Newsnight's behaviour is always outrageous. Get used to it.

The whole BBC is a ZaNu Labour propaganda machine that is now blowing valves all over the place as they see the possibility of their lords and masters being ejected at any future (possible) election.

If you had a serious chance of winning, rather than the 33/1 or 100/1 I've seen, you might be featured.

The fact that you have come out of nowhere, expecting to win when you have done NOTHING to connect with the people, but arrogantly want to represent them anyway, despite not having done any political or community work in the area, is astounding.

You think all parties are corrupt. Your inability to distinguish between them is your downfall. Bit like how you couldn't see the moral trouble with running off with a belly dancer less than half your age, abandoning your wife and kids.

Craig, are your press adverts copied anywhere online? I'd like to add them to your page on twtwfy:

http://twtwfy.wikia.com/wiki/Craig_Murray

I agree.

Let me know when and where I can help. I live in Bedforshire NE but I should be able to get across to Norwich for at least one day.

Denim Justice,

Do you not think that part of the reason independents are so unlikely to win is that the media never takes them seriously and never informs people about them & their policies?

If equal coverage & seriousness were given to all candidates in all elections then we'd have a much healthier democracy. Instead, everything outside a very small band is marginalised and undermined.

In modern politics the margins are far wider than the body of the page. The only words that fit on the page are "More of the same."

The media isn't an objective bystander in politics; it's the biggest influence of all.

Just as a point of information you are not ahead of the Greens and the Lib Dems at the bookies.

Ladbrokes are offering the following odds;

Conservatives 1/5
Labour 9/2
Greens 12/1
Ian Gibson 14/1
Craig Murray 33/1
Liberal Democrats 33/1
UKIP 100/1
BNP 200/1

Saw the segment on Newsnight, and was mightily disappointed that your campaign didn't even get a mention. However, given the consistent reluctance of the Beeb to cover Independent campaigns, I will confess I was not all that surprised.

But there was one other point that did surprise me. When Newsnight did the obligatory broadcast of declared candidates, your name did not show up.

Here's a link below to the BBC iPlayer with last night's episode. Relevant clip is at around 21.10 minutes into the programme.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/newsnight

Now maybe you haven't formally declared your candidacy - I don't know electoral processes well enough - in which case, there is no issue here. If you have however declared, it is a colossal screw-up by Newsnight, given other independent and minor party candidates were all listed.

Our 'democracy' is an illusion and Craig is not a Friend of Israel nor will he be. ZBC will have that fact in their reckoning. Remember their disgraceful action over the DEC appeal for Gaza, their decision not to broadcast the Caryl Chuchill play, and their latest reporting of Milipede's 'clarifying the facts' instead of firm FCO action in relation to the piracy and kidnapping of the crew and passengers of Free Gaza's boat The Spirit of Humanity by the Israeli navy.

And Denim Justice can f off from this site.

I'm not surprised by anything The Lie Factory does.
Overpaid Oxbridge tossers.

Their sins of omission are shocking.No wonder so many are rejecting the MSM now.

Keep on keepin' on Craig.

@ Denim justice.

Get off your faux-moral high horse.
Who the hell are you to cast the first stone about other people's private lives and choices?

I left a comment here

http://tinyurl.com/mldl6r

for Newsnight, which has been well received by other commenters who seem to be very interested to hear about Craig.

I left another one here

http://tinyurl.com/moajhz

for Michael Crick.

Maybe someone would like to join me. My "handle" over there is globalissues.

Denim Justice

Which is the squeaky clean party then?

During the Haltemprice and Howden by-election on 10th July 2008, the BBC had plenty of time for Jill Seward's rape awareness campaign:

http://jimmygiro.blogspot.com/2008/10/statistics-raped-by-election.html

And she was trounced, coming behind the BNP and the 'Miss Great Britain' party, despite there being no ZanuLabour or LibDems standing, to dilute the vote.

The BBC will support any independent view... as long as it is in-line with their propaganda directives.

Keep trying Craig, on a side note, have you noted the government take-over of your most hated train line?

Denim Justice won't reply, because he's a party hack troll with no interest in debate.

A very sad and sorry character.

Denim Justice might (inadvertently) have a point. Craig is an *interesting* candidate, and it might be disproportionately helpful to him to give him air time - for a colourful character, all publicity is certainly good publicity.

My guess is the BEEB's omission was deliberate and carefully considered. And perfectly sensible, of course, given their agenda.

