclavas. But their blue eyes and very white hands were a bit of a giveaway.

          • will moon

            “Do the UK security establishment really want a HoC in which elected representatives resemble North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly? Replete with synchronised clapping, as Starmer lists the UK’s ‘enemies’ in two minutes of hate?”

            Of course not Goose – what they want is no representational link between the demos and the executive at all – a scenario their master’s have pushed since the start of the “democratic” experiment. What they want, is what Trump, Farage etc offer – dictatorship fuelled by racism, exclusion and division

            The Reichstag was lovingly restored after the fire but was seldom used and by the start of the conflict, not used at all – this is what they want. Remember “Mein Kampf” promised the death of fifty million Slavs and the profitable exploitation of the survivors who were to be taught to count to fifty and have a vocabulary of 500-2000 words. With no legal status, these survivors would be treated like animals – human animals

            “What India was for England, the territories of Russia will be for us. If only I could make the German people understand what this space means for our future! Colonies are a precarious possession, but this ground is safely ours”
            Hitler’s Table Talk – H Trevor-Roper

            Note the Nazi’s were plugged into the financial circuit focussed around London

            The first issue of Nazi debentures to be floated on the London exchanges in 1934 was publicly vouched for by Governor of the Bank of England, Montagu Norman. Norman was a freak, being the Governor of the Bank of England for close to thirty years, starting around 1920. It is normal for the Governor to serve two years. It was he, along with his colleague Benjamin Strong, Governor of the Federal Bank of New York and several others who supervised the creation of the Nazi creature, to serve the investors who lusted over the resources of the “World Island” – as indeed they still do today

        • James

          “the enemy is the hedge funds, the MIC and the oligarch control of the political system”
          That’s what I thought, for a very long time. The truth (as far as I can discern it) is that the enemy is the system itself.
          The technological system, to be exact, aka industrial civilization.
          Every new invention or scientific advance only leads to a more control over / less freedom for people.
          Changing the ‘leaders’ does not (and can not) change the system. Those nominally in charge are also powerless to change the system.
          ‘Left’ or ‘right’, once elected all they do is manage the machine.
          The system has a ‘life’ of its own. It requires obedient workers, slave masters, the machine-made environment, cars, cities, the destruction of nature etc.
          Until the system itself is destroyed, the world (all nature, including humans) will never be free. Anything else is just rearranging the deckchairs.

          • Goose

            We are in agreement, inasmuch as, we can see the UK FPTP system is the problem, and the politicians it produces are like the rotten fruit of a rotten tree.

            It’s so difficult to change that UK system, however. Much as it will be for the Americans, if they ever choose to end their two-party system and embrace genuine democracy. Because proportionate voting systems are key to unlocking real democracy; empowering the people over elites, in both countries.
            The vested interests: Big finance; Military officialdom; Security establishment have the two-party systems in both countries completely sewn up; they get to vet and choose the big two’s party leaders before the public get a meaningless endorsement vote. These people care nothing for democracy or representation. It’s all about them. Anglo countries have some of the worst elites on the planet.

          • will moon

            James I disagree

            The “System” is how we behave, if we change our behaviour then it too will change.

            Our habitual behaviour suggests a future set of outcomes. I personally will not take part in violence at this time unless it is defensive. About a year ago I began to change my own behaviour

            As for destroying “Systems” is not the 20th Century enough to demonstrate that idea has some flaws? And for all the destruction we saw, the same concentrations of wealth remain Go back to Teddy Roosevelt, over a hundred years ago, who was sold as a “Trust Buster”, an establishment figure willing to use this issue as a way of securing political power and who limited the power of the oligarchs to some degree, by popular demand. Whether he actually just favoured some over others, I am not knowledgeable enough to say – it may be a new century but it is the same old oligarchy

            I say evolution not revolution. The only thing I have any direct influence on is myself. It is not much to make a beginning in an evolutionary process but they have to start somewhere. I am not selling it, I’m doing it lol

          • Goose

            Ideally, you don’t destroy anything. ‘Destroy’ implies violence, which nobody wants to see. People are pissed off and they feel frustrated with the limited political choices before them and the seemingly rigged system.

