Here is the News. Or not as the case may be.

Counter terrorism detectives investigating plots in Yorkshire have seized the largest suspected terrorist arsenal in England since the early 1960s. The haul includes over 300 weapons, ranging from rocket launchers to firearms and pipebombs.

They have been found in the last six weeks during raids of over 20 properties. Some People have been arrested. Several have been charged and reports suggest more arrests are imminent.

The police investigation is linked to arrests in Europe, New Zealand and Australia. The police are examining allegations that many of the guns were manufactured or reactivated, then sold over the Internet.

Detectives have also discovered maps and plans of target buildings in the the homes of those arrested.

All of the above took place in a series of raids and arrest in Yorkshire in the last 6 weeks.

So why hasn't it hit the media in a big way? Surely the biggest arms cache seized in nearly 50 years, including the discovery of rocket launchers is big HEADLINE news at a time when terrorism is such a national concern and obsession?

And the media have not been shy in the past at exposing Britain's "Home Grown Terrorists" and the threat they pose to our country.

But the difference here is a simple albeit inexplicable one. You see all those arrested were far right extremists, the investigation was part of a campaign against Neo Nazis, and amongst the finds less dangerous but more worrying were membership details of the BNP.

In addition to the finds reports of attacks on Mosques (the focus of those discovered maps and plans) are on the increase.

All this points to a concentration of far right terror activity set in Yorkshire, where the BNP won a seat in the European parliament last month. A Whitehall official said: "We are not picking them up anywhere else in the country like this and it may be related to the strong support for the BNP."

And it also suggests that todays conviction of NF member Neil Lewington for the manufacture of improvised bombs and last years conviction of fellow Nazi Martin Gilliiard are just the tip of a very nasty iceburg.

So why the news clamp down? why do the media publish Lewington's conviction and yet seem keen to hide the evidence of even worst planned atrocities in Yorkshire?

The only national politician seemingly willing to speak out seems to be my old work mate and fellow once expelled Labour Party member Ken Livingstone!

Ken is now chair of Unite Against Fascism and he was clear in stating his concerns when he said

"It is extraordinary that the entire national media are not galvanised by the discovery of the largest terrorist arms cache in Britain since the 1960s and clear statements by the authorities that there is a rise in violent far right terrorism.

"This is clearly a threat to every Black, Asian, Muslim and other minority ethnic and religious group in Britain, as shown by the firebombing of Muslim targets which could easily have led to deaths. This shows the reality behind the election of the BNP to the European parliament and the effects of the drip, drip, drip of Islamophobia in the media.

"We need an all-out campaign to politically defeat the extreme right, the media to expose the threat of far right terrorism and the police to relentlessly pursue those responsible for every attack."

I agree with him wholeheartedly and perhaps some of need to be asking some serious questions as to how our broadcast news is selected and transmitted. It seems not a week goes by without news reports of suspected Muslim Terrorists being led away from their homes for questioning, usually set against a framed backdrop of the local community carrying out tasks that are little more offensive than shopping or playing in the street or simply going about their daily business.

If we are going to win the war against terror, and ensure that the 'Prevent Violent Extremism' agenda is successful then we need to ensure that equal attention and focus is given to the obvious dangers coming from the white supremacists and the far right in our own back yards instead of only focusing on Muslim Communities and fueling further the Islamaphobia that exists almost unhindered in our country.

A role model, but to whom?

At this afternoons County Council Cabinet the local Tories nodded through without dissent their latest plans to push forward with Academy status for Unity College in Northampton.

Those unaware of the recent history may be surprised to hear that they dropped the last failed plans just 3 months ago following protests from parents pupils and staff as to a lack of meaningful consultation and also a plea from all for some stability at the school and a hope for a period of relative calm in which the school can improve its performance and the pupils can prosper.

A new executive board had been agreed for the school and yet before it has even had time to meet, the County Council are once more throwing the school into a period of further uncertainty, and a consultation period that once again coincides with the School Summer Holidays (really helpful)

So here we go again......................................

This time step forward their new preferred partner the David Ross Foundation, and let us give praise for this mans entrepreneurial spirit. This afternoon at County Hall Cllr Michael Clarke (Hackleton) reminded us that this was the man who was responsible for the mobile phone! (Hardly he simply was a co founder of Carphone Warehouse) and that he was someone that would inspire pupils and someone they could look up to.

Unfortunately for Michael I had to inform the chamber that David Ross has another less palatable and less celebrated side to his character.

