Better luck next time, Craig. I think if you’d run as a LibDem you would have stood a strong chance of victory.

You didn’t lose, Clive – the system won. I saw only one mention of you in a local Norwich newspaper. Otherwise, no-one would know that you existed. I believe there were 75,000 eligible to vote, yet only 23,000 bothered. This is democracy?

You beat the BNP, which is surely a huge positive.

I would like to say you were not rubbish. It seemed like after the election, a mass mentioning of the corruption issue occurred. The phrase the first by election since the expenses scandal was stated on many occasions. I even saw Sky News put in a mention of you that you were standing.

I still just cannot understand how you were sidelined in what was an extremely important issue and cleaning up of politics. I think voters voted because of debt, tax and just not happy with Labour.

If you are given the opportunity, I am pretty certain a good result is possible maybe next time round.

I’m sorry. It is a real shame. But yes, it is a systemic problem, and I fear it will not be solved, because, as this result shows, the people with the power and responsibility to change it have a vested interest in preserving it.

We are at a terrible point in our democracy, where we have all of the institutions and images of freedom and democracy necessary to suppress irrepressible action for change, but the people in power have broken free of truly democratic accountability.

It seems, currently and for the foreseeable future, the elites will make out like bandits and the masses will meekly suffer. My only fear is what kind of event or circumstance might be sufficient to effect radical positive social change.

You weren’t rubbish. I think you put a brilliant effort into it.

But I don’t think you understand where the power lies and how desperate that power is to maintain the illusion that the UK is a democracy. Having someone like you in Parliament who is honest, brave, not subservient or afraid to speak out would create cracks in the illusion and people would start to see that the country they live in is possibly the most corrupt and evil country in the world.

A hell of a lot of people voted aginst the Tories.Labour Lib-Dem & Greens should be thinking of a Stop- the-Tories coalition.LiB Dems can be easily bought by a promise of PR, and Labour needs Green policies anyway

A hell of a lot of people voted aginst the Tories.Labour Lib-Dem & Greens should be thinking of a Stop- the-Tories coalition.LiB Dems can be easily bought by a promise of PR, and Labour needs Green policies anyway

The odious Iain Dale is celebrating…..

“Craig Murray – the “honest” man – loses his deposit. Ha ha double ha!”

Wow, what maturity…..maybe when Iain reads back comments like those in more reflective frames of mind, he might come to realise why his own political career, which had designs (delusions?) of Westminster, has ended up with him being a junior Tory gofer and keyboard commentator

Oh dear Craig!

Your not too good at this at all. After having annoyed us all very much in Blackburn, you thought you might have got the message.

I’d stay at home come the general election if I were you

You are a talented individual, but it is not possible to win a parliamentary seat merely as an individual. There needs to be a power base.

Dai Davies has a party (mainly from the Labour Party), Richard Taylor has the Hospital Party (and support of Lib Dems), Martin Bell had the tacit support of Lib Dem and Labour.

You did very well to beat the BNP, but should join a political party and be a candidate that way.

Ideally the Lib Dems.

You’re not bitter, are you?

Connie,

No, don’t think so! Made loads of friends.

You were not rubbish at all. I disagree with you a lot but it would have been far more “interesting” to have you elected than “any of the above” for a change.

Go for it again, don’t let the buggers win.

Ian Dale is a tw@t.

That is all

Good. Don’t give up. You are an honest man..

Why do you have to join a party? Make one that will revolutionise the country. Start with a meeting of your friends and bloggers ASAP.

Hi Craig,

read your Togo book- think you’re a good man and no I dont think you were rubbish in this election.

Use the experience and what you learned and keep moving forward !

Have a good weekend.

Craig, you are not rubbish. So take a break, and when you feel refreshed again, then have a think about what went wrong. All the best.

>Why do you have to join a party? Make one that will revolutionise the

>country. Start with a meeting of your friends and bloggers ASAP.

That’s a party.

It is wrong to assume that none of those registered with the Electoral Commission have any merit.

Join the Greens, Craig! Your votes plus theirs would’ve at least beaten UKIP – so let’s work together next time on some sort of joint slate.

Moaning about posters illegally flyposted being taken down wins few friends (note I know nothing about any being taken down, always seemed to be everywhere to me). Delivering a leaflet attacking someone for putting themselves forward for selection elsewhere when you yourself STOOD elsewhere is hardly “an honest man” (and is a stupid thing to do as a “clean” independent).

The UKIP fellow was very hard done by in terms of media coverage, and UKIP defintly should complain away- you, however, were not, unless you think the BNP’s magnificent result means they should have got everything you think you should have?

The total votes for main parties always fall at by-elections, due to more candidates and lower turnout- this has always been true. This time it was more so, but not spectacularly so.

Craig, I do understand your despondency, but – as per 95% of the commentators here – you were not rubbish at all. You should at least allow your supporters to commend the energy you put into the campaign, the gusto with which you kicked it off, and the decent public speaking performances that knocked the so-so (and sometimes atrocious) Lab/Lib/Con oratory into a cocked hat. You were the most experienced political operator in this by-election, which in itself is hardly rubbish

Which other candidacy can claim to have had supporters travel from the US, Sweden and other countries? And which other team can claim to have had as much sense of purpose, or plausible claim to cleaning up politics?

True, the result itself was poor given the input effort, but the odds were against the team. I did honestly think that our efforts would have been better rewarded.

(Incidentally I’ve commented more on the result on the last post – see link below).

Perhaps the last place you will discover a wave of revulsion is somewhere as conservative as Norfolk.

