"ONE OF OUR CANDIDATES IS MISSING"

Not since Roy Hattersley was "empty chaired" by the "Have I got news for You" TV show and replaced with a tub of lard has the  Labour Party managed such an embarrassing no show as was witnessed on Friday in Northampton when Clyde "I am up for the fight" Loakes failed to show up for two hustings meetings in the same day. In fact of all the hustings that took place in the campaign he managed to attend only one, which was held on one of the "Tuesdays" (he had previously sent a  letter to local Labour campaigners informing them that he would only be in town once a week during the election) which he kindly donated to the campaign. But to miss what was Northampton's "Super Friday" of the campaign was completely unforgivable.

First of all he missed the opportunity to share a 40 minute live on air question time on local BBC radio Northampton at lunchtime, leaving the Tory and Lib Dem candidates hogging the microphone for themselves (some of us lesser mortals in the eyes of the BBC only got to participate in the last 20 minutes of the programme and some only got a pre recorded message!) I tried unsuccesfully to point out to the BBC that I was running in second place in the overall campaign and would gladly fill the empty chair, but the BBC's finest in a higher place had deemed this not the way the BBC does things!!

Then later in the evening he was more visibly "empty chaired" at the local newspaper the 'Chronicle and Echo's BIG DEBATE' when the 100+ audience looked on aghast as the chair and assistant editor Richard Edmondson read out a one line email from the hapless Loakes which simply said "I will not be able to attend the debate"

What in the name of Nye Bevan is going on in the Labour Party!!! After my expulsion they promised members that they would revitalise the local party, and their show piece candidate was to bring "drive and enthusiasm" to local campaigning!

It was an own goal of massive proportions, in fact it was a hatrick of own goals if you add the two no shows on Friday to his earlier "paper candidate" gaffe when he told the press he was only in the contest for the experience.  What experience he has got from only visiting the contest one day a week for a few hours, and missing key debates is anyone guess, but if the Labour Party had any decency it would apologise to the electorate now and take action against the candidate.

When I entered this contest as an Independent I always expected to sway a number of Labour voters to my cause, but Clyde has done more than I could ever have done to boost those numbers, it was clear to me today on the streets of Far Cotton that even Labour's faithful have now given up on their man.

And what a good debate he missed, I admit I had a bit of the devil in me on Friday night and felt sparky throughout the event, but I was humbled by the Chrons verdict on Saturday which said

"The night's biggest winner with the audience was undoubtedly Tony Clarke - the former Labour diehard turned Independent campaigner. Clarke has set out his campaign on the premise of representing the people of Northampton rather than a political party's chief whip. He is a local man who says he knows what local people want and you instinctively believe him when he says he will try to do his best for the town"

The newspaper carried out a snap poll at the end of the night and  was pleased again that the majority of the audience thought I had "performed the best overall" and with the comments given to the Chron from those attending

"Tony Clarke was the only one who didn't say anything negative about the other candidates" Dee Mamera, New Duston

"It's opened my eyes and I'll probably look at somebody else now, like the Independents to see what they can do for Northampton. I liked Tony Clarke. I didn't know anything about him before, but from his performance, I would say he was the best." Simon Glassman St James

But what did they think to Clyde's no show? I guess we will only truly know on Thursday, but if any Labour voters out there want to know where they should now place their vote on polling day to prevent a Tory winning the seat, then I hope they will consider supporting my campaign for Parliament.

For a start I promise I will turn up!

THE FINAL PUSH! ANYONE WANTING TO JOIN US IN THESE FINAL DAYS TO GET OUR MESSAGE ACROSS AND TO MAKE THURSDAY 6th MAY INDEPENDENTS DAY CAN FIND US AT 1 GROVE ROAD NORTHAMPTON 11am MONDAY, 11am AND 5pm TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY OR RING US ON 07583 036525

SECOND LEAFLET

We are well underway now with the delivery of our second B4 leaflet, whilst at the same time our third leaflet is being delivered by the Royal Mail. So lots of claret and white going through the letterboxes, hope you enjoy

COUNCIL RAPID RESPONSE TEAM STRIKE AT DICKIE ACRES

Residents of Northampton, angered at the amount of time it takes the Council to deal with flytipping will be bemused or maybe encouraged? by the swift actions of the Borough Councils finest this morning in removing a troublesome item in deepest Castle Ward.