Yes, it is sad that they didn't mention Craig on the piece.. I also thought that the pro-Tory bias was shocking. I am no fan of Labour, and will not vote for them, but the BBC are gleefully waving the Tories in the door...

I am not sure what this ZBC/Zu Labour stuff is. I am have never noticed BBC to be pro-Labour, only pro establishment in whatever form it takes.. I can also only hope that the Z does not stand for Zionist, becuase I think that would be mistaken.

"The fact that you have come out of nowhere, expecting to win when you have done NOTHING to connect with the people, but arrogantly want to represent them anyway, despite not having done any political or community work in the area, is astounding."

I think Denim Justice has just come up with Gordon Brown's 2010 campaign manifesto: "Brass necking it."

Sorry to be a bore and come back to this point (original post at 11.28), but does Craig or anyone here know why Newsnight omitted Craig's name from the list of declared candidates?

That's what I was thinking Ed. If Craig has officially registered then Newsnight will be required to broadcast a correction.

Jimjay -

yes, you are right about the odds. Apologies.

MJ, Ed,

Nominations do not officially open until 3 July (and close 10 July). But the writ has been moved in Parliament. So I am not precisely sure of the legal case in this three day window between the moving of the writ and the opening of nominations.

Thanks Craig - afraid nominations, writs, official openings etc don't mean a whole lot to me.

I just saw last night you weren't an 'officially declared candidate' and the simpleton in me went, "Huh? That must be wrong."

Yes but presumably they managed to list the other candidates, including UKIP and BNP?

Good luck with the campain Craig! On another note,I found your posts on the maritime laws concerning Iraq,Iran and Britain a couple of years ago very interesting, do you have any comment on the recent events concerning the "Free Gaza boat" and Isreal. The comment on this article http://bit.ly/KK1jR Iraises a lot o questions, especially as there are a number of British Crew members.

Regards, Robbie

So what do you do about BBC bias in a case like this, write to your MP ?

Craig, Mike Smithson did a post about you on political betting:
http://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2009/06/30/does-the-sacked-ambassador-have-a-chance-in-norwich/

I thought it rather complimentary.

I found exactly the same problem with the media when I stood as an independent with Jury Team at the Euro Elections. Mind you, I did get fleeting mentions on the BBC. The commercial media was shocking. Despite literally hundreds of press releases being sent, nary a word made it to print.

However, the BBC is publicly funded and has a duty to be impartial. Their coverage of UKIP played a significant part in the final result.

Good luck in Norwich Craig. Your best bet is doorstepping. It may seem more cost-effective to leaflet the town centre but in my experience, doorstep canvassing brings better results.

"what do you do about BBC bias in a case like this, write to your MP ?"

No, you complain to BBC Newsnight, via their website. A volume of complaints does get noticed and acted upon.

Make a couple of totally outrageous statements...they will be all over you !
Good luck pal.

Craig,

You're a declared candidate if you have done anything that makes it clear to the public that you are a candidate. So you pass that test.

The BBC aren't legally obliged to give all declared candidates equal mention, but they are obliged to give them some mention. Hence that little list that Newsnight showed at the end of their piece, which contained Bill Holden's name for example, but not yours. They got that wrong.

I doubt whether they got it wrong maliciously, they were probably just being incompetent. However, you're entitled to demand a correction. It's probably worth you doing so. Just try to make sure it isn't Paxo wearing his "infinitely bored" expression and grinding the words out between his gritted teeth!

Dear Craig

I am not surprised that you are not getting fair treatment.

It is what I expected as the BBC isn't impartial in my opinion.

If you win I would use an interview to highlight the disgraceful treatment of yourself and others.

Keep plugging mate and good luck.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Frazer @2:13 above has got it right. Be outrageous. If you think they're squeezing you out, make the story they can't refuse.

I remember a conversation a few years back with an SNP activist from way up north. The local press ignored them, didn't print their releases, they didn't exist. So they started making outrageous (but defensible) statements - and they got the coverage. His motto: the only page we can get is the front page.

Your asset is that you have a thousand outrageous things to say about the British (Lab/Lib/Tory) government - and they're all true.

So fix bayonets! No prisoners! Aim at that front page, and charge!

One hypothetical example of an action likely to get you the front page: to get some sufferers from chronic pain who use cannabis for pain relief and have them light up in public as part of your campaign to have the substance de-criminalised provided it is done under a physician's supervision. Also to get some students to join you with the promise of free beer, and give out the beer yourself by way of being an Honest Politician.