I have a connection with the county myself and was surprised when you put yourself forward there.

You need to choose where to stand in the GE with more care.

Then you stand a good chance of not being rubbish.

“Go for it again, don’t let the buggers win.”–Chris

Amen.

For now, rest, relax, and restore the batteries.

The best candidate did not win, and we all know it.

Those fighting against you all know it too …

I once joked about the dwindling numbers at the polls, would result in future governments having to elect the voters.

I didn’t realise that media control is effectively the same thing.

Craig, whatever else you were or weren’t, you were NOT rubbish – you can take that from someone who has watched by-elections for more than half a century!

Until we get a fairly balanced electoral system – STV for choice – and a more impartial press, the scales are always heavily weighted against independent candidates however sane or barmy they are.

You come across here, and wherever else I’ve seen you reported, as a decent and honest man who is boiling with indignation at the injustices you have personally encountered, and who has made sacrifices which most others wouldn’t.

We are living in very peculiar – and morally degenerate – times and it is going to take a great deal more than a by-election – or even a general election – to turn the tide. I sense that many people, including people who normally don’t take an interest in politics, see the need for far more radical change than they are being offered by the main parties, so it is up to all of us who are sickened by the prevailing humbug to keep up our spirits and not to be dejected by set-backs.

You bravely flew the flag, and I’m sure that many like myself across the country have noticed and salute you.

So don’t lose heart or go into one of your ‘dips’. This was just a preliminary skirmish in the real and almost certainly lengthy battle which has to be fought for the tarnished honour if this country.

To cheer you up, it was great fun to see Harriet Harman interviewed on Channel 4 tonight. She looked like a scared rabbit trapped by powerful headlights and gave a dismal performance.

Bob Latchford 7.09pm. Get your facts right. I didn’t say that. Dizzy tweeted it and I retweeted it.

Craig ran a duplicitous campaign, attempting to be on the moral high ground but in the end writing a sleazy leaflet accusing Chloe Smith of almost being the devil incarnate. Put an honest man into Parliament, eh? My arse. He became just like any other two bit politician in the end, and I suspect he knows it.

Iain, there’s no need for you to sound so miserable – your lot won!

Craig has plenty of history to demonstrate a decent moral standpoint, with his background, as you know. Giving up a lucrative ambassadorial post for human rights – yep. Speaking out on the duplicity of the Iraq War – check. Condemning the treatment of the Palestinian people, due in part to inaction and prevarication from the British state – got that too. Identifies the real reasons for our presence in Afghanistan – uh huh. Is the only candidate (as far as I know) to be brave enough to speak out against the casino banking sector, and their role in the economic crash.

Craig’s leaflets did run on some negative themes – but Smith as devil incarnate? Not even close. Surely it is reasonable to point out a candidate’s inexperience, or that she hardly has the mark of someone willing to vote against their party? My view is that the election *could* have been about throwing out the corrupt Establishment parties – but for a variety of reasons, which everyone will disagree upon, this did not excite the electorate.

I congratulate Chloe personally on her win. But it is not just partisan politics to suggest that as a member of the Conservative Party, she will be torn between representing the people of NN and the narrow wealthy-class interests of the party she is a member of. She cannot serve both masters, and I have a feeling that it is not ordinary people in NN who will be the more persuasive.

“a sleazy leaflet accusing Chloe Smith of almost being the devil incarnate”

Iain Dale you are such a juvenile.

To be precise, the leaflet accused Chloe Smith of preferring Ipswich to Norwich. Which was a fair point, given that she had tried to get selected for an Ipswich seat before Norwich North, and only then made great play of her (genuine) Norfolk local credentials.

Actually the leaflet (I think) didn’t mention the real Chloe scandal, because I think it wasn’t known to Craig’s team at the time, i.e. that she does not in fact work for Deloitte Touche, she is paid by Deloitte Touche to work for the Conservative Party.

And we all know why Deloitte would make an investment in that arrangement. Your coming Tory government is going to be just as sleazy as New Labour and the last Tory Government, probably worse.

It’s a disaster which the English public seems determined to sleepwalk into.

“Dizzy tweeted it and I retweeted it.”

Oh, right. And you know what retweeting is for, Iain. Retweeting is for things that you don’t like and don’t agree with – RIGHT??? Go and be petty elsewhere. Gloating along with “Dizzy” is not an admirable activity.

You’re not rubbish. In fact, you didn’t even lose. How could you lose when you weren’t being allowed to play?

It reminds me of the ‘free trade football’ matches played at Make Poverty History; the players representing global south countries had to play on their knees with their hands tied.

If nothing else, I, and I expect many others, have come to realise the depth of corruption that pervades our political system, and the very real limits bounding and constraining our democratic ‘choice’. I thought – all through the Bush regime – that at least that level of electoral corruption would not happen in Britain. You have been one of the clearest voices that has shown I was wrong.

In the end you may have the victory.

You have said what many people are starting to realise: that voter apathy is not the same thing as political apathy. More people than I can remember are engaged with politics, in any pub, at any coffee break or just about any gathering I’ve been to; they are just ignoring the traditional party structure, and much of tabloid-chasing agenda of party hacks. More and more people seem to be aware of the scams, lies and disgraceful tactics and actions of our politicians, even when these have completely evaded the mainstream press.

As I have searched around I have found people and organisations enough to fill many pages (just with their names) who aim not merely to change the faces of the people in power, or the colour of their badge, but to change the shape and process of our fractured democracy itself.

I hope that what we are seeing is only the start of the next movement for change, on a par with the Suffragettes, and other movements before and after. If so, you will have an honoured place in it’s history.