Arguments continue as to how long 48hrs, the time the Council say it takes them to clear any reported flytipping really is. You will remember from a previous post that opposition Cllrs were told that 48 hrs is not in fact two days but 48 working hours, which equates to about 8+Days!!!, made up a working week, plus a weekend plus a day and a bit thereafter. The Leader of the Council Cllr Brian Hoare (Lib Dem) has promised twice now without delivering to clarify this figure, but we still await the result of his high level deliberations.

But this morning a complaint came into the Guildhall, together we believe with a photo of one of my election banners, obviously offending the eye of some within other parties, which was placed with the permission of residents outside their properties in Western View facing Castle Station.

I am not sure if a glowing red (or most probably yellow and black)  phone rang on the desk of the Chief Executive at the Guildhall, but within minutes the rapid response unit of NBC leapt into action in their yellow truck, attended the site, tore down the banner and confiscated it, before delivering it (on a silver platter?)  to the Councils Solicitor to be locked  away safely at the Town Hall.

All this whilst my loyal and usually observant agent John Dickie was oblivious to the attack on the Castle Mound and was drinking his morning cuppa at Dickie Acres.

The first we got to hear of "Operation Banner Snatch"  following their assault on Castle Hill was when the Borough Councils solicitor Francis Fernandes phoned me as the candidate to tell me he was holding my banner (emblazoned with my rather fetching, if not dated profile) as a prisoner at the Guildhall.

"It was on our land so we acted swiftly" he told me " "I wished you would act as quickly removing old fridges and bedsteads from the streets of Spring Boroughs" I told him in response.

Anyhow I enquired, "What are you ringing me for, surely the normal procedure is for the returning officer to ring the agent to acsertain who actually owns the land and then if it was on Council Land you would ask the agent to remove it, so the council doesn't incur any expense?"

What followed was a robust conversation,wherein I asked just who had made the complaint? (whilst respectfully reminding him that one of my opponents is the Deputy Leader of the Council) and why the Council acted so rapidly and without thinking the matter through first? After which I left him to ring John

Further conversations between the Borough Solicitor and a very angry agent determined that land ownership at the site is difficult to determine. Some of the land does belong to the Borough, some of it is the County Councils Highways Dep't and some around the car park is private and belongs to the residents, and as the owners of 1A 1B 1C and number 2 Western View had agreed to have the banner put up then what was the problem?

After tense negotiations and making it clear to the Borough Council that we would not pay a ransom for its return, the Council agreed to release the banner, and sent two men in suits with a map round to replace it on land to be agreed.

After at first showing up without the proper tools (no hammer guv!) the Council then promised to return a third time to reinstate our property!!! And then failed to do so.

They are returning in the morning we are now told. So our banner now rests only temporarily in the ground awaiting their return. So upset was the donor who provided the banners that one had been kidnapped that he has now ordered two more for our campaign to go up on other sites!!

John told me this afternoon, "It took the Council 30 f*cking years to come round and pollard the b*stard trees on that bit of land and now they have been back and forth here twice in a single day! and now they are coming back tomorrow"

I will leave it to you, the readers to determine yourselves who made the complaint, and why the council acted so swiftly without thought of the political consequences, the cost, or the risk of someone comparing their prompt action with the usual inaction witnessed by residents elsewhere in the town when they make complaints, but I am just glad we have got our banner back!

Elections are hard enough as it is without having to break off from canvassing to negotiate for the release and repatitration of kidnapped images of the candidate.

HOWS THE CAMPAIGN GOING?

As the election campaign reaches its half way point, and we await final notice of all the confirmed candidates, I thought I would share some observations on how the local campaign in Northampton South has progressed pre nomination day.

Obviously these are the views of just one of the candidates, (me) but I would hope you know me well enough to accept that I would always say it as I see it rather than try to spin it. First of all news from our own camp. Well we are pretty pleased with how the campaign has been going so far, thanks to the tireless work of around 40 volunteers we are this week finishing the delivery constituency wide of our introductory leaflet and delivery has already begun on leaflet two.