Mr Ross is a close friend of David Cameron and a big donor to the Tory party he hit the headlines recently for rather different reasons to those trumpeted by local Tory Cllrs. For instance the Guardian of 11th June 2009 tells us that

"Ross was forced to resign as a director of a number of companies, including Carphone, Big Yellow and National Express, after breaching stock exchange rules. He had admitted using his personal shareholdings in the businesses as security for millions of pounds worth of personal loans, but failed to notify his fellow board members. Under the rules governing directors' disclosure, any director must notify the company's chairman of any share dealings, including the use of shares as security for loans. Ross also quit his prestigious role advising the London mayor, Boris Johnson, on the 2012 Olympics"

The American Hedge Fund Millionaire was a key member of Boris Johnsons Olympics team where he oversaw the Olympic budget and advised on legacy issues for the Mayor, but he quit his position following his shares difficulties in December 2008.

The Financial Times indicates possible trouble ahead for Mr Ross when it reported on the 12th June that:

"Mr Ross had a Gilbraltar-based commercial property joint venture with Morgan Stanley called Kandahar Real Estate, but he has bought the investment bank out for a nominal sum. Accounts filed this month for Kandahar Group Limited, a British subsidiary of Kandahar Real Estate that funds several UK property interests, show that auditors have highlighted uncertainty about the company's ability to continue as a going concern. Directors of Kandahar Group expect it to be in breach of covenants on its £247m loan facility with HBOS if the company's property portfolio is valued next month."

So, all in all he sounds like a great role model for our secondary schools kids, I hear you all cry!

The other school the David Ross Foundation manages is the Havelock Academy in Grimbsy where Mr Ross's father built his frozen food empire. It has recently published GCSE results 3% below the national average. Life at Havelock however sounds spiffing with the school broken up "Public School" style into various houses, Tiger, Eagle, Archer, Vanguard, Ramalies, Illustrious, Jaguar and Fortune. The Academy takes its name from the folk-heroic legendary figure called Havelock who was saved by Grim, a Danish fisherman.

But whether or not Unity can be saved once again from whats seems like endless upheaval and continual imposed and flawed County Council consultations or whether its future like Havelock's saviour is grim will now be decided in the coming months.

My own view for what it is worth is that Mr Ross's well established links to the Tory Party and his own well documented problems make him less than an ideal candidate to convince an already hesitant parent and staff group that the future of the school is secured. In fact some might wonder whether the Tory Councillors themselves as members of a Party who may have benefited from Mr Ross's political largess should themselves declare an interest?

I would guess that a number of those opposed to the original Academy bid may well also share my view, and once more the focus will be on not what is best for the kids at the school (stability and a chance for the new executive board to raise standards) but instead on the County Councils gift for getting it so badly wrong in again choosing unsuitable partners for Northampton's most challenged Secondary School.

Labour, Tough on Crime, Soft in the Head.

OK its a fair cop, we will both come quietly, we have no choice, they have us bang to rights and as we speak black arrows are being sewn on two over sized grey prison suits and Mrs Clarke and Mrs Dickie are busy baking cakes shaped like files (or files shaped like cakes?)

So heinous is the crime that we have committed that both of us are at this very moment considering our respective positions.

John, is concerned as to whether or not he will ever be able to show his face again in St Peter's Church where as the only atheist church warden in Britain he ably assists in the organising of small arts programmes for the masses.

I, likewise feel it only fair to inform my fellow members of the Woody Guthrie appreciation Society that I may have to relinquish my membership to save them any future embarrassment.

My foes will no doubt take great delight in hearing that last week I was asked to present myself at Campbell Square Police Station, where in the hands of two of the constabulary's finest Senior Fraud Detective Officers I was questioned for an hour and 15 minutes and then duly processed, photographed and fingerprinted ready for Justice to have its wicked way with me.

Thankfully, I was then released, a free man once again, to now await the decision of the Crown Prosecution Service in York who will no doubt ponder over the severity of my offence and whether or not the public will be best served by a trial and a possible financial punishment or our incarceration.

So what was our crime? what evil acts did myself and JD inflict on the good people of Castle Ward.

"WE FORGOT TO PUT AN IMPRINT ON A LETTER SENT OUT IN THE COUNTY COUNCIL ELECTIONS"

There, I have said it, admitted my guilt. For those who think I have gone mad, or that the police have equally lost their marbles, I will explain all. I was cautioned under section 110 of the Representation of the People Act, which makes it an offence to send out unsolicited mail during an election which may seek to hide the identity of the sender and/or defame another candidate.