            Many realise, short of a revolution, the only hope of reforming a system, is you have to make it look dysfunctional, by voting for quite extreme candidates. I think this is what’s happening in the US with Trump, and in France, with the rise of the anti-Macron far right vs far-left battle.

            Centrists, defending the status quo, have given voters no choice but to elect really quite extreme characters. This is just the prelude of what’s to come, if they don’t heed the message and allow more choice.

          • James

            Goose and Will
            Many (most?) can see the problems – rotten politicians, vested interests, oligarchs etc.
            Our behaviour is tightly controlled (yes, by the system). Children go to school where they learn how to behave to best serve the system, and to learn obedience to it. Any academic knowledge accrued is incidental. This ‘education’ is useful only as far as enabling them to kow-tow to the professional-managerial class when they become employees (aka slaves). Or to develop new technologies to further immiserate the populace (if they become ‘scientists’ or ‘engineers’).

            As many know from experience, answering back to authority figures usually ends badly. In the workplace, unless you have financial security, the (usually tacit) threat of being fired is enough to neuter any so-called ‘workplace democracy’.

            I agree about not using violence, except in self defence. The police, as agents of the machine, have no such qualms (witness the periodic deaths that occur in police custody or ‘resisting arrest’ etc). Look at the treatment Julian Assange is still suffering, for exposing just how corrupt the system is.

            Anyone who ends up ‘inside the tent’ inevitably ends up being moulded into serving the system – without exception. That’s what I mean about it having a life of its own. It controls people, not the other way round.

            Money is just another technology that serves the system. “it may be a new century but it is the same old oligarchy” – no money, no oligarchy.

          • will moon

            James, oligarchy is about control of assets – the money is a distraction at best, and at worst a control and redistribution “technology”. Id liken money to fool’s gold. Assets, gold amongst them, a different thing entirely

            It seems to me, you are not considering human agency. The final stage of what you describe above, the tyranny of “the System” is each individual giving their assent, whether by choice or indifference

    • Bayard

      “Whoever they want will get it. That is how these constituencies work. Most voters from that community do not make up their own minds.”

      Is this so very different from non-Muslim constituencies? At least “they” in this context are members of the community who may have the community’s interest at heart, at least some of the time. Elsewhere “they” are members of the Establishment who quite definitely only have their own interests at heart. How many constituencies are “tie a red (or blue) ribbon round a monkey and it will get elected” ones?

      It’s not even as our system of “democracy” produces such stellar results, anyway, as your point about governments being “selected, not elected”.
      2022 Edelman Trust Barometer (pdf, 3.5MB) – p.21 shows how many “democracies” suffer from a lack of trust in the government, whereas countries like Saudi Arabia and China score much better.

      • DunGroanin

        Agreed especially the dumbed down Durham and North East traitors to the workers who elect likes of Blair, Mendelsson and the current versions parachuted in. Along with the various garrison town constituencies. That’s Red and Blue btw as well as ‘white’

  • Cornudet

    If the coin lands on heads vote for Craig, if it lands on tails vote Hussain,, and if the coin lands on its edgevote for the Labour candidate.

    Seriously, there has to be a better way than this, with even the Guardian stalwart Owen Jones referring in today’s issue to Israel’s “genocidal” actions in Gaza,and decrying the fact that no mainstream political party will address the issue, even though the UK is directly culpable for assisting in the slaughter.

    • frankywiggles

      Jones says “Britain is complicit in mass slaughter on a horrifying scale” but does not link readers to any of the Declassified UK or MintPress reports that have corroborated this. In 9 months he has never hosted a Declassified journalist or Lowkey on any of his YouTube shows on Gaza. Nobody who has actually researched and detailed Britain’s role in the genocide. Craig Murray is likewise non-personed by Jones and his “respectable” gatekeeper left media chums, despite Craig’s role in bringing about the ICJ case against Israel.

