A most important matter, Sir, most important. Far be it from me to ask whether the accused parties might argue that the meat and drink were not to instigate any voting or abstention therefrom, but merely to sustain weary unsaddled travellers in keeping with local customs of hospitality. I am sure that the case will be swiftly brought to the attention of the Minister of Justice himself!

I hope you get the murdering bastard Craig. Best wishes.

There’s an interesting article here about “treating” in Scotland a few years back, where one of Murdoch’s goons infiltrates the SNP and mentions receiving food, though not realising that “treating” is an offence.

The interesting part however is that the blogger who is questioning the goon’s account quotes from the material given out to Labour party agents:

“The legal guidance Labour Party Agents get makes it quite clear that this is an area where you could find yourself on the wrong side of the law:

“The ‘treating’ of electors is a corrupt practice and you must be very careful that it is avoided.

A person shall be guilty of ‘treating’ if s/he, either before during or after an election, directly or indirectly provides any food, drink or entertainment, to influence that person to vote or refrain from voting at that election. Free food and drink should not be provided at public meetings or

meetings of supporters. A charge should be made for any food or drink provided to avoid any possibility of treating.

Agents should also take care that any provision of refreshments for election workers, which may be seen as ‘payment in kind’ are treated as such and could not be interpreted as ‘treating’. In the case of members canvassing the public on the phone or the doorstep, it would be illegal to pay them for this work. It is therefore important that provision of refreshments for these workers is an occasional expression of gratitude and that it is quite clear that they are not promised in advance as an inducement to do this work.”

So, does Jack Straw’s agent not receive these warnings too?

http://lukeakehurst.blogspot.com/2008/07/sunday-times-implies-snp-could-be.html

In Britt v Robinson the candidate was found guilty of treating even though “no bargain was expressly or impliedly made as to their votes on the election, nor did the voters understand or suppose their votes at the election were bought or engaged, or in any way bargained for.” Seems pretty clear.

The need for “corruptly” is presumably to exclude, for example, buying a meal for one’s family where the candidate would have done so anyway. Not to give a ridiculously wide exemption to induce voters, but without inducing them “corruptly”: that would be absurd.

Yes, even in local elections we are advised to be extremely careful – even buying helpers a round of drinks after a busy day can be seen as treating if any of them are voters in the ward concerned.

However, if the event (or even just the food and drink) was organised by someone not connected with the election campaign but who just happened to invite Labour speakers, I’m not sure that’s problem – though it may be a donation in kind.

*Everyone* as you say, knows that treating is an offense, so I’d be surprised if anyone of that stature would do it so blatantly.

Reminds me of the events in Ireland during the famine, where Anglicans ran around the country offering free soup to Catholics who would convert.

Ever since then the phrase “took the soup” has been used to refer to anyone who had been corrupted by bribes or whatever.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souperism

Whenever Ronald Reagan visited Ireland during his presidency, there were all these people running around with placards and tee shirts saying “Souper Reagan”.

Some of the American networks reported it as bad spelling.

Interesting that the Telegraph might get involved. I’d be pleased for them to launch into this as per the expenses scandal, even if in this case it might be propelled somewhat by their political preferences rather than the law.

“*Everyone* as you say, knows that treating is an offense, so I’d be surprised if anyone of that stature would do it so blatantly.”

Everyone knows that slaughtering millions is wrong.

Doesn’t stop those of “stature” doing as they please.

A prosecution is not necessarily a foregone conclusion. See what the CPS themselves say:

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/d_to_g/election_offences/

Um, ObiterJ, I’ve read that link, and that suggests that a prosecution would be normal.

Indeed, it says that “Proceedings for major infringements will normally be in the public interest.”

It goes on to qualify situations where no proceeding would be justified:

“the offence is of a ‘technical’ nature which does not infringe the spirit of the legislation;”

This is not a technical offence; Craig has explained already how it exactly violates the spirit of the legislation.

“the offence was committed as a result of a genuine mistake or misunderstanding”

That seems unlikely: Craig has explained already how Straw has done this before.

“the offence could not have influenced the result of the election process”

This offence clearly could have.

“the offender has remedied any breach of the law.”

Encouraging the constituents to regurgitate the food is impossible, since I should think it has long ago been digested.