Now remember, all this is hypothetical, and I do not encourage anyone to break the law. If you end up before the magistrates it's your own lookout.

PS. On second thoughts, I take it back. I just remembered that 'treating' voters is illegal, so you can't give anyone free beer. I wouldn't encourage chronic pain sufferers to risk a jail sentence by disclosing their illegal possession of cannabis, either.

Didnt you know, the only way to get rid of a Labour MP is to vote Conservative and vice versa. Those other names on the ballot are just to fill the page up for aesthetic reasons.

A BBC mention at last : BBC Radio-4 on the PM news programme (17:00-18:00 weekdays) mentioned (albeit as a near afterthought) that "...The former ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray" was also standing in the by-election. Nothing more than that, unfortunately.

Yes. Interestingly last week a journalist from PM called and asked it they could interview me yesterday in Norwich. I agreed, and they said they would be in touch, but never were.

Perhaps people on this thread would like to contact Newsnight's investigation team and ask them to investigate why Craig was not included?

The page is here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/newsid_8070000/newsid_8071900/8071987.stm

The email address is:
NewsnightInvestigations@bbc.co.uk

@Craig

Maybe it's time to be pro-active and prepare people who bring any such proposal for Establishment pressure, so as to reduce its impact and give the proposal a chance of survival.

It's obvious that the Establishment has directed the BBC minions to ignore you Craig. That's simultaneously a compliment, an obstacle and a disgrace. The same tactic was used in the US Presidentials against Ron Paul. He was deliberately ignored: he didn't exist.

How to counter this? You could perhaps try and turn it to your advantage by advertising yourself as "The man the BBC is afraid to talk about".

The overall strategy you're following is, I think, correct: you need an active grassroots campaign with lots of feet on the ground to spread the word. You have to reach more people than the other candidates but without a huge party machine to organise and pay for it. The Internet is the obvious organising tool. Ron Paul understood this but wasn't as successful as Obama in harnessing it. You also have, I imagine, better access to university students than most - there must be some way you can draw on their energy and enthusiasm. Not to mention the fact that many will not have summer jobs this year and will have more free time than usual...

I've just posted on the same thread, as 'saferworld' - providing it passes Green Dam (cough) I mean the moderation process.

I've challenged Michael Crick to do the decent thing, and to reverse their subconscious bias against 'troublemakers' and 'mavericks'. He can start off, I suggest, with a blog post, and go on to organise a spot on Newsnight, to apologise for the dreadful omission in the first place.

The BBC is up the establishment's arse. Always have been, always will be. The day we see its downfall can't come too soon.

I'm all for public services, but I refuse to pay for a constant barrage of establishment propaganda and for the piss to be taken out of ordinary working people. Screw the BBC.

Craig, it should have been quite obvious to you that the BBC would ignore you. The last person the unelected permanent government would want in parliament is a person like you who would fight for openness, honesty and people's rights.

Craig, it should have been quite obvious to you that the BBC would ignore you. The last person the unelected permanent government would want in parliament is a person like you who would fight for openness, honesty and people's rights.

Craig, have you read much Noam Chomsky? If you haven't already read his "Necessary Illusions" then I recommend you get a copy. Check out Chapter III - The Bounds of The Expressible to get some perspective on why you have been ignored by not only the BBC, but also by the Guardian and other newspapers of record or supposedly left-leaning publications.

The only thing that surprises me about the situation you're in is that you and others find it surprising. As has already been pointed out, Martin Bell was never a maverick, he was the Establishment's maverick. What has he achieved? What has he ever said to set Parliament on fire? That's why he got publicity and you're not getting any.

Hi pal..
Got on the internet yesterday to Ladbrookes and put 50 quid on your winning ....at the current odds, if you do I will split 50/50 with you...go get em !

I'm tempted to take bets at 2-1 to anyone who thinks Craig's campaign will get into double figures. I mean, in Blackburn, even against the vile Straw, he got just 5%, less than the BNP.

http://timesonline.typepad.com/oliver_kamm/2009/07/calling-mr-pooter.html

Kammo in The Times. Mr Pooter - a tad unfair perhaps.

This makes the BBC look like a puppet of the government again, just as with the Gilligan/Kelly affair. They're not doing themselves any favours

Craig - good to see you standing as a candidate in the by-election. Best of luck ! Doug

You won't get much sense out of local BBC either. Look East is now an utter joke.