“Two-bit politician” sounds like someone who would keep his mouth shut when ordered to, in order to preserve a wealthy career and personal prestige, and of course uncritically support the Establishment, complete with imperialist aggression and cover-up of torture, human rights be damned. Sounds just like a Tory, in fact.

PS. Make that ‘Nulab or Tory’.

You can torture yourself at your leisure Craig.

In the mean time please remember that you, through your actions, have lit and fanned a small flame of hope in people.

Should you conclude at the end of your soul searching that politics isn’t really for you…then that would be a defeat and a betrayal of those who were encouraged to hope through you.

People usually want champions they know how to vote for. You’ve got it half right…so far.

Craig,

do NOT refer to your efforts as “rubbish” any more, and that’s an order, OK? You are one of my very few sources of political hope. I discovered your blog by accident, but your campaigning in NN will have brought you to the attention of a lot of other people who, like me, needed to hear your message.

Selfishly, I’ve missed your insight into the news, and I’m looking forward to your blog getting back to normal and telling me things that the mainstream won’t mention. Not that I’m trying to hurry you up – for goodness sake, take a rest or preferably a holiday.

Same goes for the team; thank you all for doing what I couldn’t. You’ve got all those posters to take down (apart from the ones the council / opponents did for you, of course), then go and have a well-earned rest.

Best wishes to all.

I thought it was quite amusing that we finally got to see your face when they were reading out the final results. Everyone was being friendly and congratulating each other on a fair campaign etc.. You were amongst friends :-0. That’s 1000 votes you got and you have learned a lot more about electioneering i’m sure. You did great and I hope you stand again next year with renewed optimism.

If the Tories are celebrating the fact that their vote has seriously depleted in a few short years, then they are more stupid than I thought. They should be shitting themselves. People are starting to wake up.

Well done Craig – a thousand people who actively engaged their brains turned out to vote for you. If the left united in this country we could sweep away those corrupt bastards over night. We just need to realise our potential and be able to persuade people that there is something better out there, and not everyone is in it for themselves. That’s a tough task but we’re in the right climate to achieve the seemingly impossible.. I don’t think we can let this crucial moment in history pass us by without seizing it with both hands.

No Craig, you weren’t rubbish. You did make a few tactical misjudgments, but that’s all. Labour made so many misjudgments, and more importantly, betrayed so many of their ideals, that they lost most of their supporters. Meanwhile the Tories faced an open goal – but persuaded less than one in five electors to vote for their relentlessly negative, content-free campaign.

As Paul J Lewis says, apathy won the day. Many people told me that they wanted to “put an honest man into parliament”, but found nobody they knew they could trust. So they stayed at home. Sooner or later, someone will find a way to transform that angry resentment into a force for change – for good or ill.

It could be for ill, if the BNP get their way. Not in Norwich they didn’t though – you showed them the door!

Iain Dale – so you ‘retweeted’ it did you? get out the gutter you childish fool. All that wall-to-wall coverage and you still lost shit-loads of votes. A total blackout for Craig and he gained 1000 votes. Don’t you get it yet?

Craig, I think you should stand again at the next election because it takes time to gain the confidence of people and even more time and effort to convince people of the need to do something. It may be the case that, that something is to demand answers from their preferred candidate to some of the points you have made rather than vote for you as an independent candidate, but if more people start to require answers from those who wish to act as our elected repesentatives as a result of your campaign or blog, your efforts will have helped to enliven the democratic process.

Craig, unless you had, or could find, £100,000 (and more) to spare, a by-election was never going to be right for you, and especially not one in an area where both UKIP and the Greens had some strength. My guess is that Tory/Labour/LibDem/UKIP funds were always going to mean they could out-gun you, while Tories and LibDems could also get more people on the ground from across the country. But a General Election is different, with lower expenses limits, and other parties spread across lots of constituencies. It will also give you a chance to stand against an MP caught up in the expenses scandal who is actually seeking re-election (and with their party’s backing). Which one depends where you have local links that has an MP that the Telegraph picked out who is seeking re-election. If that leaves you with a choice, go for a ‘safe’ seat, rather than somewhere where another party will be campaigning hard to unseat anyway.

Yes, you could have had a more effective campaign in Norwich North, but you still wouldn’t have won, and in the mean time have learnt some more about campaigning tactics.

Well done on beating the BNP: their bubble has burst already!

Politics is a dirty game, you are much better off out of it! I think you can make more of an impact by campaigning outside of parliament (not literally of course, as that’s been banned now) and not having to frequent so much with the political panderers. The media’s appalling sidelining was the key factor that meant that you didn’t get your voice heard by the public. Lazy hacks, most of them. Surely they should represent everyone standing, and leave it to the voters to decide? Not very democratic if you ask me!

As someone else has mentioned, I was extremely pleased that I voted for you and that we managed to push the BNP out further. My vote really did count, and so did your participation, so that matters. Your voice must be heard. The things you are saying are too important to be stifled, and the support that you gained can only grow from here. Whether it’s in the parliamentary sphere, or elsewhere, is your decision, but keep on fighting!

