Sedgefield By-election 6th-8th July 2007

This is the latest video from the Sedgefield campaign. I have edited out the Labour hooligans from the clips of the launch. The rest was shot over the weekend.

Battle of Trimdon Green storms video charts

Well, sort of! In the 3 days it has been on YouTube The Battle of Trimdon Green video has been views 859 times. Compared to some videos that ain't much but for me it is the video that has had the most success in the first few days of being posted up. It is now the 18th most viewed of the 202 videos I have posted to YouTube, though it still has a long way to go to catch up with my most popular video, Copacabbana Beach (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1vAYejKOFM).

If you haven't yet seen the Battle of Trimdon Green video, follow the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lrhvLlbB6I

69 - the Conservatives' new low

The Conservatives in Gateshead scored a record low in last week's Dunston and Teams by-election. They came 4th with a mere 69 votes, their lowest vote ever in a ward anywhere in the borough. So there is certainly a Cameron effect working here - since his election as Tory Leader, his party has clocked up their worst electoral performances in Gateshead. Well done Dave!

As for the BNP, this was their top target seat in the North East, and despite a campaign by the Labour party to talk up the BNP vote, their performance was dismal. As I said in previous blog posts the BNP are a busted flush in the ward. I would go further now and say they are finished altogether there. They must be feeling upset that the tactics of their Labour friends did not work!

Suits you

I should have switched on the blackberry before leaving home yesterday morning. Instead, I switched it on when I got on the train at Newcastle to go to Darlington and then on to Sedgefield. Big mistake! I should have checked earlier. There was a message from Ruth Milburn, Lib Dem agent for Sedgefield, telling me to wear a suit, shirt and tie as I was accompanying Greg Stone around the constituency. Unfortunately, I was clad in an old pair of jeans and a not so formal shirt.

So, on arrival at our HQ, I made a dash for the local Tesco store (one of those typically gigantic sheds that probably started life as a Zepplin hangar) and found suits at a snip - just £25. I proudly returned to the HQ with my new polyester clothing. We had all decided that my shirt could just about be described as appropriate to go with a suit. The shoes however were beach wear I bought last year to go to Cuba. So not exactly an example of all round sartorial elegance!

Still, everyone in HQ decided I needed to write a blog entry about my clothing experience. I think they must really have it in for me!

I then discovered that wearing a black polyester suit in bright sunny weather makes for a somewhat uncomfortable experience. Tuesday will see me wearing one of my ordinary work suits instead!

Thanks to the press team for taking this photo (on my camera!).

Labour's Sedgefield candidate against gangs and thugs - really?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This one really takes the biscuit for unadulterated self-righteous hypocrisy.

After allowing a bunch of Labour thugs to attempt to break up with physical force the Liberal Democrats' Sedgefield campaign launch, Labour's candidate Phil Wilson made this comment:

"It amazes me that the Lib Dems are on the side (sic) of gangs....they should see the damage done by small groups of thugs. I am on the side of the law abiding majority and always will be and I think it is important that people know that the Lib Dems would back (sic) criminals over local people."

Let's hope this sanctimonius hypocrite has seen my video.

Trimdon residents disgusted with Labour - read their comments here

Whilst surfing the internet this afternoon, I discovered a site called Trimdon Times. It is for residents of Trimdon or for those who have lived there but have moved away. It contains local news and information but also has a forum that allows people to set up discussions on anything they want to. One of them has set up a discussion about Labour's jackboot tactics they employed to try to break up our Sedgefield campaign launch on Friday on Trimdon Green. The discussion was started with a link to my video.

And here are some of the comments Trimdonians have posted up:

The Labour supporters certainly didn't do themselves any favours. I'd say the Labour Party are running scared, and paid hand picked supporters with a few pints at the Labour Club, to create a disturbance.

What a disgrace!!! I'm ashamed to say I come from there!! I dont reconise anyone as I have been away from Trimdon too long to know them, but you can see some of them are also football hooligans.

I sincerely hope that John Burton and his merry band have seen this,lets hope this has no reflection on the genuine Trimdon folk. I only noticed one face,think you call her Lynn as to her second name,i dont really care ,think she comes from spennymoor . Shades of the National Front????????i hope they are proud of themselves! With my head bowed in shame.

Is this the sort of thing local Labour Party contributions are used for? They've spent the last ten years ensuring that democracy did not rule, and are now desperately trying to ensure that it doesn't make a comeback!