This has to be one of the most pathetic things I have ever seen… Mr Murray am I reading this correctly, that you are instigating this? Is this the most important thing a ‘human rights activist’ and our overstretched cps have to do with their time and our money?

Nothing will happen, most likely. They will try and murder you before Straw does porridge. You know the script. Politics in the good ole Uk are a disease, a virus. People are clamouring for honesty, withdrawal from a foreign policy which will never change. Does it not matter that after blowing our money, and doing it badly, they continue to keep the cash taps on full flow. Tax increases no, tax reductions yes. Not an empire maybe a banana republic on drugs. It was not my stupidity.

During 2004 i caused a stink at a large financial firm when i sent an email to the BOE asking if there was a limit on the amount of liquidity the central bank could pump in to a failing economy. I wondered what the fuss was about, now i think did they know what was going to happen, surely yes, simple economics. I wonder of the hellish period we have endured was simply planned in advance. Who owns the BOE?

Isla,

It is pretty important to have a law to prevent the bribing of voters. And it is pretty important, when you have a criminal law, to enforce it, even on New Labour ministers.

MJ

sorry deleting repeats of Obiter’s comment and got yours too!

I’ve cobbled the Association of Chief Police Officers “Guidance on Preventing and Detecting Electoral Malpractice” file into a PDF, for anyone sensible enough not to have Micro$oft Word installed:

http://www.killick1.plus.com/electoral_malpractice.pdf

I’m not sure if it’s complete though.

Are our police officers really expected to read this sort of thing? It’s over seventy pages, FFS, and that’s just one document…

Isla Dowds,

the Returning Officer didn’t consider it a trivial matter when an independent candidate was going to do the same, see:

http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2010/04/jack_straw_trea.html

“It is worth noting that an independent candidate, Bushra Irfan, was reported to the police by the returning officer for an internet page that suggested that food would be given at a meeting. Irfan’s campaign apologised and removed the offending page; no food was given. However Jack Straw was able to actually give out seven hundred meals under the noses of the police, with not a word said by the Returning Officer, who by law should now disqualify him.”

Should the law be applied unevenly?

I don’t break the law, I am the law!

“However, if the event (or even just the food and drink) was organised by someone not connected with the election campaign but who just happened to invite Labour speakers, I’m not sure that’s problem – though it may be a donation in kind”.

Yes, that’s the issue. The shindig was organised by ‘Muslim Friends of Labour” and technically Straw was just another guest.

Seriously, is this the best that Tory sympathisers can do?

Let’s suppose for one minute that you are successful with your action:

You will also ensure that everyone present who partook of the refreshments will also be guilty of the offence and condemn them to gain criminal records if convicted.

Mr Murray, enjoy the remainder of your career, because after this, your credibility is essentially kaput.

God bless.

On the previous thread Martin posted a link about Nadhim Zahawi standing as a Con. in Stratford on Avon.

He was the co founder of You Gov and was the CEO until recently when he became a PCC. Still a shareholder – see his Register of Interests on his website.

He is also connected to Archer.

Wikipedia – Missing Kurdish aid

In July 2001, Scotland Yard began investigating allegations that millions of pounds had disappeared from Simple Truth, a fundraising campaign run by Archer. He set up a charity with the Red Cross. He employed two Kurdish aides, Broosk Saib and Nadhim Zahawi, whom he nicknamed “Lemon Kurd and Bean Kurd.”[8]

In May 1991, Archer organised a charity pop concert in aid of the Kurds of Iraq, starring Rod Stewart, Paul Simon, Sting and Gloria Estefan, who all performed for free. On 19 June 1991, Archer held up a cheque for £57,042,000, around £3 million came from the Simple Truth concert and appeal, £10m from the UK government, and the remaining £43 million from overseas governments’ aid projects, with significant amounts pledged before the concert. The campaign led John Major to recommend Archer for his peerage.[8]

In 1992, the Kurdish Disaster Fund wrote to Archer, complaining: “You must be concerned that the Kurdish refugees have seen hardly any of the huge sums raised in the west in their name,” Kurdish groups claimed little more than £250,000 had been received by groups in Iraq. Former Conservative Party vice chairman Lady Nicholson said “practically nothing” of the £57 million Archer said he collected had reached the Kurdish people.[13] Archer then went to Iraq on a fact-finding mission, where his chant of “Long Live Kurdistan” was unfortunately mis-translated as “Bastard, Devilish Kurdistan.”[8]

A British Red Cross-commissioned KPMG audit of the cash showed no donations were handled by Archer and any misappropriation was “unlikely”. But KPMG could find no evidence to support Archer’s claims to have raised £31.5 million from overseas governments. The police said they would launch a “preliminary assessment of the facts” from the audit but were not investigating the Simple Truth fund.[14]

We needed that laugh.

