BBC close to breaking law over UKIP

The BBC's lack of coverage for UKIP at the Noriwch North by-election verged on breaking electoral law for broadcasters, says a respected political commentator.

Under the headline 'UKIP ridiculed for going against the BBC's authorised vision of Europe' the East Anglian Daily Times respected political editor Graham Dines wrote:

UKIP'S coverage at the hands of the BBC came close to breaching election law for broadcasters in the run-up to last week's Norwich North by-election. In effect, the BBC decided to airbrush out of the equation the political party that had done so well in the European Union elections that voters in Norwich were giving serious consideration to their manifesto.

Last week, BBC East organised a debate between the "leading candidates" in the by-election - Labour, Tory, Liberal Democrat, and the Greens.(Watch the debate here). I understand that UKIP was so furious that there was a real possibility of an injunction being sought. In the end, the debate went ahead without UKIP, who were mollified by having a filmed insert into the programme.

Just why the BBC decided that the Greens were more meritworthy than UKIP is not difficult to discern. It's all down to the unpalatable policy of quitting the EU.UKIP goes against the authorised version of Britain's relationship with Europe and therefore should be ridiculed - but there again, the Greens are not hysterically pro-Europe and have serious doubts about the creeping EU superstate.

No, the BBC cannot bear the thought there there are perhaps millions of Brits who want nothing more to do with Europe. If the UKIP vision of withdrawal from the EU ever became a reality, the BBC would have to do what it doesn't like doing and stand up for Britain.

The BBC's editorial line should be one of neutrality. It has no mandate to be partisan. But it so likes the Orwellian nightmare - two legs good, four legs better - that it is prepared to risk its reputation for objective reporting.

UKIP had the last laugh, finishing fourth in the by-election with 11.8% of the vote and only 800 behind the Liberal Democrats. Even so, unless there is electoral reform in Westminster elections, UKIP will be hard pressed to get any MPs under first-past-the-post.

As a political party, UKIP is not fashionable. My own personal opinion of the party and Europe is irrelevant - until the UK holds a referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon (which for my sins I have read, as well as the European Constitution, and while there are some differences, the two are fundamentally the same document), then UKIP is there to be counted and not ignored by the Guardianista left.

Norwich Greens triple their vote in Norwich North

Green party campaigners were today celebrating their performance in the Norwich North by-election after more than tripling their vote, compared with the 2005 general election.

The result is the best performance ever for the Green Party in a Westminster by-election.

Rupert Read for the Green Party received 9.7% of the vote, up from 1,252 in 2005 to 3,350 today.

In comparison to 2005, the votes of Conservative, Labour and LibDem parties all went down. The Labour and LibDem vote also fell as a proportion of the turnout.

Adrian Ramsay, opposition leader on Norwich council, and the Green Party's deputy leader, said: "This was our best by-election result ever. Our best previous result was 7.4% in the Haltemprice and Howden/David Davis by-election. We started from a low base (2.7% in the 2005 general election), and we trebled our vote. On the ground, we had roughly £12,000 to spend, compared to the £100,000 that the Tories have apparently spent."

"Rupert Read ran a positive campaign, on issues such as the NHS, renewable energy, transport and living wages, and we are very pleased with the level of interest we've generated. With new members and supporters, we can now concentrate on Norwich South for the general election."

On the issue of the coming general election, Ramsay said that: "Norwich South will be different from Norwich North, since two-thirds of Norwich North was outside of Norwich City. The Greens have led local election vote share in Norwich for the last three years running, and we are the official opposition within Norwich City."

Rupert Read, the by-election candidate, added that: "The Norwich North campaign was done on a fraction of the budget of the large parties, some of which deluged residents with countless leaflets. We are pleased to have done so well without that kind of overkill."

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Full results, with % change from 2005:

Chloe Smith (C) 13,591 (39.54%, +6.29%)
Chris Ostrowski (Lab) 6,243 (18.16%, -26.70%)
April Pond (LD) 4,803 (13.97%, -2.22%)
Glenn Tingle (UKIP) 4,068 (11.83%, +9.45%)
Rupert Read (Green) 3,350 (9.74%, +7.08%)
Craig Murray (Honest) 953 (2.77%)
Robert West (BNP) 941 (2.74%)

2009 turnout: 45.76%, down -15.33% on 61.09% in 2005

Chloe Smith wins Norwich North by-election

The Conservative candidate, Chloe Smith, has won the Norwich North by-election with a majority of 7,348.

She received 13,591 votes, with the Labour candidate in second place on 6,243 and the Lib Dem candidate in third with 4,803.