What a shambles!! I recognised a few of the faces, never far from trouble on a saturday night types! That shows the Labour Party are really rattled then!

Visit the forum on: http://trimdon.com/html/dbase/viewtopic.php?t=847

Labour's Mugabe style tactics

I got back home from Sedgefield last night, had a meal and had a bath. And as you would expect, lying there in the water, my mind wandered onto other things, especially Labour's tactics in Sedgefield.

They reminded me of Robert Mugabe's tactics in Zimbabwe: what is in theory a multi-party democracy but the government deals with opposition by stamping on it and driving it from the streets using mob rule. If you don't believe me, just view the video I shot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lrhvLlbB6I

The Battle of Trimdon Green (or how Labour really behaves)

This is the video I shot yesterday of Labour using a mob to try to break up the press launch of the Lib Dem campaign in Sedgefield. You need no more explanation.

A final point about the Battle of Trimdon

When we arrived at Trimdon, it seemed most houses had Labour poster stakes up in their front gardens. But as we were leaving, we spotted one of the Labour hooligans, who had tried to break up our campaign launch, removing the poster stakes. I wonder whether the residents of these properties, presumably at work at the time, were aware that they have been drafted in as temporary Labour supporters.

Labour's candidate in Sedgefield - a friend of George Bush

Look over Bush's shoulder. There he is. Labour's Sedgefield candidate Phil Wilson enjoying a visit to Trimdon Labour Club with his mates Tony and George.

Labour mob attacks Lib Dem launch in Sedgefield

Labour launched a mob attack on the Lib Dem Sedgefield campaign launch this afternoon. This is not uncommon in election campaigns as Labour appear to have a one party state mentality in which opposition is regarded as insurrection and insubordination and needs to be driven away. The scene I witnessed today however was far worse than I have seen in other campaigns.

This was a disgusting and sickening attack on the fundamental basics of open democracy. This was an attack on freedom of speech. This was thuggish bullying you would expect in a one party state.

The clear Labour aim is to make it impossible for the media to film the event. It is also designed to make it impossible for the media to carry out interviews with the Lib Dem candidate and visiting MP. The Labour mob simply invades with stakeboards and barge infront of tv cameras, pushing Lib Dems out of the way and screaming and shouting to make it impossible for our candidate to be heard, especially if the same candidate has managed to avoid being pushed to the ground.

This thuggery comes from the party that demands "respect" for others and claims to be against anti-social behaviour. And here we have the same party exhibiting some appalling anti-social behaviour itself.

However, my photos have slipped through the fingers of the Labour-one-party-state censors. These are some of them.

Photos from the launch of the Sedgefield campaign

The launch of the Lib Dem campaign in Sedgefield was marred by a Labour mob who attacked the gathering in Trimdon Green (photos of that to follow). There are also rumours circulating about a video someone shot of the gathering that shows the Labour party behaving in an appalling way at the gathering. I wonder who shot that! And I wonder when that will first see light of day......

Anyway, here are the photos I was able to take that do not include the Labour mob that tried to break up the press launch.

Candidate Greg Stone with Andrew Stunell MP.

Decades of Labour neglect - and then ripping it up years of Labour neglect.

Greg and Andrew get to meet the voters.

Greg delivers the next tabloid to a house in Trimdon Village (but not to Blair's house!)

Come to sunny Sedgefield!

A few pics I took today at the Sedgefield HQ.

A rare site at a by-election - helpers eating healthily as Dave McCobb tucks into a salad.

David Hennigan brings a footbal along for light entertainment.

Carol Woods, prospective candidate for neighbouring Durham City, gets to work on something clerical.

Thankfully most of those leaflets have now gone through local letterboxes!

Candidate Greg Stone grabs a moment's rest with visiting MP Andrew Stunnel.

Ming's trap door

So how did the party leaders square up at Prime Minister's Questions today? Well, we'll, well, who would have expected Ming's unrehearsed joke about the door to Brown's Downing Street being a trap door! It was all the more enjoyable as it was so unexpected. Ming always does better when he leads on foreign affairs and especially Iraq. Today it was a tour de force of foreign and domestic but the theme was change. And as we all know, we do not have a change of government as Brown would have us believe, but simply a reshuffle, a few retirements and a few promotions. The style may be a bit different without Showman Blair there and with Comrade Chairman Brown having filled the void, but this government under the new PM is a continuation of the old one.