On the doorstep, we have been encouraged by the warmth in the greeting we have received, maybe not being party aligned means we are seen as less of a threat or nuisance but voters generally want to chat and are very supportive. It is clear from our figures that we are doing well. How well can only be determined on May 6th but let’s say we are finding votes beyond our expectation. The Tories? Well they are spending well, we have encountered at least two leaflets on our travels and I am sure they are direct mailing, but the response we seem to detect is luke warm? No doubt Brian starts as favourite and a lot of course will be determined from the national popularity in the polls of the Conservative Party, but together with ourselves they seem willing to fight a campaign. John (Dickie) couldn't help noticing the Tory's oversized platform delivered to Abington Street last Saturday for Michael and Brian to stand on which was so big it had to be craned off the back of a lorry, he mentioned this to me as I was polishing of our own little soapbox! Talk of a tale of two candidates" SOPS: "Dave Green" I thought these guys did very well to get their first leaflet out so quickly in parts of the ward, delivery was sporadic, but given their resources and knowing first hand how difficult is then I applaud their effort. Labour? It’s been a disaster for them, with a candidate only interested in visiting the campaign once a week and a local party in freefall you get the feeling that they just want the campaign over as quickly as possible. No leaflets seen as yet, (other than old Rose newsletters) and a candidate who even shies away from speaking to the press!! Latest news tells me Clyde has urged his potential helpers in Northampton South to head North to help Sally Keeble out. A noble gesture maybe? Or the act of a beaten candidate? I will let you decide. Lib Dem, Obviously all of their attention and energy seems to be focused in the North, and the candidate will always find it difficult to compete, but I am disappointed in Paul. He seems to want to be the negative candidate and his view on his (comments locked) website that I was quote "playing politics with the 179 lives of service men and women lost in Labour’s illegal and unjustified war" wins my prize for the most inappropriate and over the top comment award so far for these elections. His request for me to stand down from my candidature was equally bemusing. Negative campaigning and mudslinging never work, but let’s hope he keeps it up! Leaflets? none seen to date, but one "attack" sheet planned I am told. Green? No leaflets, no real activity, but Julie did well at the only hustings to date, but again resources may be tight. English Democrats? A few leaflets found in Far Cotton. That’s about it so far?   UKIP No sign at all of any activity. Over the next week the Royal Mail Free Drop leaflet should come through your doors from all the parties (once vetted by the Royal Mail!) so at least people will be able to judge all the candidates side by side. For our part we are trying our hardest to change Politics in Northampton and on limited resources we are making a real play for this seat. I think we are getting there, I know we are working hard. I believe we are working harder than most? but then in some cases that’s not difficult! This blog is also about your observations so if you have seen differently then pleases say so, but I will edit out the obvious over the top observations (i.e. Clyde Loakes spotted two days running! or Lib Dem candidate in charm offensive)

THE BIG DEBATE? THE BIG SNOOZE MORE LIKE

So we wait 50 years for a live election debate between the three main Party leaders and when it happens, I start to doze off!  Not once but twice. Maybe I am tired, maybe the comfort of the armchair after all that leafletting was just a tad too comfortable.

Or maybe, just maybe, I and others switched off or over because try as they might all the three parties did was remind us why our national politics are so boring and in such a mess in the first place.

David Brown, Nick Cameron and Gordon Clegg all took it turns to tell a studio audience how wonderful they were and suck up to to every voter i.e. "Before I start can I say how much I admire the work you do in our (schools. hospitals, armed forces) and what a great debt the country owes you blah blah blah.

So tiresome and cringeworthy were some of the answers that Daniel my eldest son (23) asked me at one stage "Isn't Songs of Praise on the other side dad?"

The pollsters say Nick Clegg won the debate? which will be tough news for the big two to take, but I think it reflects the the ease in which any body sounding at least part interested in political  change can sway an audience.

For what it's worth I thought Brown was most statesmanlike, Clegg the most relaxed and Cameron? well he looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights, unable to move out of the way of difficult questions that were coming straight at him. If this man is Prime Ministerial material then King Herod should open a Care Home for Young Children.

What the show did do though is strip away from the Tory and Labour Party all the gloss, take the shine of of their party posters and the power away from media moguls and expose them all to the stark clear light of normailty and let the public start to judge our politicians crowell style, Warts and All.

But it's the viewing figures not the voting figures I want to see, and I also want to see how many viewers switched off or over half way through the show.

Meanwhile earlier tonight we had our own first mini version of the big debate at the Sunley Management Centre with Northampton's Youth as the audience. With 11 politicians on the platform!!

