Sunday 11 May 2008

Crewe and Nantwich by-election

Went to Crewe on Saturday to help in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election. Met a Governnment Minister, party members and MPs from all over the country who had come to lend their support. Nice to see Dennis Skinner again - he was holding court on the Nantwich Road chatting to passers by and anyone else who would listen.

After the battering the Labour Party has taken recently it was reassuring to see so many people from different parts of the country giving up their Saturday morning to help the candidate in this important election.

26 comments:

Praguetory said...

Your campaign there is a disgrace.

Cllr Nigel Ash said...

Please explain - this sounds like a CAP comment. I'm sure you can do better than that.

Praguetory said...

Your campaign does merely exploit class differences, but encourages class warfare. Your last leaflet photoshopped a top hat on Ed Timpson, had a picture of his house and suggested he was 'soft on yobs' and 'opposed ID cards for foreigners'.

Apart from the utter lack of positive platform in the Labour campaign, this disgusting racist and classist campaign revels in prejudice.

When you consider Saint Gwyneth's voting record in which she opposed ID cards and anti-terrorism laws, the campaign also looks deeply hypocritical, but that you are hypocrites and scoundrels is already established.

Yesterday, I bumped into two (rather upperclass) Labourites in a cafe in Crewe. I asked them whether they were party workers or party activists. One replied, a worker 'we're here to keep the Tories out'. Is that all you stand for?

Other well-heeled Labourites screamed 'toffs' at Tory canvassers. Is that the level where political debate should be at? What planet are you on?

It would be impossible to descend to your level, but I hope we don't even stoop.

We will beat you badly. And we will enjoy it. Your party is a national embarassment - members partaking in this campaign deserve opprobrium.

Anonymous said...

praguetory is a known idiot on the blogosphere and a figure of ridicule, best not to indulge him :)

Praguetory said...

Rofl. Anon counsels you that if you can't win the argument, best to shut up.

Anonymous said...

"Apart from the utter lack of positive platform in the Labour campaign,"

and the Tory campaign consist of "vote against the abolition of the 10p tax band even though we have no intention of re-instating it ourselves, indeed we voted against it when it was first introduced"

no lack of positive Tory campaigning there.Incidentally, I'm simply pre warning Cllr Ash that you are a known nincompoop in the world of the blogosphere .Just in case he thinks you are to be taken seriously when everyone else ridicules you :)

Cllr Nigel Ash said...

Thank you for the warning - I was going to post a similar message re 10p tax - I am sure the repeated questioning of Dave on when he is going to reverse the decision on the 10p rate can be viewed on Youtube and his refusal to say how or when or if he is going to re-instate it is there for all to see.

Praguetory said...

I run rings round Labour bloggers. If I were a fool, you wouldn't need to warn Nigel. Having first noted the doubling of tax on the poorest on the day of that Budget I am happy to give Labour advice on how to deal with this self-inflicted cut. Either reverse it completely or (my favoured option), keep the 22% rate, but make some of the old 10% rate zero-rated and the rest at 22%. I rule.

PS Overuse of :) suggests limited vocabulary.

Cllr Nigel Ash said...

Pity your leader isn't going to do anything at all about this issue given the feeble answer to the question he gave recently.

So the Tories are running a whole campaign on the issue of the 10p tax cut which their leader has clearly no plans to change. Brilliant

I am intrigued by the name Prague Tory - I take it is an anagram of Rogue Party

Praguetory said...

I'm a Tory and I live in Prague.

I don't know whether you've noticed but the Tories are in opposition. The British public can't wait two years for you lot to be booted to have the 10p tax rise issue sorted. That's why Cameron was ready to back Frank Field's aborted proposals. Youre leadership hasn't dealt with this issue - not by a long chalk.

Cllr Nigel Ash said...

The idea that Dave Cameron and the Tory Party will be the salvation of lower income families will in the area I live in stand as much chance of winning an election as a celluloid cat in hell.

To quote an article in the Times 'Save the poor, Vote Tory has the ring of Save the Whale vote Harpoonist.'

And now I am bored with this string and will be allowing no more comment on it.

Silent Hunter said...

Labour's whole 'Toffs' angle is going to come back and bite them severely at the election.

A reprehensible way to behave.

This kind of thing just endorses my decision to stop voting Labour.

I think Labour do deserve to lose this seat, for this alone! :O(

Peterson said...

What's this "Tory"Toffs" business? The fact that the Labour Oiks have stooped to this level to win votes proves that they have nothing to offer.Inverted snobbery is the worst form of snobbery. Please note that the Conservative candidate has no need to follow the Labour methods. By the way, I wonder how many Labour supporters will complain about the use of "Labour Oiks" instead of "Tory Toffs".

Silent Hunter said...

'...And now I am bored with this string and will be allowing no more comment on it....'

How very New Labour......

Stifle dissenting voices.

If you think Labour are so good, why don't they hold a General Election and prove us all wrong then.....Councillor?

Cllr Nigel Ash said...

I hardly think I am stifling comment. If I wanted to do that I could filter all comments and then decide which one to publish - which I haven't done.