For Brown, his first PMQ was a competent performance. He wobbled a bit on whether or not certain groups promoting extreme and violent actions should be banned. And the appearance of the old bruiser John Reid almost looked as though Brown was needing a helping hand. So nothing spectacular, just competent. No sign of a clunking fist, a rather violent metaphor from the former Prime Minister (and so at odds with his alleged desire to crack down on crime and violence).

And what of Cameron? Well, I have to confess another competent performance. The problem is however he needs to do much better. He needs an early knockout blow. Yes, he laid a few punches, but nothing that sent Brown reeling.

So as far as Brown and Cameron go, a draw. And after all that, it won't change a jot what people think out in the country.

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Missing the train

I headed up to Kings Cross and found I have missed a train to Newcastle by 5 minutes. Typical. The next one isn't due til 8pm. So I'll not get home until about 11.30pm. So to all those people reading this blog from the comfort of their computer desks, spare a thought for me stuck at KX station.

Before leaving the office, I did manage to send out our email newsletter eFocus. It went to about 800 households in the Whickham area of Gateshead. So if you have followed the link on eFocus to this blog, happy reading but make sure you view the recent videos on our YouTube channel. And watch this space for news about our recycling campaign - the lead story in eFocus.

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BNP election tactic - if it doesn't work, do exactly the same again

Shortly before the May local elections I mentioned on this blog that the BNP had circulated a leaflet in Dunston and Teams ward in Gateshead which purported to come from the "Christian Taxpayers' Revolt". It was the familiar muck raking garbage from the far right fringe. Many Lib Dems have seen similar claims in very similar leaflets from the BNP in recent years.

The same ward is having a by-election with the polls open tomorrow. It would seem that the BNP are also circulating exactly the same "Revolting" leaflet. Since it made no impact at all in May, it leaves you wondering how the combined wisdom of this fringe group of no-hopers could come up with the idea of repeating such a failed exercise.

The only thing that will boost the BNP in Gateshead is the half-brained decision of Labour to talk up the BNP vote. Whoever was responsible for such a stupid tactic in the Labour party has exhibited the intelligence of a brick. And with enemies like that, the BNP doesn't need friends! Meanwhile the BNP have welcomed Labour's dodgy claims about the battle being between between Labour and BNP in the ward.

For the record, the BNP were 3rd in May. Labour's vote fell, and despite the BNP throwing everything into the campaign, they came out with the same vote as they got last year. We however increased our vote.

I am heading back to Gateshead shortly. Time to help out in the by-election battle.

Greg chosen

Delighted to see Greg Stone chosen as the Lib Dem candidate for Sedgefield. For those who don't know Greg, he is one of the leading campaigners who slayed the Labour dinosaur in Newcastle 3 years ago to end 30 years of Labour's prehistoric style rule of the regional capital. So he knows how to hurt Labour and win for the Lib Dems.

He was first elected to Newcastle Council in the late 90s. I was there at the by-election when he won the seat from Labour.

I'm heading home to the North East shortly. See you in Sedgefield.

Avoid The Cambridge

I got back to the flat tonight at about 8.30pm. After sorting out a few boxes of m(erial that needs to go up to my house in Gateshead tomorrow, we decided to go out for a meal (there was no food in the flat). On expedition to Pizza Express later (in Crystal Palacea) and we decided to call into a pub called the Cambridge. Smoking bans don't exist here. The woman serving at the bar smokes openly and she allows some of the customers to do the same. I'm not sure we'll be coming back ere in a hurry.

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Am I seeing things or is that snow?

I have just passed Battersea Park on the train and the rooves are covered in what appears to be snow! It must be a heavy hail storm that caused it. And this is July! What is happening to our weather?

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Do not alight from the train for a cigarette

I am on the train to London. Our first stop is Durham City. The guard has just announced that smoking is not allowed anywhere on GNER property and so people are being warned not to get off the train to light up. It's been a long time coming but at last the liberation of non-smokers from the activities of smokers has at last happened.

I experienced breathing someone else's smoke in a bar for the last time on Friday last week when I was at Victoria Station shortly before catching the tube to Kings Cross. It was one of those incidents where the smoker feels the urge to hold the cigarrete away from themselves so he doesn't have to endure the constant flow of smoke into his own face. Instead, he donates his smoke to the people at the next table, one of whom happened to be me. Well, he can't do that any more!

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