      It is important to remember that the moment a pro-Palestine leftwinger became Labour leader Owen Jones immediately linked arms with rightwing zionists and began smearing Corbyn’s supporters as “antisemites”, “cranks” and so on. Novara Media too suddenly began claiming that “antisemitism” was “endemic” among ordinary leftwing people and issued videos scolding leftists for spreading “Rothschild conspiracy theories”.

      That is what Jones and co did when it actually mattered. When a genuine opportunity for political change presented itself. It is incredible how these people are still treated by so many as heroes and thought leaders of the British left.

      • will moon

        franky after WW2 and the establishment of the CIA, the major focus in Western “intelligence”was the concept of the “compatible left.

        Jones is just one of the latest iteration of this phenomenon

        Aaron Bastani was on one of the Murdoch spew pots, gbnews I think to talk about George Galloway. His first statement about this man was a remark about the colour of his stubble. That tells me everything I need to now about Bastani – compatible left? Not half!

        As the corporate redistribution of wealth known as uefa European contest, unwinds to its pointless conclusion we are living the dream the Roman oligarchs created for us dear old plebs -bread and circuses. The timing of the election hmm?

        Note Georgia, which is is nowhere near Europe, is now in “Europe”. This is to service the century long or more oligarchic dream of consuming the lands of the Tsar. “Europe” is whatever the super rich want it to be

        • frankywiggles

          A lot of Owen Jones’s work and commentary has been very impressive. That is why his smears and pious gatekeeping are so disappointing. Aaron Bastani on the other hand is simply a joke as a political commentator. Painful to listen to.

          • will moon

            Jones and his ilk are the danger. Vainglorious clowns like Bastani are there to muddy the waters around the real compatible left, like Owen Jones. The qualities of Jones’ work is the giveaway. He can go along with anything, any policy – except having decent people like Jeremy Corbin in positions of power

            I was mystified when he started whining about Corbyn. He made no sense to me but I realised that was exactly the point. He wasn’t talking to experienced, grizzled veterans such as myself but to less experienced minds who might be persuaded that Corbyn was “an existential threat to British Jews”

            He has played his part in the ongoing murder of 50000+ people in Palestine and I note today because of comments he has made in that pile of used bog paper called “The Guardian” (The guardian of what exactly?) he is being lauded for mentioning the word “genocide”, 9 months after the genocide started – what a guy, what a “truth-teller”, what a true compatible leftist. I would cross the road to avoid this mofo and his “writing/journalism” and would take a serious long term note of any entity that promotes him or speaks well of him.

            He backstabbed Corbyn and for me, without a in-depth mea culpa from this sinister knave, I will always consider him a tool of the anti-human wealth concentrations that have ruled us for us for hundreds of years. Forgive me franky but I must quote the voice of oligarchy, Barthemolew (again) from the film “Rollerball”, a sci-fi bread and circuses epic

            “Bartholomew: Now, everyone has all the comforts. You know that. No poverty. No sickness. No needs and many luxuries – which you enjoy – just as if you were in the executive class. Corporate society takes care of everything. And all it asks of anyone, all it’s ever asked of anyone, ever, is not to interfere with management decisions.
            Jonathan E.: I don’t mean to resist. I’m just tryin’ to understand.
            Bartholomew: It’s for your own benefit. You must know that, Jonathan. All decisions concerning you are.”

          • frankywiggles

            No, I feel similarly. As far as I’m aware, not one of them has resiled from their smears. I suspect all of them would do the same again in the unlikely event there is ever another opportunity for change.

          • Cornudet

            Personally, I have hardly bought the Guardian newspaper over the last 5 years. For me, the final straw was when Labour MP Chris Williamson was accused of antisemitism and Jeremy Corbyn, far from rushing into a form of lynch law which would at best play into the hands of persons much more concerned with the welfare of a certain fascist apartheid state than that of the Labour Party, insisted on waiting for the results of an internal review. Marina Hyde asked, with a level of incredulity which must have been feigned in anyone beyond the brain dead, why the Labour leader was choosing “this hill to fight on.” The hill in question is marked Innocent Until Proven Guilty on my campaign map, and I want no association with any political institutions who do not view this terrain as sacrosanct, nor with any media which do not. I am not calling for Owen Jones to be made Prime Minister, nor even acknowledged as a writer worthy of being read. However, it must stand as outlandish that such a mainstream spokesman can call out the political class in an ongoing General Election that the most salient issue of the day is simply invisible.