Firstly Craig don’t call yourself rubbish, thats not true. However you made some fundamental mistakes and I don’t know whether those mistakes were calculable or inherent to how you operate. To me the glaring problem was calling yourself “honest” because it seems to me honest people don’t go around saying their “honest”. Associated with that problem was saying you were the “only” honest person. In effect therefore it was tantamount to saying all the other candidates were dishonest. Again thats not something an honest person would be perceived to say and doesn’t come across well in the current climate when a candidate like yourself would be trying to say they were new, fresh and not tainted. Another problem was the notion that all parties are inherently corrupt in some way yet people sense from their own lives that by working together more can be achieved and they want an idea of the values that a candidate suscribes to and is supported by. Without that context its hard to know who someone really is and what someone will actually be like. I accept that you may not see it all this way but I felt it was important to at least try to explain my take on the situation.

You certainly weren’t rubbish. You made some sacrifices and stood up against the odds to effect some positive change. In the process of doing so, you also inspired a great many people.

That’s much more than most do. (It sadly seems that many can’t even be bothered to vote.)

Given your limited campaign resources and the virtual media blackout, you captured a significant portion of the vote. Don’t let the buggers get you down. It will take a concerted effort to pull down the wall of apathy which they have constructed. But, if you keep chipping away at it, it will eventually come crumbling down. The cracks are there.

Craig, Followed your activities on the internet from Solomon Islands where I am now working with great interest. I respect your stand in support of the outspoken individual with real moral values.

Better luck next time.

Am also enjoying The Catholic Orangemen of Togo.

Peter

I think you have to ask yourself why you ran. Did you see a chance to be the center of attention, and was your concern with being ignored by the media more to do with your desire to be in the spotlight ?

If you have a cause I think you need to focus on that cause, not to distract yourself with complaints about the media and other candidates.

Iain Dale used to be a refreshing voice in the then-relatively-dull surroundings of other UK political blogs.

Unfortunately, since then he has either lost his mind or sold his voice in the name of traffic and exposure and, frankly, become a pitiable human being as a result.

A bit like Stephen Fry, he has become a prisoner of his own caricature.

I am sorry for you, Iain. Get well soon.

“Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.”

Winston Churchill

Glad you’re back on line, Craig. I hope you will take heart from all the thoughtful and very positive comments above.

I must agree with MG, though, that to proclaim yourself “honest” was a mistake. It had a sanctimonious ring about it, and we are none of us totally 100 per cent. honest about everything, are we? It was a fair point, but would have been better phrased differently. You were the anti-sleaze and anti-humbug candidate, and I am sure this has not gone unnoticed in many places besides the Solomon Islands!

Hope you are having a refreshing weekend.

Brent North?

In my comment – July 25, 2009 12:36 AM

I said “a General Election is different… will … give you a chance to stand against an MP caught up in the expenses scandal who is actually seeking re-election (and with their party’s backing). Which one depends where you have local links that has an MP that the Telegraph picked out”.

I can’t see anything in Norfolk, if reports that Christopher Fraser is standing down in Norfolk SW are true. However, Brent North (Barry Gardiner) looks like the most obvious one if you are back in Acton: boundary changes make it notionally safer for him, but the write-up on UK polling report suggests that could be fragile. In second place are Tories who it seems are in disarray, while the LibDems will be looking at the new Brent Central. Add to that the fact that boundary changes mean that the constituency comes as close to Acton as Alperton.

Good luck!

“Solomon Islands”

http://tinyurl.com/na8xk8

Brent North sounds like a good idea. Brent Central will, I hope, be won for the LibDems by our excellent Brent East MP Sarah Teather – the most conscientious constituency MP I’ve ever had, and whose expenses are clean – against the sleazy Brent South Labour MP Dawn Butler, who took £60,000 “second home” expenses when she only lives a few miles away from the constituency and from Westminster.

Were you an Honest Man with your wife and kids, when you ran off with a belly dancer less than half your age?

Or all the other affairs you’ve had, which was your lame excuse to your wife about your Uzbek affair?

Did you Put An Honest Man into her too?

Craig! I second the ORDER above to stop calling yourself rubbish!

Before passing to more substantive matters, can I just suggest to anyone reading this is that the way to deal with a petty fool like Iain Dale is to ignore him completely, and never rise to his ridiculous remarks. Trollettes suck your energy only if you pay them attention. There really are life-and-death urgent and important things to do with every scrap of personal energy that we can muster in these increasingly-hairy Interesting Times. Pointless to waste it on witless toxic midgets.

Regarding the serious business of where you could take it from here, Craig:

I suggest that probably it was an over-trusting move to think that an honest, insightful and principled candidate was ever going to get a fair ride from our current ruthlessly anti-democratic system.

I haven’t been following the NN election in detail, since I always thought that it was virtually impossible that you’d win. But that was a good vid, which, on a genuinely level playing field, would have touched a lot of people. Couple that with an honest media system, and proper, equal exposure for all the candidates, and you could have had a real chance.

I remember reading on one of your blog-posts a while back (can’t just trace the refs and I’m a bit short of time to go looking) something that made me see very sharply that you’ve been undergoing a cascade of de-illusioning about the system in which we have to live in Britain, since you made the principled decision to step out of it as a good-faith servant.

Can I suggest that there’s a further illusion to be got rid of here, encapsulated in that old joke about: “If voting changed anything….”

I’m not talking about the small but often crucial assistances to us common citizens which can indeed be created by playing the system on its own rules, even in this rotten and deceitful fake democracy. Such small positives are allowed because fundamentally they don’t affect the things which really matter to the true power-holders. We’re allowed them only for that reason: they’re not important to the gics (the gangsters-in-charge).

But for radical rebuilding of the realpolitikal system in Britain to achieve a set of genuine democracies here, for the first time in the history of the island over the past fifteen hundred years (at least), then playing a system which has been *specifically evolved* to ensure that that never happens is a recipe for failure and depressed frustration.