A crook like this is suppose to be the “Justice Minister” lol.

I am not just the hustice Minister, I am justice!

Dan Roberts,

Not many Tory sympathisers around here.

Personally, I think that Straw should be facing war crimes charges at the Hague. But you have to get gangsters the way you can. Al Capone was jailed not for murder, organised crime or liquor smuggling but for tax evasion. It’s the same principle.

MJ, you are claiming that the organisers of a “Muslims for Labour Rally”, held in Jack Straw’s constituency, at which every speech urged voters to vote for Jack Straw, and Jack Straw was present, were “Not connected to the campaign”. Don’t be an arse.

Are you desperate, Dan?

MJ @7:16

It does not matter if someone else organised and paid for the event. That just makes them guilty of the criminal offence too.

By attending the event Jack Straw made himself guilty.

It it had gone ahead without Straw present then the organisers alone would be guilty unless the court decided Straw was in on the conspiracy.

Straw is the Minister of Justice. Shouldn’t he respect the same laws as the rest of us?

What’s happened to Larry? He seems to have evanesced ever since my long, expository invitation to him. But perhaps it has nothing to do with that and it’s just that he’s a foreign, rather than a domestic, policy wonk. Or, could it be that he has actually got onto a bus…? The Number 2 from Vauxhall Station, perhaps?

Are you there, Larry,

In the air, anywhere, everywhere?

Have you ever heard a lark

In the depths of the dark?

Would you like a cup of tea,

Or four, or two or three?

Erethismo

Mr Murray, the ‘human rights activist’ has forced people to self-incriminate by providing sworn statements that they were in receipt the food.

“Every elector or his proxy who corruptly accepts or takes any such meat, drink, entertainment or provision shall also be guilty of treating.”

WELL DONE MR MURRAY. REALLY REALLY WELL DONE. GOOD JOB. A HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST FORCING PEOPLE INTO SELF-INCRIMINATION. JOLLY GOOD JOB I SAY!

isla: For a human rights activist, it is particularly important. Do some research!

Biffo,

Why do you think they inserted the word “corruptly” into the paragraph you just quoted?

Idiot.

Actually a number of the recipients are indeed also guilty, but not these witnesses.

Tony,

You can post anything on the topic. Off topic comments will just get deleted.

Micky, why do you think they inserted the word ‘corruptly’ into the sentences describing the provision?

If refreshments were provided as innocently as they were received, then this case falls flat on its face, as it no doubt will after wasting taxpayers money.

The onus is on the accuser to prove corrupt intent, and I don’t see any evidence of that.

Idiot.

Keep going, Craig.

You put these sanctimonious pricks to shame.

Thank you.

Haven’t noticed anyone referring to the report in the Lancashire Telegraph Wednesday 28 April:

“Police are taking no further action against Blackburn independent candidate Bushra Irfan, after allegations that voters were offered food to attend her rallies. “We have spoken to Mrs Irfan and given her appropriate advice” said a spokeswoman.”

Apologies if I missed it.

I gave her my postal vote. I wanted it to count, if only to help her to avoid losing her deposit.

Biffo the Bear,

you’re obviously new here; the name of the commenter comes *after* the comment, your reply was from Craig.

How did you find this blog?

>”Is this the most important thing a ‘human rights activist’ and our overstretched cps have to do with their time and our money? ”

Winning an election by bribery is very serious and far from trivial. That the bribes needed to sway floating voters may be fairly trivial is irrelevant.

Craig, after you’ve finished with Straw, perhaps you could look at Ed “I’m not a scientist” Millipede.

The UK’s 2875 wind turbines are producing 134MW.

The governments target by 2020 is 15% of supply

Nuclear power currently produces c.15% or 6109MW.

Ed Milipede hasn’t got his calculator out: 6109/134 = 45.489.