          • will moon

            Cliche no 1 frankie

            “The Leopard never changes it’s spots”

            In places where leopards are said to still apparently exist, it is said they attack from above, without warning, without a sign

            Former president of the former country Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko, had at least two nicknames. One the self-explanatory “MSS”, the other “the Leopard”

            A longtime placeholder of Western oligarchy, this psychopathic killer held the people down by tyranny and corruption and made sure his Western backers, the mining corporations etc received above handsome returns on their investment.

          • will moon

            Cornudet, it was hard to give the Guardian up – it was one of the few links remaining to my upbringing. My interest was extinguished during the Rusbridger period.

            The above comment just came to me now. I apologise for the ferocity contained therein – it was not really aimed at you or your comment. I make any given comment up on the spot – trying never to repeat myself – within the limits of memory and writing ability, using the previous elements of any given thread and the main article as imagery to generate the words. They come a bit overblown sometimes – the mods do their best to keep me from straying. Most are some kind of virtual “performance” lol

            I don’t know whether you have seen the film “Watchmen”? It was based on a graphic novel scripted by Alan Moore. There is a character called Rorchasch (named after the test of course). A ferocious, slight, red headed fella who wears a mask of everchanging patterns. I identify with this character in a lighthearted manner. At one point he gets locked up and all the convicts are saying they are going to kill him. This is his response to the vociferous welcome he gets entering the main prison hall

            “Rorschach: None of you seem to understand. I’m not locked in here with you. You’re locked in here with ME!”
            Watchmen Alan Moore (1987)

  • Robert Hughes

    Looks like Craig is finding out the hard way the perils of getting involved in * Ethnic * Politics . and is now embroiled in an ugly and – frankly – ridiculous squabble about who is entitled to wear the Most Credible Candidate crown .

    Ironically , despite his years of support for the Palestinian cause , his , well , whiteness , is being used against him by his arriviste usurper .

    Granted , the latter is * local * and Asian , ergo , superficially , would appear to have the more legit claim to be representative of the constituency being contested .

    Having watched the self-justifying ( and according to some , blatantly dishonest ) video by this guy , he struck me as another callow , on-the-make opportunist , saying all the * right * things and clearly desperate to join the WM All Year Panto : purportedly on the back of his ” support for Gaza ” but he came across – to me anyway – like he’s been pushed forward to eliminate Craig’s chances and is using his ethnicity to do so . We can surmise who is behind this pushing .

    The moral of this sorry tale should be …..don’t get involved in the political affairs of another country ; ditto , the quagmire of racial/ethnic-based * contests * ; never forget …. naked ambition and bad faith are * universal * . It will be instructive to see how Galloway fares in the G.E .

    At times , even ” underdogs ” can be rabid

    • M.J.

      It is not only ethnically that the candidate are different, but in their priorities. Hussain seems to me more like the usual MP candidate but with a special interest in Palestine. As I understand it, Craig’s primary interest is Palestine, though he may be prepared to also work for Blackburn as his constituency.
      I might be personaly excited at the thought of changing the course of history, but the majority of voters in Blackburn might well take convincing to vote for someone like Craig, especially if they knew that Jack Straw could be relied on to get pot-holes and visa problems fixed with his influence. What influence would Craig have in parliament that would help in bread-and-butter issues for constituents? Would Hussain as a party member of the next government be in a better position to help?
      Anyway, we’ll know in 2 weeks whether Team Craig have succeeded.

      • frankywiggles

        You’re saying Hussein is a stooge of the Labour Party? His representation as an independent entirely fake?

        • M.J.

          I stand corrected. Hussain would not have any influence that would come from Labour party membership, being an Independent, as you have correctly pointed out.

  • Townsman

    What a mess. “A” says this, “B” says that.