All of our leaflets (bar this one) carried the imprint:

'Printed by NIV Press 30 Ethel Street, Northampton and Published/Promoted by John Dickie, 2 Western View, Northampton'

The offending leaflet (which was in fact a letter) was sent to 1200 postal voters within the ward asking them for their support, it carried my name, home address, phone number, email, website, and a photo and my personal signature (we were hardly trying to hide my identity) and it did not mention the other candidates. Our other five items of election material were all properly imprinted, and on this occasion there was simply an error of omission on our part, with clearly no ulterior motive or intent.

So surely the Returning Officer, the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service are all wasting time and your money chasing myself and John around the town and preparing us for our possible time in pokey?

Not so. You see they had no choice, once a complaint had been made and an offence reported they were duty bound to follow it up.

Last Year in the 2008 elections across the UK 26 such offences were processed. 25 resulted in no further action and the one that proceeded to court was part of a much broader breach of the act where offence had been caused to other candidates.

So step forward those brave souls and vigilantes responsible for bringing us to book, or if you prefer step forward those responsible for wasting Police and CPS time and money on frivolous complaints. We give praise to ..........

THE LABOUR PARTY

We know not whether the brave soldiers who grassed us up were from the Regional or Local Party, neither can we guess what their motive was? or what they hoped to gain from their endevour? but we are sure that you are feeling a lot safer in your beds in the knowledge that the peoples party is still willing to be tough on the criminal classes and ready and willing to pounce on the guilty.

In the meantime if I disappear from the blog scene for a while or you hear that I have gone on an unexpected enforced holiday can someone please set up a campaign to:

"FREE THE CASTLE WARD TWO"

As keeping myself and John in Pokey for a month or two will cost the taxpayer a fortune.

Democracy? Sold to lowest bidder.

At 5pm on Monday 29th June the Liberal Democrat Administration on Northampton Borough Council issued a Press Release informing the recipients that the Council would be "market testing" all of it's services and looking to outsource through privatisation and or partnership with other councils vast swathes of it's current in house provision.

No I haven't made and error, it is a Liberal Democratic Council, not a Tory one but there is little that is democratic about the way they have come to such a decision. For a start, despite the noises from the Lib Dem front bench in parliament critical of government ministers briefing the press before Parliament, their party in Local Government act just as crassly if not worse. The local press were the first to know of their plans with the details not being made available to elected local Councillors from any of the party's until the next day at 10am and then only on request.

It is not just the opposition that has been kept in the dark, it seems as if not even the Liberal Democratic group on the Council have discussed the plans! Andrew Simpson their Parliamentary candidate in Northampton North must be beside himself this morning, just as it seems as if Sally Keeble had come to the rescue of his parliamentary ambitions with her 'home flipping' expense exploits, his colleagues on the Council drop a bombshell on his doorstep which will keep his party the wrong side of the popularity fence right up until election day.

Surely their group discuss their forward plans? Surely they consider the potential political fall out of every decision they take? Surely if you were a Liberal Democrat Councillor you would expect to be told by your group leader what was going to happen on Council rather than hear it second hand from another Councillor who had been tipped off that the press had been tipped off? And surely you would think a Liberal, let alone Democratic Council would liaise more with it's Trade Union staff before dropping such a bombshell on the workforce?

No doubt the real reason for the "market testing" is to cut the budgets once again. The Council Leader will give us all assurances that it will only happen if the savings are there and if it is in our best interests, but if that was the case then why the big press release? Any Council can review its contractual arrangements for the provision of it's services as and when they come up for renewal? In fact they are obliged to do so. Any Council can make a saving outsourcing services in years one and two when contractors are keen to get your business. But do they ever stick to the contract without adding on variations? or reducing standards? Perhaps they should ask their colleagues on other Lib Dem Councils who I am sure will be happy to tell them of the perils of trying to save a few quid at the expense of the public works.

So why the big announcement? And why a major review rather than a natural examination as contracts expire? It is my firm belief that if this destructive process is allowed to progress unchallenged then we could lose the very reasoning for the Council itself. If we don't run our Street Sweeping and Refuse and Leisure Services and we sell off all our Housing Stock and ask 'Partners' to run any other services like IT and Personnel, then our councillors will become little more than business managers turning up periodically to agree the let contracts. (a bit like theTory County Council that they are always criticizing)

Northampton Borough Council should be preparing itself, and its case to Government Ministers to be a Unitary Authority responsible for all services across Northampton, but instead the current Liberal Democrat Leadership is planning (without consultation,even amongst themselves) to turn us into Britain's Largest Parish Council.