Multiply this by our existing number of turbines and we arrive at 131,069 turbines needed.

The latest turbines cost about £4m each, so that’d be £512,776,000,000… hmm, just a tad under the entire national debt!

Sorry to go off topic but Nu-Lab’s irresponsible green energy fantasy will cost us all very very DEAR.

Craig,

interesting new bunch of critics this post seems to have attracted. If I didn’t have my tinfoil hat on I might think someone was feeling rattled…

Treating in my constituency! Why, that is outrageous! Absolutely unacceptable, no question of it. Believe me, heads will roll for this. Not mine of course, but there’s a traitor who was at the meal, and later was overheard talking about doing a deal with the Liberals. Imagine that, after eating our curry! We’ll serve his head on a plate to the Press to make an example of him and get our spin doctors to do their business before election day.

“I am not just the Justice Minister, I am justice!”

pseudonymous ‘Jack Straw’ in real blog

“I am not eccentric, I am concentric!”

eponymous Salvador Dali, in ‘F is for Fake’

Clark, they are all cybermen.

Suhayl,

tin men, eh? Well, if they keep coming here, our wizard Craig will give them each a heart.

In days of old a rough looking old crook with one eye was called a pirate. Is Gordon Broon a pirate or a good man? Prison is full of people who never done it. Strawman & gang would be in good company

Straw could go to jail? I think I just came in my pants…

I’ve no sympathy for any LibDem sympathisers who complain about Labour and Tory cheats.

You have bought into the sleazy game by agreeing to participate in the leadership debates while denying the same opporunity to other reformist parties.

Fair play (but only for the LibDems) is your call!!! People used to be executed for lesser acts of treachory.

isla dowds:

Not sure why you put ‘human rights activist’ in quotes, as if such a thing did not really exist. Like ‘Palestine’, perhaps.

But Craig Murray does a lot for human rights. Just this week, for instance, he gave up a day and and a half and is still out of pocket for going to Swansea’s Amnesty branch to give a talk on human rights.

The Swansea branch has never had such a well attended event, the issue of human rights was entirely new to a large young element of the 100-strong crowd. Amnesty will gain more members, and many people will become active for human rights because of it.

Now Mr. Murray did this for free. As mentioned, he’s still out of pocket, and doesn’t seem in a hurry to be reimbursed.

You have a _damned_ cheek making him out to be some sort of hypocrite, because he decides to go after corrupt politicians the day after.

I am sad to read so many apologist comments here justifying electoral mal practise.

Typically when their own backside is on fire they scream blue murder. for them the law seems to be an arse, or was it ass, or Arsch, can’t remember.

had a brilliant youth meeting today.

Jack twice agreed with Bushra Irfan, the independent challenger, so did the local Conservative who is as boring as you could possibly imagine.

YThe Lib dem candidate had a few very good point to make, whilst jack got a grilling on his hijab retraction, young people seem to think he should have apologised instaly rather than wait until now, election time.

He also says he does not support an attack on Iran, again, before an election, who knows what the slippery eel will say afterwards.

good night from an eventfull Blackbunr, I’m bushed, another 14 hrs. day.

Suhayl Saadi I am here.

I haven’t posted on the website because my work is now complete, Craig has now joined

a mainstream pro-war Zionist party.

What more is there for me to do?

I have wan and you have lost.

You Ayrabs have no chance against us, even the Nazi BNP are now on our side.

sickkid1972

I can’t go to jail, I am jail.

I decide who goes to jail and who doesn’t.

I decide what is lawful and what is not.

I am the law.

The sooner you lesser people realise that and bow down to the axis of Neo the better it would be for you.

We are the Neo Labour, the Neo Conservatives and the Neo Liberal democrats that Craig has joined.

That difference will it make if Neo Labour is replaced by NeoConservatives?

We are all the same. What difference does it make that Neo Liberal Democrats may take a few seats away from us.

They are us and we are them.

The three parties of this country form a trinity, 1 power in 3 parts.

Craig,

If anyone with authority to investigate this ever looks into it, regardless of what you say your witnesses told you, the other side will surely be able to produce more of their own witnesses to say contributions were sought.

In short, might it be wise to keep your powder dry on this one? Be careful of fighting battles that can’t be won but that *can* damage you.