    There does seem a mis-statement in Craig’s message: “I have agreed to a coin toss…”. One can only “agree” to something if there is another party to the agreement, which seems not to be the case. Mr Murray has proposed the toss of a coin.

    Splitting the vote against the genocide party would be a disaster. One is reminded of the biblical story of Solomon and the baby.

      • will moon

        There is no Solomon is this story.

        There are only two individuals, one of whom has been put in motion so Israel can carry on liquidating the population of Gaza

        And because of those faithless green men sitting in front of Mr Murray when he declared there is no doubt about what is going on here.

        So I disagree there is no resemblance to the biblical story of Solomon. I don’t know what you two are thinking here.

        • M.J.

          Different people might match Solomon’s story to recent events in Blackburn in different ways. Solomon could ultimately be the voters and the position of preferred opposition candidate in Blackburn could be the baby.
          In my interpretation, people who suggested a coin toss could be the baby dividers, while those who wouldn’t accept a coin toss could be the real mother.
          But another interpretation of the story could have Labour’s agents to be the baby dividers, who suggest to all opposition candidates to fight it out, for less than worthy reasons. The real mother could be the Independents who oppose the crimes against humanity in Palestine, who might persuade one candidate to stand down.
          I cannot speak for Townsman as to what might be his interpretation, of course.

          • will moon

            MJ for me the analogy does not hold

            The men dressed in green sitting in front of Mr Murray when he declared his candidacy negate the notion there is any equivalency between these candidates.

            I have been led to believe that these men dressed in green now support the candidacy of a second person without explaining why they are not supporting Mr Murray who they asked to come to Blackburn. This was an attempt to raise the profile of the inhuman treatment of innocent Palestinians civilians. If they could say why they find Mr Murray unacceptable at this time but not then, this alone would persuade me they might be acting in good faith. As it stands they are, logically, acting in bad faith

            In the Solomon story the two appellants make a claim that leaves the judge unable to decide the issue on the proximate evidence alone. That is not the case here, I don’t think

            In this story some local political leaders asked Mr Murray to stand. Now they ask another without telling the public why. This won’t wash with me

  • Alyson

    Well, I suppose, what I want is a national government that has the nation’s best interests at heart – and can stand up for the nation against friends and enemies alike, whenever they try to push our boundaries. Someone who cannot be bought and cannot be bullied.

    Only Corbyn fits that mantle, and Bernie in the US.

    Hedge funds are poised to divvy up the spoils of Russian oligarch filching, in the name of ‘rebuilding’ Ukraine. The Tories and Farage are suckling at that noxious teat. Israel is committing war crimes aided and abetted by the Zionist faction which has usurped our democracies, here and in the US. To protect Israelis as much as Palestinians we should put a stop to our self incriminating activities which are in support of the total genocide of a former commonwealth country.

    And Islamist extremism is real, stoked by angry Muslims, some of whom are not just arguing for peace and an end to hostilities out of compassion and commitment to human rights.

    We live in peaceful cooperation in a multi faith, multi ethnic country, in which the weakest have been systematically dispossessed over the last decade.

    If Andrew Feinstein defeats Starmer in Holborn, as he well may do, it will be an interesting day for Labour this coming July 4th.

    • will moon

      “Islamist extremism is real, stoked by angry Muslims”

      Can you expand on this statement Alyson. Upthread you said “That quote from Farage is the truest thing I have heard a politician say”

      In the quote, he repeats the talking points of the genocidal Zionists.

      How about “Zionist extremism is real, stoked by psycho Kachists” and currently is liquidating tens of thousands of innocent civilians