Despite your honest efforts to do real democracy-in-action, Craig, I think that you’ve just had a bloody-nosed lesson on how hopeless that tack is. The gics and their servants in politics and media were never going to let that happen. The route to genuine democracies in Britain isn’t that way, I fear: no road.

Without going on a lot about it here, can I suggest that anyone reading this who hasn’t yet done so needs to get familiar with the Propaganda Model of media function in the Western ‘democracies’, as expounded with such masterly insight by Chomsky and Herman about 20 years back in their now-classic ‘Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media’.

Understanding the underlying realities of media function, as made clear by that study, makes it very obvious that there’s no point at all in hoping and badgering for across-the-board fair treatment form the dominant corporate media (very much including the BBC) for people trying to do practical democracy here. That’s just a way to ensure that real populist would-be democrats run all their energies into the sand, quite harmlessly from the viewpoint of the gics, without ever getting anywhere substantive.

What, then, is to be done?

In three words: non-violent revolution. (Revolution without the qualifier seems, bitterly, to run just about inevitably into failure of the original hopes, and a final state of affairs as bad or worse than the status quo ante.)

Now it’s apparent instantly to anyone with a pulse and two brain cells that there seems to be zilch prospect for a real, thoroughgoing socio-political velvet revolution here in The Isles, right now, isn’t it?

Ah but not so fast! Pull back the zoom to a long, wide shot, and take another look:

The mess that Britain is in now isn’t transitory, despite all the ‘green shoots’ bollocks that froths up and then recedes every few weeks. This isn’t a recession, or even a depression that we’re living through. This is an epoch change. The Synergising Global Crises that are driving it are manifold. But most crucially, it’s to do with the peaking of world energy supplies right about now. The twin peaks of global crude oil production are now appearing ever more clearly to have been in Spring ’05 and Autumn last year.

Now that the relentless growth of global energy supply that’s happened over the past one and half to two centuries has stopped –stopped for ever, that is — economic growthforever (hah! as if!) has stopped too, and is now dying.

It won’t revive. Repeat: it won’t revive, beyond occasional brief rallies. Ever.

Worse still, from the viewpoint of Britain’s particular predicament, North Sea oil-production is bombing as fast as that of Cantarell, the Alaskan North Slope and the other handful of supergiant cornucopia oil provinces that have splurged a cubic kilometre of crude onto the world markets every few weeks, reliably for the past several decades. There’s nothing to replace them on the horizon, anywhere, nor any reliable prospect that any more will be found (Four more Ghawars every few years? Do me a favour!) That time is gone. Suddenly, in the matter of energy supply, foreign-exchange earning capability, and the capacity to import vast amounts of cheap food, Britain is in deep, deep doo-doo.

To make things worse, the current crop of gic-servants in Westminster — very much including the pencilled-in next-government-in-waiting of Dave’s venal and ridiculous lot — are clueless about this gathering storm, and how to ride it out with a hope of survival.

The prospects for gainful-employment for masses of us common Britcitz are evaporating with a horrifying unstoppability. The prospects for funding even minimal dole-support for the rising tide of indigent ex-workers are increasingly unconvincing. Actual hunger, let alone a near absence of ready cash, is starting to appear amongst particularly vulnerable people whom I know and can observe personally. (As soon as I sign off from posting this comment, I shall be going round to my quietly-desperate neighbour to slip him a bag of vegetables gleaned from the CSA scheme which I support.)

These aren’t isolated weird anomalies, but the first signs of a trend that’s set to grow. Why else are so many common citizens, sensing the way that the wind’s blowing even if not grasping all that clearly why, teaching themselves survival gardening as fast as they can go?

The underlying single point that I’m making here for Craig and like-minded people, is that we are — right now — in a pre-revolutionary ferment which is set to grow inexorably. And if we don’t want to see it seized and steered by such truly toxic delusional schmucks as the BNP and UKIP simpletons and their sleepers in the Tory party, then we — decent, civilised, tolerant and above all properly-savvy true-democrats — need to be up to speed with what’s really happening, and ready with intelligent — and APPROPRIATE — strategies.

Contesting elections in our terminally-tainted system probably doesn’t satisfy that capitalised adjective above.

Best wishes Craig. Don’t repine, mate. You are very much the sort of figure around whom a properly popular velvet-revolution could begin to crystalise. But we all have to heed Chomsky’s old notion of intellectual self-defence, and struggle clear of the Permanent Bullshit Blizzard which enwraps our entire lives here, the better to see the actual realities with which we must all now cope, without the option.

Not rubbish.

Suggestions:

Don’t give any opponent free publicity unless you really must.

Don’t appear sanctimonious

Do choose a constituency with an unpopular sitting MP seeking re-election, maybe where the main challenger has “history” too.

Do choose a fairly cosmopolitan constituency where people are more likely to be open minded.

BTW next time UCU asks me for money, I’m going to refuse to pay the political levy.

Well done Craig…you weren’t rubbish at all.With a total media blackout and very limited funds you still got 1000 votes.

That’s a success in this game.

Look at the numbers the “big” parties got.

Woeful.

That’s the real story>

The lack of people voting due to general apathy and disgust.

The major parties are gonna have to face this voter disgust soon and your efforts helped highlight the malaise.

Now for God’s sake man go and relax awhile with your family and friends…;.)

Best wishes.

You’re a hero Craig…

I can very much agree with many on here, rubbish is not the word, if nobody ever tries, apathy will take hold and in this melee, so aptly pictured by Rhisiart’s comment above, more and more will turn away from participating in democratic discourse.