Apparently The Guardian has deserted Labour and is supporting the Lib Dem for the election. (It seems it is only the Daily Mirror backing Brown now) Is there any chance they may run with this story as they have been supportive of you recently ? For a charge like this to be investigated it needs widespread publicity.

With the Brown gaff this week it seems to wheels are finally coming off the NuLabour cart. If Blair was the car salesman, Brown would seem to be the funeral director, at least he has the looks for it…

If the Telegraph go large with this, you’ve cracked it, Craig. Well done.

And if Blackburn Police don’t get a move on, and “invite the suspected party for interview under caution”, then a complaint should be made directly to the Chief Constable of Lancashire. Followed by the IPCC.

Larry,

Once again you have revealed your naivety by issuing a statement based on thin air:

‘a mainstream pro-war Zionist party.’

So why do I support Lib Dem? An obvious answer is because they voted against the illegal Iraq ‘war’ that has consumed 8 years and more of my life.

Lib Dem is not anti-war however, it agrees to the principle of fighting terrorists in Afghanistan but has formally agreed to end this war at the earliest opportunity.

So what about Israel and Zionists?

Nick Clegg’s record in this regard is undeniable. In January 2009 he called for EU sanctions against Israel, including an arms embargo. In December 2009, he publicly condemned Israel for having caused a “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza, and again called for EU pressure on Israel (and Egypt) to lift restrictions on imports into the area.

Good, Good!

Digging deeper into the power structures or the inner core of the Lib Dems – do we notice any buckling of the ‘core columns’ that might give us a nasty shock?

If we peer into the corridors of power we learn this:

Shadow deputy leader of the Lords, Lord Wallace told the Board that Israeli policy towards the Palestinians was “mistaken” and that, as a democracy, Israel should be held to higher standards.

Lord Wallace has raised the Israel-EU trade agreement which is coming up for renewal. He spoke of “whether or not the EU should unconditionally renew that or whether there should be some negotiation on the conditions for that.”

He added: “We have all of us got to grasp the issue of what we do about the Palestinians, what we do about Gaza and how we begin to get back to a negotiated settlement.

The Board of Deputies treasurer, Laurence Brass, who is a former Liberal parliamentary candidate, said: “I don’t think it is helpful for the Board to only hear from politicians who want to tickle our tummies and tell us how wonderful Israel is, when we all know that the Israeli government’s peace credentials are being severely questioned in both London and Washington.”

Pro-war Zionist party? A delusion – absolute bollocks!

Thought for the day:

At the moment the Liberal Democrat volume, ‘Why vote Lib Dem’ is number 236 in the Amazon sales charts. The Conservative volume is number 84,202, the Labour volume 28,322 and the Green volume 47,552.

Mark,

I just came back to check this blog and of course the above wasn’t me.

I’m an American. We tend not to use the word “Zionist.” That among other things should have clued you in.

But you don’t seem to be a big fan of scrutiny.

Mark, please stop encouraging that silly, sad, neo-con teabagging freak. Just because I’ve replied to you on that silly bugger, just watch… he’ll get all excited again, and when he’s finished pleasuring himself, will start posting again in the hope of yet further replies.

The more attention a teabagger receives, the more crazy they become. Which might be all very well and entertaining in a freak show, but that freak show is being taken seriously as a legitimate political philosophy by the corporate media in America. We are more Murdoch-bound that the Americans, and Fox-News is leading all this, so we are not without peril ourselves.

Just stop treating these tea-bagging neo-con nut-job fascists as having any serious thing worth replying to, please? They’ll goad, for sure – but that’s their job. When there’s silence on an obvious wind-up, respect it – everyone did until your contribution.

Now, Glenn, why would you consider me a teabagger? I make fun of those silly gooses!

Larry,

I think in conspiracy world everyone is part of a movement of some kind.

As for your impersonator, I am guessing it is Arsalan. He’s always having trouble with his vowels.

I have just heard something on BBC Breakfast news that made me choke on my cornflakes. Supposedly in Pakistan people are going around house to house collecting signed proxy votes for the UK elections. The most worrying thing is that

a. These are blank forms and no party preference has been asked or put on the forms and

b. An electoral commision spokesman says that they are not interested because no fraud has taken place.

