POLITICS CORNER

[PanBiker]

They shouldn't be going anywhere until this is sorted. It needs John Bercow when the house is full to shout "Lock the Doors" and they should not be let out until we have a resolution, deal, revocation, referendum or General Election.

[Stanley]

I agree. They argue they will be working and resting in their constituencies..... Right....

[plaques]

Parliament loves a recess. They carry on all their business behind close doors with nobody there to ask awkward questions. No Prime Minister's question times. One way propaganda from No 10 or in Mrs May's case nothing but the 'Maybot' mantra and dead Parrot deals. How well this will go down with the EU when they are urging us not to waste time one can only imagine.

[Stanley]

Quite P. Remember what Barnier said, "Please don't waste the time....". But the idea of May taking heed of advice from Brussels is a non-starter!
The other thing Tory MPs will be doing is listening to their Constituency Parties and ringing each other for plotting sessions. One of the main reasons why I believe that we won't get any movement before the end of May EU vote is because the Tories will be wasting time attempting to oust May. The knives are definitely out but Farage has the right idea, much as I distrust the man he is forging on with preparing for the EU election and he could be right. The way things are going he could be taking the right line. In a way I welcome this because anything that cracks open the hard shell of our present 19th century political system will be a good thing in the long run. God knows we need radical change in the Party System!
On a parallel matter.... Local elections. As many of you will know I have always cast my vote for David Whipp on the grounds that he does so much effective work for the town. I have been a Labour man all my life and this has always been a slightly uneasy situation for me. I have been doing a lot of thinking and I see Sally Lambert as a chance to break some moulds and will be voting for her. I reckon she has a good chance because a lot of both Conservative and Liberal voters are dissatisfied at the moment and could be ripe for a change as well. So Sally can count me in!

[PanBiker]

You will have eight votes in total Stanley. All the town council seats are up for re-election. You will have seven for your ward for the Town Council plus a separate ballot for the Borough election.

[Stanley]

Oh dear! I suppose I will manage to sort it out! Brain the size of a planet......

[PanBiker]

Don't forget your photo ID unless you have a postal vote.

[Stanley]

There is outrage in the Labour Party about Margaret Hodge secretly recording Jeremy Corbyn's comments at a private meeting and I tend to agree with them. It is seen as another symptom of the anti Corbyn movement. What Corbyn was saying in the meeting was acknowledging that there was a problem and that something had to be done about it. I think any reasonable person would agree with that. Charlie Falconer seems to agree with this.

[PanBiker]

Recording conversations without due notification is a criminal offence. This is why the banks or any other organisation that you have to ring up for support clearly state that the conversation is being recorded. Same with online chat support. If she admits to that she should be open to prosecution. Unless she is supported by a duly granted legal warrant which I assume is not the case.

[plaques]

From BBC secret recording Ref: 'She secretly recorded a conversation between the pair in February, as Mr Corbyn talked over a plan to recruit former cabinet minister Lord Falconer to review the party's complaints process. She apparently did this as an insurance policy Ref: "The reason, actually, that I recorded that particular tape was as an insurance policy." then chose to release it in the face of what she calls Mr Corbyn was lying or being lied to. I don't think she has done her cause any favours by such a deceitful action.

[Stanley]

I agree with both of you.

[PanBiker]

Connotations of some of the characters in the "Traitors" drama mentioned in another thread. Pre-CIA days and do anything to get the end result regardless of legality or morality.

[Stanley]

I had a totally Brexit and politics free day yesterday. Did I miss anything?

[Big Kev]

SSDD

[Stanley]

???

[Big Kev]

Same Sh** Different Day

[chinatyke]

SSDD

[Stanley]

Thanks Kev, I hadn't come across that one....
I'm getting back up to speed and taking a bit more interest.... What strikes me at the moment is the complete lack of urgency or news of what is happening. This usually means that the Tories are formulating another Cunning Plan. Best bet is a leadership contest! Normally they would let May stew in her own juice but I think many have decided that the May elections are going to be a blood bath whatever they do...... Ambition might trump common sense....