2 Green 2 UKIP 2 Lib Dem 2 Tory 2 Independent and er......... 1 Labour! One of their candidates was missing, and I bet you can guess who.

It was in the main a light hearted and gentle opener to the hustings season, but one worrying aspect was the Lib Dem's Paul Varnsverry (he of no comments on my blog please, fame) who fired the first negative shot of the campaign by asking me to "withdraw your candiditure" (silly boy) after failing to read my leaflet correctly, or perhaps taking it too literally. Either way it was nice to see his feathers rattled.

I have a nasty feeling about young Paul's ability to last the distance, negative politics and silly gestures are never flattering to the electorate watching on and I hope he learns an early lesson.

The others? well the Greens were good and bad (one of each) I will let them decide which, but well, done Julie!

The Tories? so so, a bit all things to all people, UKIP? Barking mad, The Lib Dems? Andrew put up a decent fight, Paul over prepared and overstretched himself and Sally for Labour did as good a job as she could being a man down.

Meanwhile fellow Independent Malcolm Mildren standing in Northampton North respendent in his check jacket was a joy to be sat alongside, free from any party shackles he did what politicians should all be doing.

He told people what he really believed and what he really thought, and that alone was enough to make the night worthwile.

GENERAL ELECTION 2010 INTRODUCTORY LEAFLET

Below as I promised I post a copy of our 2010 election B4 introductory leaflet, please click on any of  the pictures to enlarge.

FRONT AND BACK

 PAGES 2 and 3

MIDDLE

NI, NATIONAL INSURANCE? OR NOT INTERESTED?

Week one of the general election campaign seems to have been dominated by a subject matter which has left most of the public switching off the election coverage before in most cases it even got started!

Just who in their right minds would dream up a strategy which said “I know in week one we will concentrate of the views of big business towards a rise in National Insurance Contributions, that will get the public sitting up and taking notice!"

And of course as soon as the Tories had played their predictable "Big business bosses vote Tory" Joker the rest of the plan then started to unwind.

"For a start" said Joe Public "don't these businesses already make big annual profits?, and if so why are they saying that this small change would cost jobs?, surely if they made big profits last year then they are not going to reduce staff and put future profits at risk over a small rise in NI costs?"

This was quickly followed by even more cold light of day realisation by the general public that if the Government  (whatever its colour) fails to bring in the money from the NI rise then it will have to be found or  cut from elsewhere in the budget? I.e. jobs in the public sector!

Overall then despite the early obvious claims of 2Big Business Bosses Back the Blues2 (as if they ever didn't!) I believe that Cameron has played this one wrong and that over the weekend commentators will declare the first round and salvo to Gordon Brown, leading to more speculation as to a hung parliament where Independents really could make a difference.

Meanwhile though in Northampton, at the real election! People on the doorstep have been very encouraging and warm to our message, it seems as if more people than I anticipated are aware of me standing as a candidate than I thought. they tell me they are backing me as credible local candidate with a good track record,
It’s humbling, but also very rewarding given the efforts we have made.  People are also saying that they are willing to drop their previous party vote in favour of a vote for Northampton. We are currently delivering our introduction leaflet (42, 000 houses!) So far top marks to the Tories who seem to have got their leaflets out (it seems through a commercial company?) and to SOS who leaflets we have also come across in our travels. And the wooden spoon to be shared by Labour and the Lib Dems who seem not to have surfaced.

So anyone wanting to tread the pavements and  join "Tony Clarkes new tried and tested weight loss plan" will be gladly signed up for a crash course in leaflet delivery.

I will also scan and publish the leaflet on the blog. Onwards and upwards, and out now to Duston.

A DIALOGUE WITH YOU THE ELECTORATE

OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM IS BROKEN BUT YOU CAN HELP FIX IT

And they're off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This morning’s expected announcement of the General Election, didn't really surprise any of us, in fact from the rise in numbers visiting this site and the numbers of comments you could say it had already begun. 

So over the next few weeks I will posting here regularly to discuss a whole range of issues with you, the general public, and unlike the other candidates, on here you will get a right of a published reply, I will only delete any posts which are over personal or attack others unnecessary, I want a fair and clean election and won't engage in dirty politics. Our political system is far too dirty already to risk it being involved in any further mudslinging.

We were all outraged over MPs' expenses. But this scandal was only a symptom of a much bigger problem. at the heart of our parliament So simply cleaning up the expenses system and asking a few MP’s to pay the money back is not going to be anywhere near enough to fix our broken politics.