This is very very worrying as according to the report one town alone has had thousands of forms rounded up alone. If this is repeated all over India how many votes will be added? I smell nu labour dirty tricks at work. If anyone has family in these areas please ask if they know anything about who is doing this?

The electoral commission is as much dependent on the good will of the powerstructure and party in power, as the BBc.

They are perfectly willing to police election in some other country for the OECD, but when it comes to their own countries mal practise they sit on their backsides and whistle Dixie.

Lawrence is back! I thought he’d got on a bus somewhere in the Mid-West. Cup of tea, Larry?

Steve, how odd. I didn’t catch the report. How exactly were they suggesting these ‘votes’ might be added to the UK poll? Are they supposed to be postal votes? Is this ballot-box stuffing? Why go all the way to Pakistan to do it? Is this in relation to Blackburn or does it have more general application?

This sounds like the way electoral fraud occurs in some countries. But I am wary – perhaps reflexively defensive, perhaps justifiably wary – of any ‘bad news from Pakistan’ (and it always seems to be bad news, doesn’t it?) reported in the UK media, esp. at the present time. There is an agenda on the part of some military-ISI forces in Pakistan to undermine the PPP Govt. and these forces keep releasing ‘bad news’ from Pakistan in order to undermine the govt’s international credibility. Perhaps that’s a red herring, though, and this is a purely British dynamic. Let’s check it out.

Arsalan, tell me, are you the cyber-man? Are you ‘Wacko Jacko Straw’?

Who is in the Tea Party, and who, the Coffee Party? And are the two part of the same old beverage company?

In my last comment India should read Pakistan sorry. But is it happening in India and other commonwealth countries??

The word, ‘teabagging’ appears to have a number of different meanings, one political (current US right-wing pro-corporate ‘movement’), another, sexual.

Suhayl

I only know what I saw on the BBC but the reporter was on the ground in the town and seemed to corroborate what had been said. I dont think this is a slur on Pakistan more the depths that nu labour are willing to go to to stay in power.

Yes we Americans don’t use the word Zionists to describe Israel.

We use the word Master Race, they are our masters and we are their slaves.

They are the chosen people, our chosen people, the people we have chosen to be our masters.

Just as your three main parties have all chosen us to be your masters.

Bow down before your masters while saluting the special relationship.

You are all silly geese, and not silly gooses as I have said earlier.

Even your Craig Murray has now realised that the only way forward is to submit to our authority, by joining our agenda and working within one of out parties!

And I can give people as much food as I like to get people to vote for me.

And each and everyone of you has to vote for me for the food that you eat and the bed that you sleep in.

You should even vote for me because of the air that you breath.

And most of you will, because each and every vote is a vote for me. Where ever you are who ever you vote for, I own your votes because I own this country and everyone who votes within it.

I am Britain, the only authority greater than me here is America and Israel.

It’s a bit worrying for this project that none of the press seems to be running with the ‘Currygate’ label.

http://www.meltdown.uk.net/election/The_Plan_Mayday.html

Workers of the world unite!

http://www.meltdown.uk.net/election/About_Us.html

Vronksy

I am the press, I tell them what they can write and what they can’t.

It’s all part of campaigning. Firstly, we get people outside the party to lay on a banquet so that our own hands are clean. We’d never be involved with anything like Treating, perish the thought! Then we we invite some unemployed dossers and the following dialogue takes place:

Labour member: I hope you find the food satisfactory?

Dosser: I can’t believe I am here. I can’t usually afford to eat such stuff.

Member: Well, this is an indication of what may be in store for you some day, if your choice on election day is correct.

They always make the correct choice, and so we have one of the safest seats in the country. Ha ha ha!

Be it known to you that the parody of “J. Strawman” is totally untrue and cynical to boot. New Labour would never, ever, be involved with such dirty business!

@ All

In amongst the backslapping for voting for a party most of whose members (nearly 7 years ago) voted against the Iraq war, consider what you should slap when the party you vote for continues ALL wars after they are elected.

Was there a vote on the illegal war against Afghanistan? What were the Lib Dems doing then?

It’s true, it’s true! I cannot resist the eloquent words of the Straw Burner. I made up cynical lies against Labour, and I retract them. Is not Jack Straw is a wonderful, wonderful leader of democracy who would never, ever break the law? And I write these things freely and voluntarily without any monetary inducement or threat whatsoever from any Labour party member, nor any lawyer of theirs!