Labour had previously held the seat with a majority of 5,459, which means there was a swing to the Conservatives of 16%.

Chloe paid tribute to her predecessor, Dr Ian Gibson, who she described as a “strong, independent, local voice”.

But she stressed that the by-election had been "a victory for honest politics”, with the people of Norwich North electing to "vote for change”.

Chloe, who is 27-years-old, will become the youngest MP in the House of Commons when she takes her seat.

Record UKIP by-election, despite BBC

UKIP's historic by-election result is a cause for celebration by party supporters, says UKIP Leader Nigel Farage.

"Everyone worked extremely hard for an excellent result and we congratulate our candidate Glenn Tingle, a real local guy, who has shown by the massive support he's received in Norwich North that the British people really do identify with the UK Independence Party and what it stands for."

Glenn's huge popularity saw UKIP record the biggest percentage gain of the top five contenders, surging a record 9.5% this time around to poll 4,068 votes, representing nearly 12% of the total cast.

A delighted Glenn said: "This result shows that we are major league – bring on the General Election!"

But UKIP'S best-ever by-election performance in Norwich North has been soured by the BBC's stubborn refusal to give the party's result the recognition it deserves.

The result could have been even better had the BBC not refused to give Glenn Tingle and UKIP the airtime it deserved, preferring to allow a minor party such as the Greens on television panels and radio discussions.

Nigel Farage is furious at the snub.

He said: "There is a clear bias in the BBC against the UK Independence Party and this result shows that they are wrong in freezing us out of key political television and radio programmes."

"We've shown in Norwich North that we are a major player on the UK political scene and that our performance in the European Elections, where we recorded the second highest percentage of vote among all the parties, was no fluke.

"We have arrived and the people have shown that they agree with our politics. If the BBC doesn't like that, well tough. What it does mean is that the left-leaning programme producers who dole out the air time will be forced to give us parity with the three other major parties.

"I personally will be taking this to the highest echelons of the BBC and finding out who decided we were not to be part of the Norwich North coverage and what is to be done about it.

"This situation, where one of this country's major political parties is simply ignored, should never happen again.

"If the BBC bosses spent less time working out their expense claims and more time listening to the people of Great Britain, they would realise that UKIP is experiencing a continuing swing in support that all the other parties would die for.

"With a General Election due at any time, we will demand that the BBC afford UKIP the same broadcast rights as the Conservatives, Labour and the Lib Dems.

"We'll be looking at what needs to be done to make the BBC sit up and take notice, because so far, our complaints have fallen on deaf ears.

"Maybe they'll listen if their funding is threatened? We'll look at the prospect of a mass refusal to pay the licence fee if that's what it takes.
It's already on the agenda for debate at our annual conference in September."

NORWICH GETS NEW MP WHILE GLASGOW GOES WITHOUT

LABOUR LAMBASTED BY ANNIVERSARY MP

Today’s by-election result in Norwich North comes exactly one year to the day that the SNP won Glasgow East with a 22.5 per cent swing from Labour in a by-election that shook Westminster, and as voters in the neighbouring Glasgow North East constituency face a six month wait to elect a new MP.

One year on, SNP by-election victor John Mason MP today (Friday) rounded on Labour for refusing voters in Glasgow North East the chance to elect a new MP until November.

Glasgow North East has been without an MP since former Speaker Michael Martin stood down on 21 June. An attempt by the SNP to move the by-election Writ on the last day before the parliamentary recess was defeated when Labour voted against an early poll. Voters in Norwich went to the polls just 48 days after their former Labour MP resigned – while voters in Glasgow are set to wait 144 days before they can elect a new MP.

Mr Mason said:

“Why should people in Glasgow be left without an MP for six months when voters in Norwich are allowed to elect a new representative within weeks?

“Labour are guilty of the most astonishing arrogance in denying people in Glasgow the chance of an MP on their side at a time when the local community faces serious challenges because of Labour's recession. Issues such as threatened job losses at Port Dundas distillery or school closures by the local Labour council.

"Labour have learnt nothing since their defeat this time last year as the recent vote on Brown's 10p tax showed. They are still taking the support of people in Glasgow for granted.

“Labour had the chance to set an early date for the election last week, but the party objected and voted against giving people in Glasgow their say.

“People in Scotland know that it is the SNP who have delivered real benefits for them and their family and are helping them out in the hard times by freezing the council tax, delivering a record number of police officers, restoring free education, reducing business rates, and abolishing prescription charges.

“In contrast Labour are putting Gordon Brown’s interests before the needs of people in Glasgow and people will see that for what it is.”

Cameron hails "historic result" in Norwich North

David Cameron described Chloe Smith’s victory in the Norwich North by-election as a “historic result” and praised the “positive way” in which she had conducted her campaign.