Our whole political system is broken; our Parliament is full of placed candidates who represent their Parties first rather than the electorates that they should serve. I spent 8 years in the House of Commons and I witnessed firsthand how the whips and the national party staff manipulated and controlled constituency MP’s to represent the party’s view to their electorate instead of ensuring that the public’s view was heard in Parliament. I was also on the receiving end of that same manipulative system, no Junior Minister appointments or PPS post for me, despite the fact that many of those appointed were well out of their depths. The small price I paid for my Independence was my Parliamentary career. Others had it a lot worse!

Ultimately the cost of that subservience led to a decision to take this country to war on a vote in the Commons where large numbers of MP’s from all parties voted for a war in Iraq, even though they didn’t believe in it. A few (too few) voted with their conscience, but too many were thinking only of their future career prospects. Sadam Hussein needed removing, but only an international coalition backed by a fresh UN mandate could have won the war, and the peace in Iraq. Without a shadow of a doubt if all those who I spoke to afterwards who said "I don't agree with the reasons we are going to war but felt duty bound to vote for the government" had voted with their conscience then the vote would not have been carried.

Likewise the other serious challenges we face today, from climate change and financial breakdown, to attacks on our civil liberties, can only be tackled with a healthy democracy that works for all of us and not just a powerful few. Our politicians need to be accountable to you, not their Party leaders.

By putting my constituents first and refusing to be manipulated, I was expelled from the Labour Party. It set me free from their shackles, it has made me more determined to serve my town and speak out. So are you with me? Isn’t it time we took our political independence back? Isn’t it time to clear out the sty and clean up our parliament once and for all? If you want to support real change then on Polling day I hope  that this time you will vote for Northampton and vote for an Independent MP to represent you in Westminster

Tony

NOBODY GIVES YOU POWER, YOU JUST HAVE TO WRESTLE IT FROM THEM

As if in response to the recent debate on this blog as to what a real "Localist" agenda really means, both of the main two parties have made feeble attempts to try and convince us all that they too are listening to the voices at the grass roots.  They at least acknowledge that they are responding to the need to tackle the we know best "Big Government" approach to our local communities and the services delivered in them.

David Cameron for the Tories weighed in first with a pledge to create and train 5000 strong "neighbourhood army" to help set up local community groups. The Conservatives are promising to fund the training of 5,000 full-time, professional community organisers  over the course of the next Parliament. They say this is based on a movement in the United States which has trained generations of community organisers, including President Obama.

He told a central London audience (where else!) that: 

"We want every adult to be a member of an active neighbourhood group, I know some people argue that there isn't the appetite for this sort of widespread community participation. I don't agree."

But no new funding will be set aside for this still very much centrally controlled intervention into our local community instead it must be pilfered from the existing Futurebuilders project, a government programme which provides grants and loans to charities and other voluntary bodies to help them bid for and deliver public service contracts.

And as an Independent colleague Phil Andrews in a similar blog asks:

"In short, can Community Power be imposed by government initiative, or must it necessarily be organic and rise unassisted out of the efforts of the people themselves?

Would the organisers withdraw once local people had been trained, and would there be strings attached to the continued support of the "experts" as there always is under Labour?"

Meanwhile Tessa Jowell has responded for the government by announcing new plans to let parents run "Sure Start" centres and nurses and doctors to have more of a say in how the NHS is to be run, she said:

"The era of top-down government is over. Often, the best people to decide how local services should work are the local people using and running those services".

Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats whilst short on ideas themselves at least acknowledged the shallowness of the above half hearted attempts on local involvement with party's community’s spokeswoman Julia Goldsworthy. Saying

"The 'Big Society' is just patronising nonsense, particularly for the thousands of dedicated people who are working to make their communities better every day,"

And maybe she got the closest to the truth?  You see David Cameron and the Tories need to realise that you can't implant community activity! For example what happens if the community doesn't want their "Trained Community Organiser"? And who chooses them? Or what happens if we find that 5000 organisers divided across a 65 million population doesn’t fit nicely into our settled community boundaries?

He also fails to understand that many communities already have good community groups and local organisers working in their neighbourhoods and that often it is the lack of "top down" "organised"  interference which gives them local kudos needed for them to be respected in their areas.