I also agree that we are in a pre revolutionary stage of sorts, some people talk of tax boycotts and such, they are not playing the system anymore, whatever the BBC, as sleazy as the Houses of parliament, proclaim and placate.

Promoting apathy by giving fraudulent parties more coverage than Independent alternatives, is gerrymandering consent and creating a negative cycle of despair.

By relying on perceived perceptions that are inherently false, because one’s own dependency is more important than the public one is supposed to serve, the BBC has now set itself up against the general public, made its nest within the seedy establishment and hence, signed up to its own downfall in future.

It has nothing to do with the BBC’s largesse, but all to do with an inherent bias in favor of those who are in Government, or might come into power.

Far from joining the Greens who are striving to become a mainstream party by placating a biased media, Independents can show the way forward and a leavening of them in Parliament would make a real change to this molasses of self centred party hacks feeding on vested interests.

I made msiatkes, so did others, in a fast and furious campaign that speeds along for 21 days that will happen. We did not have 300 people at our dis[posal, nor could we generate leaflet fatigue by delivering 27 leaflets, some 1.5 million.

Cloe Smith was rejected by Ipswich, because they could see through her facade, sadly Norwich seems to have got used to giving rejects a chance.

Like I said before, she has made her nest and its full of vipers.

As for Ian Dale, he wants to detract from the loss of thousands of conservative votes by making out that we ran a dishonest campaign, like spitting into the wind, it will come back to him soon and hit his snug face.

I will do it again tomorrow, but I would like to have some more time to prepare for it and a dedicated team to prepare for the next GE, like NOW.

My sincere thank you to all the lovely people I have met during the campaign from all over the world, a truly global effort.

I have been in The green Party for 34 years and have never felt such buzz at any of their election efforts, so we can be proud of having beaten the BNP into 6th. place.

UKIP, Bill Holden and the other two Independents apart from Craig were also ignored, they will not be happy with it either and hopefully give the BBC some gibb for their bias.

Iain Dale wrote:

“Put an honest man into Parliament, eh? My arse. He became just like any other two bit politician in the end, and I suspect he knows it.”

And where do all these two bit politicians come from, if it wasn’t for the party juggernauts shoeing them in?

When the previous Norwich North MP represented the people instead of the party, he was sacked. I doubt Chloe will risk representing the good people of Norwich North, if she’s a good Tory career girl.

@JB

“Iain Dale – so you ‘retweeted’ it did you? get out the gutter you childish fool. All that wall-to-wall coverage and you still lost shit-loads of votes. A total blackout for Craig and he gained 1000 votes. Don’t you get it yet?”

In a nutshell!

By-elections are tough for independents as the big parties can bring paid workers and volunteers from all over the country (i talked to some at the count). The parties had also been campaigning for about 18 months already in anticipation of a possible general election – compared to 2 weeks for the independents.

I didn’t like the first leaflet with the picture of the ambassador’s residence and chauffeur driven car you’d given up as it gave the completely false impression that you were from a pampered background and wouldnt understand ordinary peoples’ concerns. In fact you grew up in a council house and throughout your life have had to put in the maximum effort, endure hardship and help others too.

The word “distinguished” was one i wasnt sure about for the same reasons.

However your 2nd leaflet was great and if the BBC had allowed you into debates your honesty, intelligence, immense knowledge and respect for other people would have shone through as it did at the hustings which werent televised, in which you were clearly the best candidate.

In that context beating the BNP vote after spending about 2 or 3% of the time they spent campaigning and getting themselves known in the constituency is pretty good going.

@Rhisiart Gwylim

Very thoughtful contribution.

Should be framed as a critical analysis for future action, even if that action is limited to contesting a general election seat.

Craig am byth!

@Craig

Good to see the site back up again. I was getting a completely blank page (in Firefox). Most unusual and very disturbing. Does it reflect the unreliability of the RU server you have been forced to use to get yourself heard?

Purposeful lack of coverage of your campaign by the BBC certainly makes a case for having access to an extra-UK server, but brings its own problems with it.

Your stand in NN has been inspirational, and, even if your total vote was down on the previous one, don’t forget that constituencies have their own individual dynamics and justice (of which he is Minister) will eventually catch up with Jack Straw. What a creep.

Rhisiart Gwilym is absolutely right.

The only way to achieve a say in government is through a non-violent revolution. The whole political process is manipulated by the Establishment/unelected permanent government, who are desperate for us to believe we have true democracy.

Chloe Smith has been processed to bring young people back into the political system. The young people are going to be the hardest hit when the economy hits rock bottom. For our rulers it’s vital to engage more voters; people who feel they’re not part of the political process are dangerous.

Our economy has been vulnerable for many years and I believe was on the verge of collapse around 1992. After that date I believe illegal activities on a vast scale were implemented to hold it up. I don’t just mean illegal wars or government involvement in terrorist acts.

Everything is controlled to hide illicit activities and to contain the citizens. The measures taken to prevent terrorism are for two reasons: to control us when the hard times come and to create hatred against Muslims so the greater part of this population won’t squeal when oil and gas in Muslim lands are grabbed.

The picture created is that Muslims are evil and don’t care who they blow up. In every terrorist incident there are so many questions left unanswered, which leads me to believe that it’s the intelligence services blowing people up to protect our economy.

Craig’s answer as to why Deloitte would pay Chloe Smith to run as a Conservative candidate I found simplistic. I think the answer runs much deeper.

Perhaps the first step to a non-violent revolution is to opt out of the political process: DON’T VOTE. Voting maintains the controlled and corrupt political system.