If my experiences are anything to go by, the police will take at least a year to investigate this, never release any details and then drop the casre. Unless you do something they can charge you with, in which case they will spend at least a year investigating it, never release any details, then charge you. Hopefully it will then be dropped by the courts, at which point you should sue the police

Yes it is true, I didn’t threaten him at all!

Mr Murray,

Good for you. Jack Straw deserves everything he gets!

Will you be giving the same determined attention to the large scale vote fraud taking place in Tower Hamlets?

See Dominic Kennedy, The Times, 1st May.

Or don’t you believe it; or it’s Muslims just doing the things Muslims do (especially Bangladeshis)!

Libertyphile,

I don’t disbelieve it. There seems to me a need for us fundamentally to put our foot down and say that multiculturalism does not extend to the acceptance of South Asian practices of electoral fraud.

While I relish the idea of seeing Jack Straw in prison (I would prefer if it was because of his involvement in the Iraq war crimes though), even after his stewardship as Home Secretary and then as “Justice Secretary” it is for the Court to decide guilt, not the accuser.

I also sadly expect that he wont be seeing time behind bars. His Agent, if found guilty, would probably be the one doing time.

It seems you are fair game to be assaulted by the full force of the NuLabour apparatchik if you dare to argue with Fuher Braun. Dissent will not be tolerated!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1270254/Heckler-thrown-shouting-Brown.html

@ All

In amongst the backslapping for voting for a party most of whose members (nearly 7 years ago) voted against the Iraq war, consider what you should slap when the party you vote for continues ALL wars after they are elected.

Was there a vote on the illegal war against Afghanistan? What were the Lib Dems doing then?

Posted by: lwtc247 at May 1, 2010 10:38 AM

_______________________________________

VERY WELL SAID LWTC247. EXACTLY MY THOUGHTS.

Of course, the relaxing of electoral process rigour that is a central feature of Berlusconi-Blairite corruption has enabled the gradual infiltration of such practices of electoral fraud which occur in South Asia (and places elsewhere too). It needs to be stamped-out forthwith. It has nothing to do with multiculturalism, though. Whether it occurs here, in South Asia or anywhere else, it is simply crime.

“What were the Lib Dems doing then?”

Yes. Maybe a man thing. Craig is going to bed with a pretty girl and will wake up with an ugly one.

Sure glenn – I do feel a bit silly

Suhayl,

“The word, ‘teabagging’ appears to have a number of different meanings, one political (current US right-wing pro-corporate ‘movement’), another, sexual.”

The word “tea-bagging” is not used by the “tea-baggers” themselves. It was made up to ridicule the Tea Party movement as it already had the sexual meaning. Just as Twoofer is used to make fun of you know who… Of course, Twoofer has no sexual meaning but that also makes it somewhat appropriate.

There is an excellent interview with Bushra Irfan on the Ummah channel website, an imslamic channel here in Blackburn, it is called ‘Islam on terrorism’.It is an interview With the BBC’s Mark Collins and many issues are covered which are ususally only distorted by our tabloid media

Sadly I have no time to link it, but it will soon appear on her website.

meanwhile jack stood on his soap box again yesterday talking at the masochists who are screaming for more of the same, still nobody here hasmade a move to arrest him or interviw him over this incident.

An email to the chief constable, asking for further action, has been sent after the complaint was lodged, still the rabbits are sitting in the headlights, stupified and motionless.

Vronsky, what if she were a soprano?

Angrysoba, yes, I thought that was the dynamic wrt the word. Interesting. I’d thought of dropping it into casual conversation at suburban high tea, but after reading more deeply into the matter, decided that it probably would not be a good idea!

Glenn, although in past I have explored expletives and other words of opprobrium, I thank you for introducing me to word with which I was not familiar. If I’d known about it back in 1997, I might have would’ve passed it on to my research assistant, Melanie D, who wrote that fascinating novel entitled, ‘The Snake’. I am sure that at some point, somewhere, in some or other narrative, it will come to be used, and perhaps even neologised – hopefully to good effect!

Well they got Al Capone for Tax Evasion, so perhaps we could get Straw for Treating (rather than the war crimes that he is truly guilty of).