Wednesday 23 April 2008

The Strasbourg Challenge

To those listed on the website of the Euston Manifesto: Norman Geras, Damian Counsell, Alan Johnson, Shalom Lappin, Jane Ashworth, Dave Bennett, Brian Brivati, Adrian Cohen, Nick Cohen, Anthony Cox, Neil Denny, Paul Evans, Paul Gamble, Eve Garrard, Harry Hatchet, David Hirsh, Dan Johnson, Gary Kent, Jon Pike, Simon Pottinger, Andrew Regan, Alexandra Simonon, Richard Sanderson, “David T”, Philip Spencer, Jeffrey Alexander, Paul Anderson, Joe Bailey, Ophelia Benson, Paul Berman, Pamela Bone, Robert Borsley, Michael Brennan, Chris Brown, Julie Burchill, Mitchell Cohen, Marc Cooper, Thomas Cushman, Heather Deegan, Jon Fasman, Luke Foley, Raimond Gaita, Marko Attila Hoare, Quintin Hoare, Anthony Julius, Oliver Kamm, Sunder Katwala, Jeffrey Ketland, Matthew Kramer, Mary Kreutzer, John Lloyd, Denis MacShane MP, Kanan Makiya, John Mann MP, Jim Nolan, Will Parbury, Greg Pope MP, Thomas Schmidinger, Milton Shain, Hillel Steiner, Gisela Stuart MP, George Szirtes, Michael Walzer, Bert Ward, Morton Weinfeld, Jeff Weintraub, Francis Wheen and Sami Zubaida.

And to those listed on the website of The Henry Jackson Society: Rt. Hon. Michael Ancram QC MP, Gerard Baker, Paul Beaver, Prof. Paul Bew, Prof. Vernon Bogdanor, Nicholas Boles, Chris Bryant MP, Damian Collins MP, Colonel Tim Collins, Prof. Paul Cornish, Sir Richard Dearlove OBE, Major-General John Drewienkiewicz, Mark Etherington, Sir Philip Goodhart, Michael Gove MP, Jonny Gray, Robert Halfon, Fabian Hamilton MP, Oliver Kamm, Jackie Lawrence, Prof. Andrew Lever, Dr. Denis MacShane MP, Fionnuala Jay O'Boyle MBE, Stephen Pollard, Greg Pope MP, Lord Powell of Bayswater, Andrew Roberts, David Ruffley MP, Dr. Jamie Shea, Dr. Irwin Stelzer, Gisela Stuart MP, Rt. Hon. Lord Trimble, Edward Vaizey MP, David Willetts MP, Prof. Alan Lee Williams OBE, Brendan Simms, Alan Mendoza, James M. Rogers, Gideon A. Mailer and Matthew Jamison.

If we can (and we will) find a pro-life, pro-family, pro-worker and anti-war candidate to contest each region at next year's European Elections, thereby giving a voice to economically social democratic, morally and socially conservative British and Commonwealth patriots, then I dare you to put up an Independent candidate in each region on the Euston/Jackson ticket. And wherever we stand a candidate who actually lives in the region in question, then I dare you to do the same.

Go on.

I dare you.

29 comments:

  1. To get the most obvious objection out of the way straight away:

    What, even the ones who live and work outside the EU and have no right to stand or vote in European elections?

    (Not that there aren't loads and loads and loads of other objections, most of them also pretty obvious.)

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  2. Well, they are certainly not obvious to me.

    Except, of course, that nobody would vote for such candidates if they weren't slipped in as pseudo-Labour, psuedo-Tories, or indeed psuedo-Lib Dem.

    If they stood as themselves, they'd struggle to get the nominations, never mind anything else. And you'd never find a candidate who lived outside London. Not one.

    Go on. Prove me wrong.

    If you can.

    I dare you.

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  3. You didn't answer the question, though.

    Here's another. Is this a cunning plan to try to ensure that you don't come last in the European Elections, but second to last?

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  4. You're kidding aren't you? These people don't contest elections. They rig them by making sure that only their own puppets get to contest them. They can prove me wrong too, by doing as you suggest.

    And they should run Kamm in London. As you yourself would say David, I dare them.

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  5. Good to see an admission that we'd beat your lot, and that you couldn't even get a tenth of the votes cast in the South East, or a ninth in London or the North West.

    If I didn't answer your question, then that is because it was a silly question.

    Kamm4London, eh? Actually, yes, that could be the third prong to the Strasbourg Challenge: they have to run Oliver Kamm in London.

    Go on.

    I dare you.

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  6. What if they want to vote for one of the other existing parties? What if they broadly agree with the manifesto of one of the other existing parties? What if they're not interested in being MEPs? What if they've never heard of you, and never see this challenge? What if they think you're a deluded fool?