      Now that’s what I call terrorism

      • Alyson

        Oh dear… one has to be so careful if one is not to be quoted out of context….
        Islamic State is alleged to have joined with Hamas to conduct the October 7th atrocities. It was previously sometimes said that Daesh, the head choppers and liver eaters, were funded by Saudi. Bin Salman looked very big next to Sunak as he enthusiastically shook his hand after October 7th, before stating publicly that he supported Hamas. Murky double dealing methinks. Bin Salman has his own agenda. He owns majority shares in Heathrow airport.
        Jews are fearful in London. Muslims are strongly disagreeing with the two main parties. Hopes of saving Palestinian lives are sinking. One can only observe the partisan divide in our cities and wonder whether peace and an end to hostilities is still the shared objective of the cross cultural majority consensus.
        I agreed with Farage that in 2014 the overthrow of the elected president of Ukraine and the attacks by the Azov Brigade on the Russian speaking regions, whose government funding was cut off, was a direct outcome of US interference in the regime change. So much since has caused suffering to the people of the Donbass, Crimea, and other eastern regions, which seceded from Ukraine and accepted infrastructure funding from Russia to pay pensions, teachers, etc. Ukraine suggests it wants these regions to remain part of Ukraine and so they are now a battlefield for soldiers from Russia and Ukraine.
        The Middle East has always been volatile, with competing interests and religious tribal loyalties, and Putin has held the balance of power for several decades, ensuring the safety of both Israel and Iran. This agreement was originally brokered by Kissinger and it is remarkable how quickly stability has been lost since his demise.
        The ceasefire proposal from Putin requests that the seceded regions become satellite eastern block countries, requests notions of Ukraine joining NATO be taken off the agenda, and states that any escalation involving any attack on sovereign Russian soil will be met with a measured and uncompromising response.
        If Farage is the only voice of sanity in this mad world then I really wonder what The future holds. If.

        • DunGroanin

          Jeez …not careful enough I’m sorry to say Alyson, are you really so naive to expect us to swallow your fake narrative and gaslighting?

          Let’s start with :
          ISIS = Israeli Secret Intelligence Service
          True fact that!

          Isis ‘terrorists’ are supported, and provided miltary support, medical treatments in the illegal Apartheid Entity for their attacks on Syria and through the Golan.

          Isis have never attacked Is***l – should tell you something about who their really are!
          Openly funded and declared as partners by Bush Clinton and Obama on the record.

          Isis the headchoppers didn’t exist until created by the neocon/lib invaders on the back of the WoT. They are wher the clandestine Western forces operate and hide behind.
          The neo-imperialists attempting to re-possess Iran, Syria, Libya and elsewhere under cover of fighting ‘Islamic extremism’ by being the extremists.

          The only Arabic Islamic extremists are the Sunni wahabbi fundamentalist of Saudi Arabia – and he’s they’ve been chopping heads in public stadiums for decades – we once used to be upset by that obviously not recently.

          As for ‘Jews being fearful in London’ – it’s only a very few who believe that. Wholly unjustified by their actual daily experience and only their fabulous Imagination driven by Paranoia. Gas lighting. Propaganda …
          It’s largely based on their childish acceptance of the fairytale of the creation of the Zionist mass murdering apartheid entity in the Levant and it’s supposed ‘right to exist’ over the actual Semitic native peoples who have been invaded and ethnically cleansed there.

          I, LIVE in London. There are many people with Judaic ancestry who go to the pro Palestine anti genocide protests.
          There are NO attacks on the openly Jewish peoples who live in Stamford Hill and Golders Green.
          The ONLY animosity I have seen is against the rabid supporters of the illegal apartheid entity who go out of their way to counter the mass opposition to the extermination of the Palestine and its natives.
          That mass opposition consists of British Peoples of ALL ethnicities.
          Which as I say, includes many practicing and secular Jews who see through the fake narratives and have rejected the fairy tales of the evil Zionists of the Collective Waste.

          The only supposed ‘Jewish’ people who live in their own personal mental victim trauma i personally know, are not openly religious, but claim some genetic connection to the victims of antisemitism of the Christian religion of Europe – the Judaic folk of the Levant and Middle East.

          They are NOT genetically connected to these ancient Semitic peoples.
          They clasp onto the Cultural Pantomime of the Hollywood fanatasy western ‘history’ that they are that fictional biblical fairytale tribe and wholly disregard their real genetics as European/EurAsian.

          It’s the usual story of Exceptionalism, Entitlement and Specialness of the child little Prince and princesses who have never seen beyond these fairy tales.

          Many feel they are geniuses, artists or particularly talented BECAUSE of that genetic Judaism! Not surprising, seeing that the cultural and media mafiosi consists largely of that messaging nepotistic group.