Will the last one to leave the Guildhall please ask the private contractor to switch off the lights!

John Gardner BEM, a tribute, Mr Northampton and Mr Benn

I was saddened to hear that John Gardner BEM had passed away at the weekend. My relationship with John goes back to the late 1980's when we were both Labour Party members and eventually Labour councillors in the now long forgotten "South Ward" of the town. Then he had just ended a career within the boot and shoe industry where he was affectionately known as "Jingles" John used to mend the machines and always had a handful of washers and bolts in his pocket which he would jingle as he studied the task in front of him.

John had a great passion for the town and used every opportunity to talk it up, he was far more of a "half glass full" man than most and even when the Council or the Football Club were in the doldrums you could always rely on John to come up with some antidote to convince you that things were not really as bad as they seemed.

I remember once in the Guildhall at a Council meeting when the Tories were complaining about there not being enough coppers on the beat he said the following "Mr Mayor the opposition moan about there not being policemen on the streets of Northampton, but I can let them into a secret, they are there Mr Mayor, but they are just cunning, some are there in uniform, hiding in the shadows ready to pounce on any unsuspecting burglar and others (and at this point he touched the side of his nose with his index finger) others Mr Mayor they are there also, but you can't see em, cuz they're there in plain clothes Mr Mayor, in t- shirts and jeans, so watch out, because they're watching you, and they know what you are all saying about them."

This was John all over, funny, sometimes making comments completely irrelevant to the topic, but always looking to entertain, and I think that was his real role in life. John you see loved to dress up. His time in his "Fat Controller" and "Father Christmas" costumes is well recorded elsewhere but also in that wardrobe reminiscent of the changing room in the children's series Mr Benn were other costumes always waiting to be rediscovered.

There was of course his Deputy Lord Lieutenant's uniform, but next to it I like to think would have been the Cowboy outfit he wore when he rode a horse down Abington Street to promote a wild west show being played at the Derngate, and next to that would be his Japanese Admirals Jacket, claret with bold gold epaulets which he donned in his role as Commissionaire at Northampton Town Football Club.

I will miss John's welcome and words of friendship at matches, despite his lifelong membership of the Labour Party and my public divorce from it, he still supported me entirely and would always say "Don't let the b*stards get to yer Tony, keep doing what you are doing, keep up the good work and sod the party, put Northampton first"

I also remember when he turned out in the 90's at the Racecourse to open up a new basketball court resplendent in a fading red track suit which hugged him like cling film. It was from his days as a "Corner man" at the Drill Hall when the Wrestling was live on "World of Sport" on a Saturday afternoon. There," alongside Mick McManus, Kendo Nagasaki, and Big Daddy would be JG himself with his bucket and sponge. He told me that they used to take turns at being corner man to "the baddie" as it always came with the risk or certainty of being lumped around the head by a handbag from some old dear in the front row.

I like to think that it was his love of costume and service which led to him joining the Freemasons so late in his life? I have never been a fan of their secret society, but in John they had someone who would give their all for anyone, funny handshake or not.

Politics needs it's leaders and it's intellectuals, but it also just as much needs it's entertainers and it's conscience, John fulfilled both of the later roles and was also far more intelligent than he was ever willing to let onto.

"I am just a boot and shoe worker from Northampton" he would often tell me.

No John you were much much more, you were a boot and shoe worker who was proud to be a boot and shoe worker and who was comfortable in any ones presence. You loved your music, your family, your life and above all perhaps as much as you loved your family you loved the place of your birth and you served it and us very well.

Sleep well Comrade

It's not a new Speaker we need it's a whole new Parliament

Listening to the praise being laid on lavishly by MP's to Micheal Martin this afternoon in the commons you would be forgiven for not knowing that the same bunch who now rise to commend him on his loyal service were the very same hypocrites who a few weeks ago called for his head on a silver platter in order to save their own skins over the MP's expenses row.

"Gorbel's Mick" as we called him with affection, was in deep trouble from the very day he put on his speakers robes simply because Parliament is still living in the dark ages and Mick was seen not to be of the right class or stock to be in such a high office. And so the Toffs hated him for being working class and some of the working class disliked him because he had taken the Queens shilling and put himself above them. Personally I always found him to be good company and someone who hadn't totally forgotten his roots but I also felt that he tried too hard to fit in and to live the role as was expected of him, rather than being himself and ploughing his own furrow. Let us also not forget that he tried last year to modernise the MP's expenses system only to find half of the commons couldn't be bothered to vote and the rest formed a majority against him.