My point is that this argument seems to be going round in circles and views re the Tory toff tactic and the 10p tax rate have been well aired. No doubt readers will have their own views of the Chancellor's announcement tonight.

As for holding an election now please name any political party that would do so when they are so low in the polls.

Silent Hunter said...

Thanks for the reply.

If you're not stifling comment........why then, did you make that statement?

Fit of pique perhaps?

As for being 'low in the polls' as your reason for avoiding an election, well whose fault is it that New Labour are so low in the polls; remember how you were going to hold a snap election in October and then after weeks of 'teasing the electorate' your great brooding leader decided that he daren't risk it.

How we all like the smack of firm governance! LOL

And yes!....I wonder what the people of Crewe & Nantwich will think of Darlings 'unfunded' £2.7 Billion tax giveaway to fix a problem of Gordon Browns making.

Perhaps they will remember how Darling said that he would "never do" what he has just done.....a thing which he has always castigated the Torys over, namely,
"unfunded Tory Tax cuts"
That's a phrase that New Labour are going to find hard to use against Cameron in future without appearing two faced.

I suspect that they will realise that this tax bribe will have to be repaid either as higher taxes or as higher inflation rates.....both of which will hurt the poorest in society the most.

FACT: Under Labour; the tax take from the poorest in society has outstripped the tax take from the richest by a LARGE margin.....that's why we're seen as such a great tax haven for the super rich.

It's time you stopped conning people that New Labour are the party of the downtrodden masses!

Tell that to Lord Cashpoint! LOL

Cllr Nigel Ash said...

Any body who knows me will tell you I don't do pique.

I was merely answering your point as to stifling comment.

And reply to my question is still unanswered

Praguetory said...

'And reply to my question is still unanswered'

Sorry I thought you'd stopped taking comments.

John Howard in Australia called an election when he was in deficit. At least you admit the timing of holding is dependent on polls (something Gordon wasn't big enough to admit to in the Autumn).

Anonymous said...

You appear to be suffering from the attack of the Tory toffs. Never have so many chinless wonders gathered in one place to say so little.

Silent Hunter said...

Yes,very good 'Anonymous' but apart from the low brow insults; have you any contribution to the actual debate?


No?

Thought not!



Well Councillor, good to know that you don't do pique!

So your threat to close the thread was just a witty jape then. :O)

Jolly good! We 'toffs' love witty japes. What fun! :OD

As for not answering your question I can see why your hero isn't exactly enamoured of the idea of testing the public's view on him at present.

But you could look at the 1960 American elections to see that Kennedy came from a very low base to snatch victory from Nixon at the last moment.
Nixon was expected to walk it!

So there's an answer to your question........it has been done before, however, I grant you that unlike Brown, Kennedy had charisma, charm, was seen as being honest and was a war hero to boot.

Unfortunately your man, Bean, is seen as a social misfit, a brooding, bully, prone to bouts of dithering when not shouting at his secretarial staff.

Yes, a thoroughly dislikeable character.

Hopefully the good people of Crewe & Nantwich will see through the Tax Bribe and realise that it will all have to be paid back in higher taxes or higher inflation.

A point I made earlier but which you seem to wish to avoid addressing.

So now whose 'avoiding the question'.......rather like Ms Dunwoody's avoidance of a straight Yes or No to the question....

Is Gordon Brown an asset or a liability.

She was asked it 3 times and the best she could say was that "he was the elected Prime Minister" LOL

Hardly a ringing endorsement now, is it?

Silent Hunter said...

Hmmmmm?


Not so quick to come back on that one then, Eh? Councillor.

Thanks for illustrating my point for me. :O)

Cllr Nigel Ash said...

The weight of your argument leaves me speechless. You have convinced me - I think I will become a Tory.


But one thing puzzles me and I would like an answer to this before you are consigned to the second page of this blog
Given your eloquence, your compelling power of argument and your keen grasp of politics why do you want to be anonymous? why is your name and address not available to the public?

Silent Hunter said...

Ah! How erudite of you. ;O)

As for my identity....


well.......

My name is........

Legion!

And now I will take my leave of you good councillor as I ride off into the New Labour sunset that is your second page.

TTFN (as us Toffs like to say) :O)

Anonymous said...

two faced tories,naturally

http://hopisen.wordpress.com/2008/05/18/thoughts-from-crewe/

Anonymous said...

I just happened to pick up this thread and couldn't believe what I was reading. This isn't good politics, just nasty words. You can't even put you're name to what you have written. I don't profess to fully understand really what point you were trying to make, what I do know is that I like and respect the way central government listens and changes policy accordingly. This is my eyes does not make them weak, but tells me that the electorate still have a voice, and this is just how it should be.
I suggest that most people don't fully understand the 10p tax debate , and I can't get my head around why this wasn't argued about last year when it was first suggested.
So yes lets debate issues and politics, but for goodness sake keep the nastiness out of it. This is what put the electorate off.

Anonymous said...

Somehow I managed not to sign in with my name.....its Debbie.