[plaques]

The latest local election political flyer is emphasizing that these are local elections an not national politics. ie: ignore what is happening at a national level and concentrate on your local candidate. While this is true for prioitizing local spending and identifying community needs the real agenda is set at the top level and then works down through the pecking order of the various authorities. The dilemma is between choosing someone who works hard for the community or to send a signal back to the top echelons that there is dissatisfaction with their basic strategy. Deciding when enough is enough is a difficult judgement but I think we are reaching this point.

[chinatyke]

Thanks Kev, I hadn't come across that one....
I'm getting back up to speed and taking a bit more interest.... What strikes me at the moment is the complete lack of urgency or news of what is happening. This usually means that the Tories are formulating another Cunning Plan. Best bet is a leadership contest! Normally they would let May stew in her own juice but I think many have decided that the May elections are going to be a blood bath whatever they do...... Ambition might trump common sense....

Maybe Theresa has a cunning stunt to show us?

[Tizer]

The dilemma is between choosing someone who works hard for the community or to send a signal back to the top echelons that there is dissatisfaction with their basic strategy.

We're lucky here. It's the LibDem local councillors who do the most for the community, make the most effort to engage with us and also are very strong believers in staying in the EU. Although we're new here we've already met several of them and had useful discussions, and we've had various leaflets from them. One of them is in his late 80s but you'd think he was only in his 60s. He's worked in businesses around the world and has a lot of real life experience. He spent a morning with us and we put the world to rights!

[PanBiker]

Back in the local forest. Sad to say that our member Councillor Whipp took exception to our "Meet the Candidate" event this Saturday at the Civic Hall which we have advertised on our latest leaflet. He went to extraordinary lengths yesterday making multiple posts on the local Facebook sites accusing us of "Treating". This is the archaic 17th or 18th C rule brought into electoral law to stop candidates and supporters taking electors to the pub and getting them drunk before escorting them to the ballot box. David made an official complaint to the Electoral Returning Officer for Pendle and demanded of our election agent that we destroy all of our printed leaflets. The law, if pressed can include arrest of all at the gathering including the electors themselves and David used this angle of attack as well as a threat not to attend.

It was bit manic in Facebook land yesterday with a lot of support for our event being shown by the electorate. We are only inviting folk to come along and have a chat over a brew and it is something that we have done as a party for years without complaint. Pendle's Returning Officer has never had such a complaint in all the years he has held the post. Anyway, consultation to the current Electoral Law Handbook for 2019 by our agent put this one to bed last night. Here is the relevant extract that David chose to ignore or did not check before launching his ill informed attack.

Treating.

A person is guilty of treating if before, during or after an election they directly or indirectly give or provide any food, drink, entertainment or provision to corruptly influence any voter to vote or refrain from voting. Treating requires a corrupt intent - it does not apply to ordinary hospitality. Incidental hospitality at a meeting or event is acceptable – tea, coffee, biscuits etc. More substantial hospitality – buffets, meals etc., should not be offered.

And here is our advert which the "storm in a teacup" is all about:



The joys of local politics. David always claims he doesn't like party politics at local level. I think this episode contradicts this claim. Ironic that we are holding our Labour Party event in the former Gladstone Liberal Club. You have to

[Tizer]

Ian, wouldn't the best thing now be to go and meet David face to face (over a cup of non-corrupting tea!) and have a friendly chat about it. He may well be quite embarrassed and would be relieved to hear you forgive him for making a mistake. I know it's politics but underneath it's all just human beings trying to work out how to live together!

[PanBiker]

We are waiting to see if an apology for threatening the electorate with arrest is forthcoming over in Facebook land. Our advert says it all. David is most welcome to come to our event on Saturday. There was a lot of backlash to his stance yesterday and some folk were so gobsmacked they were pledging to come along hoping to be arrested for supping tea. The ploy backfired but It gave our event a lot of publicity.

It could be a lot to do with the fact that we are fielding seven candidates for the Town Council and if elected David's group will loose unopposed control.

[Tripps]

I came across this a few days ago - politics was so much more simple then.

Brexit means Brexit