So has his departure cleansed our Parliament? not one bit, and even as the house deliberates on their next victim for the Speakers chair the stories of expenses abuse continue to hit the front pages. Today's latest exposure regarding Brian Binley saddened me not simply because of the impact it has on the reputation of Parliament, but also because I felt he didn't need to have over complicated his affairs in the way he has and that it was all so unnecessary.

I have said elsewhere on this blog that in my view MP's staying overnight in London ought to be provided accommodation centrally to stop all the wide and varied schemes MP's dream up to utilise the additional cost allowance. And Brian's case only strengthens my argument

Despite him taking my seat at the last election and me also planning to challenge him at the next as an Independent, I have always got on with Brian, and he is also good company but we are political opponents with different ideas and values. As such the easiest thing for me to do in the circumstances would be to jump on the bandwagon and launch into a personal tirade of abuse and call for him to stand down immediately.

I won't do so though because I would rather look at the issue reflectively, and anyhow it seems that he has enough critics of his own already without me wading in. But I do think he has been more than a bit naive in thinking that renting a flat from yourself or your own company would be seen by Joe Public as anything other than just plain wrong. So for what it is worth I offer him and you my view.

The additional cost allowance is for "additional" costs of staying in London. So if you or the company you are chairman of owns a flat in London then you have no additional cost.

And if you want to avoid the risk of housing market forces putting pressure on you or your families purse, as he tries to explain in his response to critics, then you simply rent a flat and not buy one, but certainly not rent one from yourself.

I also think he will be digging himself a deeper hole by saying that his new flat now costs him and the tax payer more, about £1800 a month instead of £1500 a month. You see both sums are excessive even by London standards and without looking I would guess you would still be able to pick up a decent rent for around the £1000 a month mark, or maybe even less in today's market.

Some of the criticism he is facing though is unwarranted, for instance those who think an MP can commute to and from London on a daily basis forget that the Parliamentary day can start at 9.30pm and often goes beyond 10.30pm at night, meaning that even if you managed to catch the last train home at 11.30pm (which gets into Northampton about 2.30am) then you wouldn't be in bed before 3am and up again 6.30am in order to get back down to the smoke for the next days business, a 20 hour day with 4 hours sleep a night? not advisable for anyone.

So what choice has all these deliberations left the electorate at the next general election across Northampton? Well in Northampton North we have an MP in Sally Keeble who thinks it is OK to spend her "additional" costs on gas boilers, dishwashers, tree surgery, a new scullery, and replacing marble worktops with glass ones in her "flipped" second home.

Meanwhile in Northampton South Brian defends his right to charge the taxpayer a £1500 rent for a furnished property that belonged and was paid for by his own company, and then right again to pay even more for a second property at a rent of nearly £1800 a month?

I will stand at the election in Northampton South though not on Brian's record in Parliament but on my own, I believe that the 8 years I spent in office were good years for local democracy and those who criticised me at the time for publishing my expenses annually in my parliamentary report are now seeing why I felt so strongly about openness and transparency. If successful I will rent a small flat at the lower end of the market and publish once again annually all of my expenses.

The MP's expenses row though is now losing all proportion, and it is getting more and more difficult to separate out the guilty from the sinned against. Ian Gibson for instance was hounded out of his Norwich North seat by the Labour Party for simply allowing his daughter to stay with him in his London flat and selling the property to her below the asking price, both of which sound reasonable. But I think it suited the Labour Party to use his case as an excuse to cull a rebel.

Brian's case is more complex and I will give him the opportunity to explain himself for his own actions and leave his own party to decide on his fate. Although I feel humility rather than defiant indifference will serve him better and painting himself in a corner and saying he won't pay anything back will only make it more difficult for him to find an exit route. Sally's "additional" costs though are also just plain wrong and you can but wonder how some Labour colleagues have faced wider criticism and yet to date she has come through relatively unscathed.

In renting properties at prices way above the costs necessary and using tax payers money to buy luxury items both Brian and Sally have fallen into the same trap that Gorbel's Mick fell into, They all three thought that they were more important than they really are and that they had a lifestyle to live up to. But strip away the robes and the titles and the offices they serve and they will find that they are no more important than you and I. And when they do so they will probably see for the first time what all the fuss is really about. You see people will judge them not on grounds they have justified for themselves but on the common ground and expectation of the majority of us who are trying to eek out a living in such difficult times.

Perhaps we might get the chance to have two Independents elected to Parliament in the next general Election? If so I hope it's an opportunity that the electorate seizes with both hands.

