A Kick In The Ballots

I probably shouldn't be doing this on Good Friday, and I promise you that I am about to go to church. But if the European Elections ever happened in Britain, then Brexit never would. In for another five years would mean in forever. No second referendum. Just never leaving.

How, then, should we indicate our displeasure? Well, I would have liked to have given Jeremy Corbyn the European Election victory that had eluded Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband. But this is where we are. The Brexit Party is not UKIP, with its nutters and its Nazis. Those have stayed in UKIP. They are not in the Brexit Party.

For Lanchester Parish Council in 2017, I characteristically voted for Labour, Independent, Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates, plus two with No Description. Most of choices were elected, across the first four of those categories. 

I repeat that this has been pretty much my usual pattern throughout my adult life. No one has ever put up 15 candidates, but I have always used all 15 of my votes. On each occasion, most or all of my preferred candidates have been successful.

Until 2017 and the issue of the Teaching Assistants, I repeatedly voted for the two County Councillors for Lanchester until that election, of whom one was Labour and one was Independent.

At General Elections, I have voted Labour in 1997, Labour in 2001, Independent because of Iraq in 2005, Independent because of the all-women shortlist in 2010, proudly for Labour's Pat Glass in 2015, and for the Teaching Assistants' Liberal Democrat champion, Owen Temple, in 2017.

Actually, let me qualify that. I agreed with a lot of what Watts Stelling had to say. Iraq in 2005 and the all-women shortlist in 2010 were why I did not vote Labour. Watts was why I voted for Watts.

At my four European Elections, I have voted for the Socialist Labour Party, for Respect, for No2EU, and for Labour in the absence both of No2EU and of Stephen Hughes; we have mutual friends, but he is just wrong about the EU. And this time, it really does look as if I am going to be voting for the Brexit Party.

Meanwhile, Remainers, make sure that you vote Lib Dem, not CUK. I would still like Labour to win these Elections. It is certainly going to do very well. But the big losers need to be the Conservative Party and the CUKs. And for that, the big winners need to be the Brexit Party and the Lib Dems.

Beyond that, another hung Parliament is coming, and we need our people to hold the balance of power in it. It has become a local commonplace that I am on 30-30-30 with Labour and the Conservatives here at North West Durham, so that any one of us could be the First Past the Post. I will stand for this seat, if I can raise the £10,000 necessary to mount a serious campaign. Please email davidaslindsay@hotmail.com. Very many thanks.