@Craig

Finally, and in conclusion, and not forgetting to thank the Parish Priest for the use of the hall, you should be proud of a blog that champions free speech, including the obstructive and diversionary tactics of the Trolls.

That’s for the long haul.

‘Scuse the consecutive posts, but your site was down!

@Ingo

Good to meet you and share the excitement of the campaign, even if we were so poorly rewarded. I agree with much of what you say. I think ‘pre-revolutionary’ stage might be overstating it, but there is definitely a new confidence happening – the student demos over Gaza, the worker occupations we’re seeing recently, a genuine public shift in the perceptions of Afghanistan as a ‘good war’, and establishment tut-tutting over the perils of free market capitalism!

One other point that I’d make is that I think we should have no quarrel with Chloe Smith personally. As I have mentioned before, I think she will work hard for the constituency, and she will geuinely wish to prioritise ‘local issues’. Our real problem is the party she has chosen to represent, which I think we should recognise is part of the establishment that seeks to preserve the status quo. The ‘cutting of public finances’ that is presently Conservative policy will *really* hurt the disenfranchised if the Tories come to power in the GE, and then voters will realise that when voting to kick out a government, you had best pay attention to who you are inviting in.

I mention Chloe’s “local” focus mainly because – and I mean no offence to her when I say this – local issues are the only things she will be allowed to have a say on. As far as I know across the whole of her campaign, she did not say anything about Afghanistan, decent legal control of the worldwide economy, casino banking, or meaningful environmental measures, since conservatives generally have retrograde positions on these issues. (Neither could she have deliberately contradicted Central Party thinking either, lest she get a public rebuke from Cameron et al. One can expect her to be extremely well briefed about what she is allowed to say).

Chloe will at some point come up against the contradictions of right-wing party politics – although she will want to help poor and underprivileged constituents in her surgery – i.e. the people who most need her help – she may privately recognise that the same people are being substantially and deliberately undermined by the policies of the party she is proudly a member of.

—

As an aside, although one genuinely suspects something fishy in Deloitte Touch loaning Smith to the Conservative Party Implementation Unit, I am at odds to decide whether Smith personally feels this is dubious. I am of the view that it is quite possible that when you have been fully accepted by the establishment, one becomes automatically inculcated with the prevailing mindset. Thus, it would take an outsider to point out to her that she is far too close to big business for a govt minister, and that it is possible that she genuinely can’t see why people think this ‘backroom deal’ looks a bit shady!

Sam Hunt – Craig has never said that everything he’s done in his personal life was right and has openly said he felt bad about a great deal of it.

His children don’t hold the grudges you seem to hold. I was leafleting along with Craig’s son Jamie and staying in the same house for over a week and it was obvious that father and son get on very well and care a great deal about each other.

Perhaps you should compare Craig’s past infidelities to starting an un-necessary war that has killed hundreds of thousands and caused the July 7th bombings which killed dozens more; or to members of government colluding with torturers and dictators who burn people with boiling water and pull out their finger nails. Then you might have some sense of perspective and see that, while none of us are perfect, Craig’s good points massively outwiegh his bad ones.

@Polo – the web server is in Holland, see the link below. My guess is that the server crashed due to load, as it has unfortunately done before. Hopefully they will sort it out!

@Jon

That’s encouraging. I share your hopes. We don’t want to fuel any paranoia here

What’s done is done. Concerning what to do next, here’s an idea for something completely different, but I suggest having a break before thinking about it:

Start a local newspaper in Norwich that focusses on commentary on international and national issues as well as local news. Its title could be inspired by a samizdat publication in the former Soviet Union, “The Chronicle of Current Events”, perhaps by having “Chronicle” in the title somewhere. Its favourite causes could include protecting the Eastern seaboard and increasing the number of independent MPs in Parliament.

@Craig/campaign team, incidentally I dare say a good number of us would be interested to find out more about -

* how a joint independents complaint to the BBC goes

* whether there is any response from UCU on cutting out Craig from their event

* any follow up on the allegation that local Labour activists were removing posters of other candidates. The LibDems would be likely to assist on this one, I think

Jon

And also why the count was left till the morning

Apart from Imran from Bradford and discounting Mr Dale who is paid, I agree with all of the heartfelt praise for Craig and his campaign expressed above. Well done , Craig.

As for Tory Braying, if there is going to be a landslide victory for the tories at the general election, are we going to have the fun of seeing the Bradford Imrans crawling like hungry bed-bugs into bed with the new masters like the vicar of Bray? They are a stain on Islam and the pious name of Imran.

I am sorry that the voters of Norwich North let you down. You were not rubbish.

There once were some vicars of Norwich

Who spoke from their pulpit on courage

But under their troos

They wore True Tory blues

And their hearts were the colour of borage.

Didn’t Craig get only a few more votes than the BNP candidate?

Jon,

Have you ever considered that the government may be inextricably linked to big business?

Is it not possible that taxpayers’ money has been/is used to underpin big business so that the government becomes a secret shareholder?

Bollox. It ain’t the winning it’s the…err… who gives a toss? You tried, you failed, you can try again. All the best to the family Craig.

Norwich eh? Lot of swimming medals round them there parts!!

Re Jon (3:46 PM)

Yes, would love to hear follow-up on the matters mentioned — and Ruth’s.

Is there any reason for suspicion that the result was fraudulent? What was the impression of the workers who spoke to voters in Norwich? Such fraud would need, for example, over 95% of ballots of people who voted for Craig being destroyed or spoiled. It would have be done overnight where the ballot papers were stored, and would explain why the counting not being done immediately.