A majority of minorities (pulling and polling together)

Despite fighting 7 elections over the last 18 years at local and national level ( Won 6 Lost 1) Last Thursday's win on Northamptonshire County Council is a contender for my most memorable and the most enjoyable.

Fighting the seat as an Independent, against the Labour Party was always going to be tricky, even with the Labour Party's current difficulties.

Castle Ward was arguably (until now) the safest Labour seat in the County and up until I won one of the two Borough Council seats in 2007 it had known nothing but success for the "peoples party", with many of it's ex councillors remaining my friends to this day, and ex council leader John Dickie proving once again to be a fine agent (apart form calling me a d*ckhead on Polling day, when the in car microphone and loudspeakers were still switched on)

But this time those lovely regional party officers in Nottingham did their very best to assist me in my campaign. First of all they imposed their candidate on the Ward (as they did in 2007) and then tried to run the campaign through their regional office, and it seems through the hapless stewardship of the absent parliamentary candidate Clyde Loakes.

Their campaign was lack lustre, their work ethic miserable and their message? Well I am still not sure what their message was other than "The Independent and the Lib Dems can't win in Castle Ward, A vote for the Independent or the Lib Dems simply lets the Tories in" hardly a vote winner and not even credible.

But it wasn't the Labour Party's regional office's incompetence which cheered me most, it was all those who came out and supported our campaign which made me smile.

In true Obama style, we won the election pure and simply on constructing a majority from minorities in Castle Ward who we have been working with over the last two years. For those of you not local we polled 760 votes against Labours 440, with the Tories on 361 and the Greens with a credible 201. The Lib Dems who in fairness did not really contest the seat came in 5th on 194 votes.

A low overall turnout in the ward was bolstered by a higher than usual turn out of minority groups willing to support a candidate who had supported them over a long time.

On election day the number of Women Muslim voters was a particular joy to see at each Polling Station, and our newest community in Northampton the Somalian community also came out in support and in force. In addition other interest groups in the area, our pensioners, our young and our gay community all equally helped out during the campaign and turned out in support on polling day. It was joy to behold and a ray of bright sunshine in a somewhat overcast election overshadowed by the BNP's successes in the Euro Vote.

So I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every individual who lent their support or registered their vote last Thursday It proves beyond any doubt the old adage "United We Stand" and also shows that when we stick together and work for the common good that small communities with big hearts can win massive victories.

But my gold medal for loyalty and perseverance came from a tale relayed to me, related to our eve of poll leafleting team in Spring Boroughs. The team was made up of three pensioners, an 11 year old girl and a 14 year old boy, and they were faced with delivering 1000+ leaflets across a large area dominated by high rise flats. I told them to only do what they felt they could and not overdo it as we could finish off the task on Polling Day morning.

But when I rang for an update on the Wednesday evening I was told "it's all done" that in itself was a massive achievement, but on polling day I learnt a little more about their exploits. You see one of our tower blocks Barnabus House has no lift at present due to refurbishment works, so the task of carrying themselves and bundles of heavy leaflets up such a concrete mountain should have been enough to stop them in their tracks, so did it deter them? No, instead our eldest volunteer 87 climbed the stairs to the top floor, resting at each level whilst her accomplice a spring chicken at 76 waited at the bottom. once the summit was reached the 89 year old then lowered a rope to the bottom where the bags of leaflets were duly tied on ready for hauling up and stuffing through letterboxes.

Loyalty like that can never be bought, and it just goes to show what can be achieved if people work together and are given a reason to feel part of a much broader collective family. Across the patch similar things are happening, tenants are digging up unkempt council land outside their flats to grow vegetables and young and old working together on community projects, residents are adopting "potholes" in order to shame the authorities into action, leisure space is being reclaimed from the drug users and drinkers and used by families and dog walkers.

Not all of this can be connected with last weeks election, in fact much of it has its roots much deeper in Northampton's proud Independent past stretching from the Civil War through to Bradlaugh's election in the late 1800's. But it has me proud to be elected to serve the area and delighted to have such people in my Ward.

And who said Politics couldn't still be enjoyable?

NO HAWKERS - NO SALESPERSONS - NO TIME WASTERS

We always seem to know when there is an unwelcome or unwanted caller at our door? Maybe it's the timing? early evening or Sunday mornings? Maybe we all have built in bullsh*t detectors warning us against peddlers.

But whatever the reason I am convinced (now more than ever) that election candidates are about as welcome on our doorsteps as Johava's Witnesses or those energy sales staff offering ever reduced tariffs.