          Fuck them. They are not special, they do not represent the majority of Judaism and they have no extra rights above any other Brit child.
          So .. as other Judaic peoples have said – Don’t cry to me about the concentration camps and the genocides committed there on many different groups of people – it was done by their neighbours – none of the other victims were used to invade a distant land to colonise it and cold bloodedly genocide natives there as cover for further Anglo European imperialism.
          Taking that murderous white power European fascism/Nazism of their own homelands to the MENA. As the Ukrainian Nazis are used in Russophobia. It’s exactly the same MO.

          Finally Alyson – Fartage wasn’t defending Russia in his speech he was ATTACKING the EU as part of the campaign towards BrexShit. I have wrote about him already on this thread so won’t repeat it here.

  • Wilshire

    Hardly ever has the “toss” of a coin been such a long-awaited event. Especially since it remains unclear who suggested it, and whether more than one person agreed to it.
    Even before anyone gets elected, politics-as-usual are already going full throttle.
    There’s even worse than splitting the vote, it’s splitting the voice. The voice for Palestine has sadly disappeared behind these childish shenanigans.
    By the way, just as Craig Murray rightfully mentions that the recording of the meeting with the independent councilors should be made public, please don’t forget to demand a public streaming of THE TOSS OF THE COIN FOR PALESTINE. A unique event to preserve for future generations.

  • pete

    I can’t see that the toss of a coin would be a good way to decide this matter. Mr Hussain appears to be an honourable man but he may just turn out to be another career chancer. Craig has much more experience and knowledge in both international politics and the kind of pressing social issues that Labour ignores in it’s desire to become electable. Mr Hussain may have more local knowledge and loyalty to his own community, but there are other issues to be considered. I don’t know if it would be a good thing to ‘take it to the wire’ as they say, because that could be both divisive and self defeating. However I believe Craig would be a better presenter in Parliament.
    There may be other considerations too, Craig’s health and family for example. I hope wisdom prevails for the best result.

    • will moon

      Peter it is very telling in this video that the men dressed in green sitting in front of Craig Murray when he announced his candidacy were not mentioned

      This is a major problem for me. “Five Pillars” don’t mention this . This is highly dishonest.

      They end with the proper Uniparty line that the “Gaza“ candidate must be better than the Labour candidate lol who has been supporting the genocide for nine months. Not a strong stand

      Also they use “parachuted in” which is the exact line used by the Liars of Blackburn, when they decided that they wouldn’t support the candidate they had invited to stand.

      Not buying this crap.I know a devout Muslim who lives near by me. I am going round there shortly to watch the video with them. If anything of interest is said about it I will report it here.

  • Robert Dyson

    Having listened to your TikTok message, having found you fearlessly honest in the past, I have to assume that Adnan Hussain and his council supporters have another agenda that is likely gifting the seat to Labour. So, as a supporter and donor to your campaign, as the coin toss was rejected you should withdraw that suggestion and continue to campaign. Adnan Hussain says there was a hustings with those independent councillors supporting him – that’s not my definition of a hustings. You must continue to request the full recording be released of the meeting that Adnan Hussain confirms exists explaining how you remember the meeting, then it might be regarded as a starter hustings. You must continue to offer a genuine hustings in front of any who come. If Adnan Hussain cannot face public contest he will be useless as an MP. If there is a split vote we will then find out who was really the most popular candidate. I do wonder if legally you have a right to that recording whatever Adnan Hussain says. I suspect you will hear that it was accidentally deleted.

      • will moon

        I think he asked for the whole recording to be released not a “version”

        A “version” suggests Mr Murray has any control, anything to do with video – he doesn’t

        It is the Liars of Blackburn who are making “versions” of this event. In case you are an inexperienced person, I can tell you that is what liars do – make multiple versions of events to suit their purposes for them there is no truth – they are faithless

        Personally, I would not listen to anything liars say or the various “versions” of videos they produce on any voluntary basis

        Not BWD can you confirm you support this “version”.