I’m sorry to rant on about this, but I think it is important that people should understand an important reason why the vote was so much, much lower than it could have been. Quite simply, most of the voters never actually got the chance to find out what Craig Murray stood for.

The first leaflet was the only one that arrived in time for most people to read it. It showed an Ambassador’s car, which was supposed to demonstrate what Craig gave up. What it mainly conveyed to most readers was an impression of wealth and self-importance. The first leaflet said a lot about Craig’s personal achievements, but very little about what Craig was actually offering to do for the voter. It contained no policies. It said almost nothing about the sleaze issue. It did not explain what Craig was standing for, or why anyone should really want to vote for him.

The later leaflets and the DVD were better, but arrived amongst a blizzard of literature from all the other parties over the last few days of the campaign. So they will largely have gone unread.

Coming from a bigger-party background (Lib Dem), it was frustrating for me to see the campaign making mistakes that all the established parties have long ago learned not to make. I’ll pick on just one simple example to illustrate this: the “poster leaflet”. Craig’s number 2 leaflet contained a full-size A3 poster on its inside pages, which the voter was asked to display. That was a big mistake. So how do I know that?

Well, because the big parties never do it, because they have tried it before, and because they know it doesn’t work.

Posters, these days, are a bit of an embarassment. Fewer and fewer people put them up. In every election, the display looks less and less impressive. Each party would really like to give them up – but they can’t, because then they’d look out-gunned by the others.

Tories, for example, will have been able to console themselves with the thought that, OK, there weren’t all that many Chloe posters around, but, perhaps that just meant that the Tories weren’t much bothered with postering. Perhaps there were plenty of people around who would not put up posters, but would just quietly go and vote Tory.

Things look very different, however, if you and your neighbours all receive a big poster of Craig Murray, and are asked to display it. You look at your neighbours’ windows, and you can see that none of them have a Murray poster in them. So you immediately learn (or at least, you think you learn) that this guy Murray is on a loser! So the “poster leaflet” is actually quite counter-productive. All the big parties have worked this out by now, which is why they don’t do it.

It’s a real shame to see such effort, idealism, and hard work achieve so much less than it could have done. I don’t agree with comments such as those of John Hemming MP, to the effect that this campaign was doomed to fail. It could have done much better. It did not fail for lack of effort, and it certainly did not fail because of its outstandingly able candidate. It just should have been done smarter.

Dear Craig

You had a learning experience.

You try and did your best, I wouldn’t be too hard on yourself on this.

Politics is like law, it is about who tells the best story.

There is always another day to fight.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Craig, you did the best job possible with the bias in the way of independants. I think the DVD was an inspired move, and had the post office cleared it, and delivered it sooner, you would have gained alot more votes. Take a well earned rest, and recharge the batteries. Your army of supporters is growing. One day soon, we shall scale them damn fortress walls.

better luck next time.. u will win hope for the best.

Craig

Forgive me if I am asking something on which your position is already public but,

what is your position on independence for Scotland?

better luck next time.. u will win hope for the best.

Just woke up after sleeping most of last 36 hours. Gather blog was mostly down.

I favour independence for Scotland.

Quite frankly somewhat of a deception. Did not expect a miracle but at the end of, and as much as I hat to write that, the the beeb was right: you were not a “serious” candidate

alexT – Your comment is hard to take seriously as it, like the BBC’s argument, is based on circular reasoning – i.e that candidates with a lower vote in past elections should get no media coverage, ignoring the fact that the vote for each candidate depends to a great extent on the amount of media coverage they get.

The BBC is a publicly funded organisation which is meant to be politically neutral yet it is openly favouring the largest established parties, even after the expenses scandal, the Iraq war and PFIs, which have discredited them.

The BBC decided Craig was “not a significant candidate” on the basis that he had never had any share of the vote in previous elections in Norwich North, which was a somewhat ridiculous way to judge it since he’d never been a candidate in the constituency in any previous election.

Then they excluded him from the televised BBC Look East debate, ensuring most voters would never see his performance in debates. At the hustings debates, which were sadly not televised and were poorly attended, Craig’s performances showed him head and shoulders above every other candidate – only Rupert Read came close.

Probably the first time I have ever voted for someone worth voting for.

Your campaign – and your continuing willingness to speak out as an honest and well-informed critic of the creeping police state – gave encouragement to people around the world (I’m in Australia).

I doubt the conformist yuppie who won can say the same.

Do British Tories really say ‘ha ha double ha!’ these days? Remarkable. I always learn something new when I visit this blog

This is why we need STV.

I agree – we do need STV Paul. The problem is to get STV we need parties that are for STV to win an election. That might not be completely impossible if there’s a coalition govt at the next election though.

I was intrigued by the counting being undertaken the next day rather than immediately after the polls. Can you tell me what security was applied to the ballot boxes and how all parties including minor parties could be assured that what was counted was not tampered with?

I dread to think that this was actually the case, but voting fraud is widespread in the USA and other countries. For example, the french results in the last European election seem decidedly odd considering what some french people were telling me. And let’s not even go there on the Italian side!

I much appreciate your blog, by the way.

I agree with all of John Hemming’s (Lib Dem MP) post of July 24, 7.12pm, except the last sentence. Why don’t you join the Green Party (not the Lib Dems). You’d fit in perfectly – have you looked at the Green’s foreign & defence policies? eg. opposition to the attacks on Afghanistan & Iraq, unilateral nuclear disarmament, reduced defence spending, Britain pulling out of NATO …