David went to Norwich to congratulate Chloe on her win, and told a crowd that she will make a “first-class Member of Parliament”.

He also stressed, “She’s fought a campaign that she can be proud of and the whole Conservative Party can be proud of.”

David condemned the “utterly despicable” tactics used by Labour campaigners in the by-election, and attacked them for spreading "untruth after untruth" about Conservative policies.

He said that Labour should learn a lesson from the result: that the country has had enough of Gordon Brown’s "dividing lines and misleading claims", and want a Government that is “frank and honest” instead.

LABOUR RUNNING SCARED FROM THE PEOPLE OF GLASGOW NORTH EAST

’24 HOURS LEFT TO MOVE THE WRIT’

SNP Glasgow North East by-election candidate, David Kerr, has hit out at the Labour Party after it once again failed to move the writ calling the Glasgow North East by-election.

Westminster rules mean that, unless the Labour Party move the writ tomorrow (Tuesday), Glasgow North East will be without an MP for another four months.

It is now 62 days since the former MP, Speaker Michael Martin announced he was standing down but still no by-election date has been set.

In contrast, Labour MP Iain Gibson resigned his Norwich North seat on 5th June 2009 and the by-election will be held this Thursday – 48 days later.

In 2008, in the neighbouring constituency of Glasgow East, the by-election was held on July 24th – just 26 days after David Marshall stood down.

Commenting, Mr Kerr said:

“Labour are running scared of voters in Glasgow North East.

“It is utter hypocrisy to call a short by-election in Norwich North on the basis that the constituents cannot be without an MP for an extended period of time but then inflict exactly that fate on Glasgow North East.

“As the threat of closure looms over the Port Dundas distillery now, more than ever, Glasgow North East needs an MP who will speak up for their best interests. With this delay, Labour are putting Gordon’s job before Glasgow’s jobs and that is absolutely unacceptable.”

Ex-Labour candidate Peter Tatchell says now is the time to vote Green

International human rights campaigner and writer Peter Tatchell will be in Norwich on Wednesday and Thursday, July 15th and 16th, in support of the Green Party candidate in the Norwich North by-election, Rupert Read.

Peter Tatchell is a former Labour activist who ran as a Labour Party parliamentary candidate in London. He is now a member of the Green Party. In 2007, he was selected as the prospective Green Parliamentary candidate in Oxford East for the next general election.

Tatchell won widespread respect for his two attempts to carry out a citizen's arrest on Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, on charges of torture and other human rights abuses. He was co-founder of OutRage!, the gay rights campaign group, and drew more international headlines when he was beaten up in Moscow on a gay rights march. He was named Campaigner of the Year 2009 by The Observer.

Peter Tatchell said:

"As the MP for Norwich North, Rupert Read would be an intelligent, passionate, unshakeable defender of liberty, justice, peace and the environment. He knows a better world is possible and he will work with real commitment to achieve it. In these troubled times we need more politicians like Rupert. That's why I am supporting his campaign to be elected as Green MP for Norwich North."

Dental health danger in Norwich North

A disturbing new report for the Green Party, co-authored by Dr Rupert Read, the Greens' candidate in Norwich North, says 70% of dentists in the constituency won't take on new NHS patients. Cllr Read and Stuart Jeffery, Green Party national spokesman on health, say the numbers of people going to the dentist regularly is in decline and the Labour government is failing to provide sufficient investment.

The report highlights:

* that 70% of Norwich North dentists are not currently accepting new NHS patients

* how the fundamental principle that NHS care should be free at point of need is being broken

* figures showing decline in the number of people going to the dentist

* evidence that 8% of adults have resorted to DIY dentistry

* why the Green Party continues to oppose the use of fluoride in water supplies

* that it would cost £531m to fully fund the service at present levels

Rupert Read, who is the Green Party spokesman on public services, says: "The Green Party believes NHS dentistry still awaits a radical overhaul and real investment. Meanwhile, the charges which even NHS patients have to pay amount to a regressive tax which hits the poorest hardest. Our figures indicate that fewer people - including fewer children - are going to the dentist regularly; that can only be storing up trouble for their future. The people of Norwich North and indeed of much of Britain are being let down badly on dentistry - I'd like to start to change that."

Jean Lambert visits Norwich North

The latest high-profile visitor to the Norwich North by-election campaign is Jean Lambert MEP, who will be in the city tomorrow (Tuesday) in support of Rupert Read, the Green Party candidate in the election on July 23rd.

Jean Lambert is the Green Party spokesperson on social affairs. She has represented the London area as a Green member of the European Parliament for ten years. She was named MEP 2005 for her work on justice and human rights.