  • DiggerUK

    It isn’t important who wins the toss. But it is important that one stands down with good grace.

    Sometimes the only deal on the table is a shit deal, this option isn’t such a bad deal…_

      • DiggerUK

        Your post is absurd. Without a full forensic investigation of the site, it is simply not possible to determine if it was a faulty Hamas missile or a deliberate IOF attack.

        I know what I believe to have happened. On the “balance of probabilities” criteria it was likely to have been an Israeli missile, but I’ll not let my political bias be the foundation of my final conclusion about what did happen. That, I leave to forensic proof and only forensic proof, the “beyond all reasonable doubt” criteria…_

        • DunGroanin

          Digger leaving aside that one single mystery until your fantasy CSI get to the scene and wade through the remains wholly unfearfully and without being murdered by the grinning zionazis surrounding them..

          Leaving that one single mystery to you, what about every other fucking hospital school and flats and homes?
          What about the massive numbers of phone footage from hundreds of thousands of eye witnesses?
          What about even the thousands from the perpetrators , the Offensive shits celebrating the murder of civilians, women , children. Their capture and humiliation, terrorised.
          Fuck- how about that caterpillar truck destroying bodies?

          Yeah, you wait for your on the ground forensics, most of us have seen and heard enough evidence beyond reasonable doubt.

  • Tatyana

    Why cannot Mr Murray and Mr Hussain unite and go as one candidate? Like, they make a team, agree only one of them goes as MP and another as an assistant? Or, is it too late?

  • Sparticas

    You may lose this battle, but you have not lost the war. Start a campaign to put senior Labour and Tory figures in the dock for war crimes:

    https://www.doubledown.news/watch/2024/june/6/what-uk-did-in-gaza-is-shocking-no-ones-allowed-to-talk-about-it

    Ditto the Zionist lobby in this country and those signing off on arms exports. (Ever since WWII, ‘I was only obeying orders’ has not been a legitimate legal defence.)

    Let us see whether this country truly is subject to the rule of law.

    Other people are unable to retract what they say and have to suffer the consequences. Why should Keir Starmer, for example, be an exception? As a human rights lawyer and ex-DPP he, of all people, REALLY should know better than to support mass starvation as a legitimate means of self defence. And as he should know, ignorance of the law is no defence…

  • Kathy

    Dear Craig,

    Please don’t stand down, you are the best candidate for Blackburn. The way that you have been treated is unjust. I don’t want my small contrbution to Crowdfunder to go to anyone else either.

    Thank you for all the important work you have done for Palestinians.

    Best,
    Kathy.

  • David Smith

    Very sorry about all this. Very concerned by ‘Hope not Hate;’ attach on Galloway and presumably your party also. You may have noticed that they are linked with the zionist Jewis Labour Movement, very different from Jewish Voice for Labour

  • SleepingDog

    Any backroom deals, autocratic candidate behaviour, gentleman’s agreements, denial of democratic choice are not only unethical political behaviour, but likely anathema to those very people sick of Westminster politics. This kind of arrangement seems like poor political judgement, quite irrespective of the ‘coin toss’.

    • Goose

      Reads like ‘divide and conquer’ tactics. Everything in the UK has the veneer of fair play, but the exact opposite is usually true.

      Westminster politics is already a nasty business, anyway; undoubtedly made worse by a winner-take-all FPTP system that disproportionately rewards such behaviour. Hopefully, one day, we’ll have a system that uses PR with open lists; limiting the scope for dark arts, postal/proxy vote manipulation and other mischief, mischief that the big two are so well versed in.

      • Goose

        Craig probably should’ve expected a possible late curve ball and associated shenanigans from outside the constituency.

        We’ve seen audience manipulation on the BBC’s flagship political show, Question Time, in the form of the Billy Mitchell affair. Billy said the scandal was far deeper than anyone knew, and threatened to blow the lid on a much bigger scandal, but then went silent.

        Various other revelations about the Integrity Initiative etc. There seems to be various groups operating in ways that aren’t consistent with fair elections and electoral law. Whether Craig’s problems relate to these, I’ve no idea? But would it surprise if they were related?

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