Tessa Jowells intervention is equally uninspiring and seems to be driven by a need to placate the workers in our NHS and to engage parents more in Sure Start, both of course are very welcome gestures but are they really born from any real desire to give power back to local people?

And what about local government? What about the role of elected Councillors, who are year by year losing more and more authority (often guilty themselves of voting to hand over control of services to the unelected and unaccountable) and who are becoming more irrelevant to the needs of their local community?

 Both the Tories and the Labour Party it would seem have no real agenda for devolving real power down to the people, they just want to spend existing funds to finance new projects which don't really engage people but simply tell them how they can become local advocates and more more locally aware.

It is for this reason that I believe more than ever that the only way to change local services and to create real difference within local neighbourhoods is by the communities deciding to do it for themselves. To identify their own leaders and to get them elected to office if necessary to shake up the system. Our neighbourhoods don't need government trained yes men and women imposed on them to activate their community.  They just need to do what they are already doing and to start making decisions for themselves and taking on the big government agenda wherever it may based at Westminster or at  the Town or County Hall.

We need more locally elected, non party, non controlled, non whipped, non conformist people from the community taking real decisions at a local level, not a pre election call from London telling us that they have all have big plans for us

HONESTY WILL ALWAYS BE THE BEST POLICY

The 1689 Bill of Rights declared that:

"Freedom of speech and debates; or proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament"

The fact that disgraced MP's and Lords are now trying to use the bills reference above to "proceedings" to prevent their expenses abuses being punishable in a court of law is damaging in the extreme to the bills initial intentions.

The real intention of course was to allow MP's elected to Parliament the ability to speak freely without fear of the law and or of the influence of any outside bodies.

In fact the bill was central to the Committee of Privilege’s judgement in the case of WJ Brown in 1947, when it declared that "it is inconsistent with the dignity of the house, with the duty of a Member to his constituents, and with the maintenance of the privilege of freedom of speech, for any member of this House to enter into a contractual agreement with an outside body, controlling or limiting the Member’s complete independence and freedom of action in Parliament or stipulating that he shall act in any way as the representative of such outside body in regard to any matters to be transacted in Parliament; the duty of a Member being to his constituents and to the country as a whole, rather than any section thereof."

"The duty of a member being to his constituents and to the country as a whole, rather than any section thereof"

The line above is worthy of repeat because it's purity and its intended outcome when set against our modern day political system has been corrupted totally, and the view expressed in the 1947 ruling would of course preclude national political parties and their whips from imposing national policy on individual members above the interests of their constituents or the country as a whole.

Imagine therefore my joy when an anonymous "Labour" supporting blogger, commenting on my last post started to question what my "Policies" were.

You see I have beliefs, more than policies, those beliefs have been formed and rounded over many years of local and national representation of the people have led me to the position I am now in of Independence from or loyalty to any national party or imposed point of view. They also guided my intentions in setting up Northampton Independent Voice as a collective rather than a Political Party, I don't want to replicate the system we suffer under, I want to change it!!

Until an election is called I am merely a prospective parliamentary candidate, but throughout the election I will use this blog to both update readers as to how the campaign progresses and also to discuss openly with friends and foes my beliefs and my values.

So where do you want to start? on what subject?  ask away, I will be happy to discuss the difficult issues as much as the easy ones, and I will be as blunt and upfront as ever in any responses to points raised. I would however ask as a matter of decency for people to identify themselves, even if they feel only able to as a pseudyonm, anything has to better than "Anonymous"

Martin Bell when in Northampton recently wished me well for the campaign and told an audience at the Central Library that "We need more Independent and Independently minded MP's like Tony Clarke elected to parliament to bring some honesty back and to help to really change and reform our Parliament"

I of course agreed with him!! but look at what he said again, he and I don't just want Independent MP's elected, we also want more Independently minded MP's elected across the Parties who are prepared to stand up for what THEY believe in and stand up for their CONSTITUENCIES against if necessary their party machines enforced "policy" We need more members willing to use the 1689 Bill of Rights for the good of their electorate rather than as get out of jail free card! And we need more members to be aware of the Committee of Privileges ruling in 1947 if we are to enable them to represent their constituents in Parliament rather than weakly representing Parliament or their Party's view down the line to them as constituents who are supposed not to hold a view, and simply accept that they are just following Party Policy!!!!!!!!!