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  7. A silly question? Seriously, you're demanding that US citizens run in a European election. Don't you think that's a bit silly too?

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  8. I'm already taking steps to ensure that they see it. I suspect that you are, too.

    As for the rest, for which other party, and why? I know that sitting MPs are not going to back these candidates, but I don't see what excuse the rest of them have. Apart from the obvious, of course.

    I can smell your fear, you know.

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  9. By "the obvious", do you mean "being a US citizen", or what?

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  10. Just to get this out of the way, I didn't say that they had to run. I said that they had to put someone up.

    Those of you who only got into universities in the absence of the grammar schools (we're back to Kamm, I suppose) might not grasp that. But I suspect that most people do.

    Your fear of the electorate is glorious to behold.

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  11. Oh, right, so you want to see candidates for elected office put up by foreigners. Whatever.

    Which other party? Well, your list contains elected MPs for both Labour and the Tories, so that's two, for a start. Why? Well, you'd have to ask them. I assume they broadly support those parties and those policies. That would be my guess.

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  12. You still don't get it, do you? Just as well your daddy got you that non-job, isn't it. A bit of a waste of the public cost of a degree, mind you. You should be made to pay it back. Not a problem, after all.

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  13. I'm posting anonymously, so this isn't your fault. But I think you may have confused me with someone else. Who are you thinking of?

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  14. We are probably paying for the non-job as well, David.

    How are people in receipt of the Labour or Tory Whip while signed up to the Euston Manifesto or the HJS Statement? For one thing, that Statement commits them to a united EU defence force under American command. Is that Labour or Tory policy?

    They learned well as student Trots or in the FCS. Entryism lives.

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  15. I know your type.

    And Tim, this is clearly now Labour AND Tory policy (and Lib Dem, soon enough). Just as well that there's now an alternative, isn't it?

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  16. Tim, there are hundreds and hundreds of Early Day Motions, signed by MPs of all parties, which do not reflect the policies of the parties the MPs belong to. They don't lose the whip for signing them. This is like that.

    Actually, MPs don't usually lose the whip when they rebel against their party whip, either. So I think you're a bit confused. MPs can sign up to all sorts of things.

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  17. If it's clearly Labour, Tory and Lib Dem policy (not sure that it is, but you said it), why on earth should people who support it put up alternative candidates? That makes no sense.

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  18. Well, I think it's safe to say that this particular joint policy would still be disputed by a few MPs in all parties, would be even less palatable to rather a lot of their members and supporters, is somewhat more important than your average EDM, and has never actually been put to the electorate.

    The same is true of a great deal of the Euston/Jackson agenda. And the Euston/Jackson lot want to keep it like that. See them try and squirm out of actually having to face the voters.

    By the way, in the last two or three minutes, I have had to delete at least a dozen obscence and abusive comments on this post. But nobody reads this blog, you know...

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  19. Submit themselves to the judgement of the common people? How very dare you!

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  20. Where, other than on this blog, can I read about your party?

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  21. Drop davidaslindsay@hotmail.com a line.

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  22. Yes, sure, but I don't mean that - I mean where else are you getting publicity?

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  23. Oh, we're in a Cathch 22 there. There'll be plenty of publicity once we actually have lots of candidates and money. But how do we find them and that in the first place?

    Still, we're quietly making progress. And, as much as anything else, 12 people are a lot easier to find than well over 600. Which makes it just as well that the European Elections are next year and the General Election will be the year after that.

    So do get in touch.

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  24. As I understand it, these aren't BPA candidates, they are Independents who will seek to blaze the trail for a new party to be put together in the year between the Strasbourg and Westminster elections. That's right, isn't it?

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  25. Yes, Jack, that's right. A pro-life, pro-family, pro-worker and anti-war party of economically social democratic, morally and socially conservative British and Commnwealth patriots. If you can sign up to that formula, then we will be the party for you.

    Another 20 rude comments! Honestly, have these people nothing els eto do?

    And Kamm or one of his minions has actually adopted a persona and emailed various potential sources of our funding, you know. How desperate is that?

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  26. So being able to sign up for "a pro-life, pro-family, pro-worker and anti-war party of economically social democratic, morally and socially conservative British and Commnwealth patriots" will be enough, then? Not necessarily to the whole programme that has appeared here in the past?

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  27. Yes, Jack.

    Practical policies will be in the same vein as before, and many of them will be exactly the same.

    But that formula will be our Clause VI, if you like. It will be on our membership cards eventually, for example.

    Our constitutional processes will then ensure adherence in policy terms and by candidates.

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  28. Your Clause VI? What are your Clauses I to V?

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  29. All right, Clause IV. You know what I mean. I'm getting hungry and my typing might become a little erratic. I'll be fine after dinner.

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