Jean Lambert said: "As voters are rejecting the main parties, I'm very happy to be visiting Norwich to discuss the issues of the day ahead of the by-election in this Green stronghold."

Jean and Rupert will have the issues of access to healthcare and pensions high on their agenda.

- Jean has played a key role in the EU parliament in keeping national health services public and will be keen to hear about health services in the Norwich area.

- With 24% of people in the Norwich North constituency aged 60 or over, the issue of pensions will also be highly relevant. The Green Party is calling for a basic state pension of £165 a week.

Green Party wants full railway nationalisation

The Green Party welcomes the renationalisation of the East Coast mainline, from National Express, by the government this morning.

The government should go further. Under cross-default clauses, the Transport secretary, Lord Adonis, could strip National Express of all its contracts, now that the group has handed back one franchise.

The Green Party remains the only major party in Britain to call for the full re-nationalisation of the railways.

Rupert Read, candidate for Norwich North and Green Party spokesperson on public services, said:

"Train privatisation, from the beginning, was a very flawed model. We can't keep socialising private companies' losses and privatising their profits. We need a national train network under direct public control and with full public accountability."

"National Express must pay back whatever monies are outstanding from their rail franchise of the East Coast Main Line - it would be quite wrong for National Express to continue to profit on some lines, while the taxpayer has to foot the bill on others. To use the government's own rhetoric, this should be a zero-tolerance issue."

Sir Richard Branson, co-owner of the Virgin west coast franchise, has expressed an interest in bidding for the east coast franchise if it became available.

Read responded to this by saying: "Virgin would then have control of England-Scotland services, as well as London to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds and Doncaster. The entire idea of privatisation was to inject competition, and this would be substituting a public monopoly for a private monopoly. That cannot be allowed to happen, and as a Green MP for Norwich North, I would be absolutely steadfast in resisting it."

Newsnight: Greens could push Labour into 3rd place in Norwich North

Newsnight's Michael Crick last night spelled out Labour's nightmare scenario in the Norwich North by-election:that there is a chance "that they [Labour] might come third behind the Greens."

Michael Crick pointed out that "the Greens are Strong in Norwich," already having a strong base in Norwich South and having gone from fourth to first place in a couple of divisions in Norwich North since the last county elections. The Greens have thirteen city councillors in Norwich, where they outpolled all comers in this year's county and European elections. They also have seven county councillors in the Norwich city area, a gain of five this year.

Liberal Democrats "might be leapfrogged and come fourth behind the Greens"

Earlier in the report Michael Crick accused the Liberal democrats of running a very negative campaign against Green Party candidate and local city councillor Dr Rupert Read. Michael Crick pointed out that the Liberal Democrats "might even be leapfrogged and become fourth choice for voters behind the Greens."

Norwich Greens are pursuing their campaign "calmly and systematically without over-egging their chances," according to a source close to their campaign HQ. The Green vote has not hitherto been as high in the Norwich North constituency as in Norwich South.

But in the first opinion poll of the campaign - albeit on a relatively small sample - the Greens were on 14%, just behind the LibDems on 15%. Labour was still in second place on 30% but this was down 15 points from the previous general election.
The Green Party has been seen to be doing well off the back of the Labour Party's current difficulties, said Michael Crick. He remarked that it was an "omen perhaps that Labour's campaign HQ is next to a graveyard."

Key by-election called - Green Party leader visits Norwich North

The leader of the Green Party, Dr Caroline Lucas MEP, will be in Norwich today and tomorrow (Tuesday 30 and Wednesday 1 July) to campaign in the Norwich North by-election.

In the 2009 European elections, the Green Party secured more votes than any other party in the Norwich City Council area, gaining 25% of the vote. Local councillor and university teacher Dr Rupert Read, who narrowly missed election to the European Parliament this month, has been selected as the party's candidate for Norwich North.

Rupert Read said today:

“After the gloom of the economic downturn and the scandal surrounding MPs expenses, which has sullied all three main parties, the Greens are offering a fresh new approach.

“For the first time ever, the national spotlight will be on the Green Party in a byelection campaign and our prospects are being taken extremely seriously. The big three parties hav

e everything to lose. The Green Party has everything to gain.”

Caroline Lucas' schedule for the day includes a visit to an NHS walk-in centre threatened with closure.