It is for this reason that less of my campaigning these days is carried out in the old fashioned manner. Gone are the days of reading systems and canvass returns, in is the age of direct mail, readable leaflets, and e-campaigning.

But I still can't help but think that we are all still trying to sell a product that the public has long since got tired of buying.

Turnout at tomorrows Euro and Council elections is predicted to be as always at a "record low" (i.e. since the last election broke the last record low) and in many ways the furore over MP's expenses has simply legitimised the "I never bother voting anyway" camp

You see any contract between two people be they selling eggs or political promises has to be formed on the basis of both parties having either something to give or wanting something back in return.

So in this instance most candidates are saying " I have a bag full of promises to make to you to make your life better for you, I can also promise you that whilst now, at this minute my intentions maybe good that afterwards I reserve the right to change my mind and amend my promises as befits the needs of my Party.

The voter meanwhile pledges to "maybe go out and vote for you or your party on the basis that I think I trust that you will do what you say you will do, but I reserve the right to either not bother voting if I can't be bothered and also change my voting intentions in the future should a better offer come along and or the mood swings the other way"

It's hardly a match made in heaven is it? Years ago a persons political character was often set and known to them. They were Socialists who voted Labour or Capitalists who voted Tory or confused individuals in sandals and cardigans who couldn't make their mind up and voted Liberal.

But now it seems as if we don't need to hold any political ideals? and that you can change your party as often (if not more) than you change your wallpaper. Of course a lot of this is the fault of all of the three main parties wrestling for the same plot of centre ground Middle England turf and making their parties almost carbon copy's of each other.

So wheres the loyalty? wheres the honesty? and where is the delivery? Increasingly I believe that the public anger at the "expenses" scandal runs a far lot deeper than their distaste for the behaviour of our MP's. I believe that many have also lost all faith in the system itself and feel that "Politics" Local and National has little to offer to them.

Perhaps we are all to comfortable? or that those who are not and in need have lost hope of anyone speaking up for them?

The Labour Party was formed over 100 years ago as a partnership between the working men and women of Britain and their trade union memberships. It worked for a long period of time when rights at work and equality between rich and poor were still to be strived for. However despite many of these rights being currently eroded it seems as if most working people have abandoned the trade union movement in favour of the "no win no fee" culture.

Equally there has been an abandonment of the Labour Party, in fact an abandonment of all of the big three party's as 99% of the population chose not to be members of any of them.

But people are starting to organise again. In my own seat Castle Ward we have active community groups, forums and residents associations. We have volunteers willing to give their time to improve their locality. People are "Doing it for themselves" without the need for someone to sanction their activity through passing a motion at any party meeting, or even at the Council.

That is why more local candidates should be elected on Thursday, that is why more an more Independent candidates are being successful across the UK.

On June the 4th across Northamptonshire there are a eight Independent candidates standing for election together with a few local community minded candidates also standing under the grouping of Northampton Save our Services.

Each will be fighting to be elected with little outside support and without much media attention. If we want to change politics in our county for good and for the better, and send a message to all the main parties that we are through with their continued empty promises and deceit, then I hope those of you who have the chance to, will vote for candidates who will not be compromised by any political whip, nor tempted by any offer of party position.

I would also urge voters not to be taken in by the disgraceful and disturbing mantra peddled in the County by the far right BNP. Hopefully there continued exposure will be enough to warn people of their vile hidden agenda.

So If you want to hold up to the true radical traditions of independent thought and action by Northamptonshire's citizens that over the centuries has brought us real political change from backing Parliament in the civil war through to returning Bradlaugh to Parliament four times against the wishes of the establishment then I hope that this time you will consider, if you have the opportunity of doing so on June the 4th, of voting for an Independent Voice to represent you at County Hall.

Shhh, Don't mention the election

A reporter from our local newspaper the Chronicle and Echo phoned me today to ask me for some information on a rather tame story to do with the Borough Council's Community Centre strategy. I got the phone call because the only answer they could get from the Council was that they "Couldn't comment due to election purdah" The Purdah is a period whereby no council officer or Councillor can say anything that in any shape or form can be seen by others to be political or preferring one party over another

Although the Borough Council has no elections it was felt that as some Councillors are members or candidates on both authorities then this ridiculous rule should apply to all it's officers and members.

Equally our local press are reluctant to publish "political" stories and as such we have to suffer a pretty lame month of "equal" coverage for the three main parties, it seems at times to the exclusion of anything else.

In essence what the establishment are saying (now backed up by the local press) is that the only time that local politicians cannot be political is at election times!