Can Corrigan Brothers do an Obama in UK Election

From the US Presidential Election to the UK 'S Norwich North Bye Election

Last year their song took the world by storm. The Corrigan Brothers "There's no one as Irish as Barack Obama" was an international hit and hs reached almost six million youtube hits. Several academics have claimed that the song greatly contributed to President Obama's inauguration, many claiming that it "internationalises" him. President Obama showed his thanks by inviting the Irish Brothers to play at three inauguration events in Washington DC last January. The Brothers have received two messages of thanks from Obama and the President loves the song. On Saint Patrick's day last, Irish Prime Minister presented President Obama a copy of the song in the White House.

Now the Corrigan Brothers are involved in an election campaighn in the UK . Craig Murray is a Scottish dissident, human rightsactivist, writer, and former British Ambassador. He iscurrently Rector of the University of Dundee and anHonorary Research Fellow at the University of LancasterSchool of Law.He is also an independent candidate in the upcoming Norwich North By Election and has requested the Corrigan Brother's "MP Expenses Song" as his campaign song.

The Corrigan Brothers were delighted to oblige and will perform the song with Chris on the capaign trail. Ger Corrigan lead singer with Corrigan Brothers said, "We are delighted to assist a man of Craig's integrity and allow him exclusive permission to use our song, having followed the shame of the expenses scandal closely we feel that Craig represents the only real alternative to the greed and embarassment we have witnessed recently". Ger Corrigan went on to say "The last guy that we wrote a song for went on to become President of the United States and invited us to his inauguration. We hope to be there for Craig's inauguration once he succeeds in Norwich North".

UKIP Leader heads to Norwich North

The UK Independence Party continues to raise the profile of its campaign for the Norwich North by-election with Party Leader, Nigel Farage MEP joining volunteers for a canvassing day on Sunday, June 28.

He will also be in the constituency on Monday, June 29, carrying out a variety of commitments including the unveiling of the Party's 'clean start for Norwich North' campaign posters.

While he is in Norwich, Mr Farage will publicly call for Gordon Brown to set a date for the by-election, in the interests of the constituents of Norwich North, who have had no representation at Westminster since June 8.

Glenn Tingle, UKIP's prospective Parliamentary candidate for Norwich North said: "I am honoured that Nigel will be with me in the constituency. His personal commitment to Norwich North is a huge step forward for my 'clean start' campaign and amply demonstrates the importance with which the Party is treating this by-election.

"I am greatly looking forward to working alongside him."

Norwich by-election - Greens take off as Labour goes into freefall

The first poll in the Norwich North by-election shows a major increase in the potential Green Party vote - as Labour's support collapses.

The poll shows the Conservatives ahead on 34%. Labour have fallen to second place, and their support has plummeted FIFTEEN points to 30%. Meanwhile the LibDems are worrying on 15%.

But the poll suggests the Green Party's support has shot up to 14%, putting the Greens hot on the heels of the Liberal Democrats. In UK-wide polls relating to parliamentary elections in the last year, the Greens have more commonly been on around 3% - and the previous record was 8%.

The by-election is being fought for the Greens by Dr Rupert Read, a Norwich city councillor and local university lecturer, who narrowly missed election as an MEP in the recent European elections.

College poll shows popularity of Green Party higher education policies

The poll, which was conducted by ICM and commissioned by the University and College Union, also questioned respondents about their attitudes to education - and Green Party policy proved popular.

Nearly three-quarters of adults (73%) agreed that giving young people affordable access to local education and training would reduce crime and anti-social behaviour - a view shared by the Green Party.

Over four-fifths (82%) of adults in the Norwich North constituency agreed that every local person who met entry standards should be entitled to a free place at a local college or university. Green candidate Rupert Read, who teaches at the University of East Anglia, said he would do everything in his power as an MP to help bring this about.

Rupert Read said today: "This poll is very encouraging for the Green Party.

"In the Norwich North by-election, the big three parties have everything to lose. The Green Party has everything to gain."

Candidate selected for Norwich North

At a packed meeting of Green Party members tonight, Dr Rupert Read was selected as the Green Party's parliamentary candidate for the Norwich North by-election, ahead of fellow Norwich City Councillor Claire Stephenson, and former councillor Jessica Goldfinch.

Rupert Read said: "I'm honoured to be given the opportunity to represent the Green Party in a by-election in which, for the first time ever, the national spotlight will be on the Green Party and our campaign and our prospects are being taken extremely seriously."

As well as being a Green city councillor, Dr Read (43) is also a lecturer in philosophy at the University of East Anglia.

Dr Read recently won a huge expansion of the Green vote in the east of England in his campaign for the European elections and came within 1% of securing a seat. Hundreds of supporters took an active part in that campaign, and, in the absence of the high-level funding enjoyed by other parties, the Greens are calling for similar assistance in Norwich North where they'll be organising their first major leafletting this weekend.