What a complete nonsense this purdah rule is. It wasn't always like this, and it shouldn't be like this now. Has Parliament closed for a month because we are in purdah? Did the Daily Telegraph think about "purdah" before starting it's current exposure of MP's abuses of their expenses?

How on earth can voters make informed choices if someone is "controlling" the political information they receive?

In my view this is just another example of how our local governance is being sanitized and made ineffective and remote from the masses. Turnout at local government elections is already at an all time low and whoever decided that this years "local government trend of the year" would be election purdah, needs their head testing.

Let parties and candidates say what they want, let the electorate see them warts and all. Let the press print (within the laws of decency) what they see fit to print. The public are not stupid, we can see through the spin, we don't need all our information censored by big brother, and if someone goes over the top then Councils and/or the police should take action against the offender rather than punishing everyone else who wishes to stand for election.

The press maybe have another, perhaps more understandable reason for their stance, perhaps by only concentrating on the "big three" then they can deny fascists like the BNP the oxygen of publicity? but why should I as an Independent candidate or the Green Party or some of the smaller local party's suffer in order to silence the unsavourable?

How will people know how ridiculous the BNP's policy's are unless they are allowed to judge for themselves? I as a political animal take an interest, I think it is laughable that the BNP have a leader who believes the holocaust did not happen, and have a policy to repatriate all non white Briton's (bang go our chances in the next World Cup if the fascists ever get in!)

So to hell with censorship I say, let them all do their worst and in doing so give the public some credit for being grown up enough to spot the difference between political spin and genuine intent.

After all at the moment the only people benefiting from election purdah seem to be the big three parties? Perhaps if they didn't get preferential treatment then they might all become the little three? and perhaps that's why they reinvented political purdah in the first place?

Localism is the key to cleaning up politics

Whenever I was asked as an MP if I would "do as I promised" or "Why should we trust you" I used to honestly answer by saying "I won't be an MP for ever you know, and when I am not I will still have to live in the same street, drink in the same pubs, eat in the same restaurants, Northampton is my home and if I don't keep my integrity and good name then I will have lost a damn sight more than a seat in Parliament"

When I was first elected to the Commons in 1997 it was of course as part of a massive Labour landslide and hidden amongst the celebration and false hope was a little written about added extra, that in winning well and going way beyond the '100 Key Seats' needed for a majority in the Commons, the party had returned to Parliament a number of additional MP's who in their plans, were really not meant to have been there.

Joining me in Parliament were people like Phil Sawford in Kettering, Andy King in Rugby, Ivan Henderson in Harwich all local constituency based candidates who had done their apprenticeships working hard in their local communities and on their respective local councils.

The 100 Key seats on the other hand were stacked full of careerist and opportunists who would have traveled anywhere, and said anything to land a prize of a seat in Parliament. People who lived in one place represented another and saw their constituencies as places to visit rather than places to live and bring up their children.

So if you have a few moments to spare dig up a copy of Labours 100 from 97 including all the Blair's babes and match it against the morally bankrupt individuals who have disgraced parliament over recent weeks with indefensible claims for adaptations, building works, furniture, gardening and luxury goods for their second homes.

Surprise Surprise, the two lists are well matched.

It's not just the Labour Party though, the Tories and the Lib Dem's all have favoured lists of placed candidates parachuted into constituencies at their Party's behest. And in return they get pliant, obedient, voting fodder to do their bidding and sell their policy wares in the House and to the wider electorate.

Local candidates on the other hand are less likely to simply go along with the Party flow, more likely to stand up for what is right for their localities and their constituents, and are bad news for the whips. Mp's should represent their constituencies views in Parliament, not represent the views of their Parties within their constituencies.

So in essence we have the Parliament we deserve, stacked to the brim with individuals with little loyalty to the town's and cities they represent and whose priority in life is the advancement of themselves first and foremost and the needs of their constituencies are way down their list.

So when all the Parties are through with their Star Courts and Chambers, and they have culled their ranks of the greedy and corrupt, then they would do well to thinking about some form of proven local connection when choosing replacement candidates. We have had all women shortlists and secured positions on shortlists for black and minority ethnic candidates, so perhaps it's now time for system that concentrates the mind and the vote on people who truly represent their seats because they know the people who live there and want to improve their own own areas not just see it as the place where their fees office paid for property portfolio is based.

Add in a dash of Single Transferable Vote and a generous sprinkling of transparency and we might just have a recipe for real change.

In the meantime though I will steer clear of the lot of them, and the only way I see a lot of constituencies getting proper representation is through them electing Independent candidates into office as Local Government and at a National level.