Only two days to go before what what will possibly be the most critical general election in my lifetime (I’m 62). In the early hours of Friday morning I’ll be awaiting with particular interest the count in Shipley, in West Yorkshire, where Philip Davies hopes to be re-elected, despite a determined campaign by the Labour party. In 2005 Philip was first elected with 39.0% of the votes counted. In 2010, 48.6%. In 2015, 50.0%, and in 2017, 51.3%. Sadly the Women’s Equality Party won’t be fielding a candidate against him this time. When Sophie “Doughnuts” Walker, then the leaderene of the party, stood against him in 2017, she lost her deposit.
At least two other contests will be of particular interest to MRAs. In Batley & Spen, also in West Yorkshire – the seat of the late Jo Cox – Mark Brooks (Mankind Initiative) will be standing for the Conservatives. His Facebook page is here. Elizabeth Peacock held the seat for the Conservatives from 1983 (when the seat was first created) to 1997. She was opposed to abortion, sometimes advocating direct action. Appearing on Sunday Politics in April 2019, she declared herself a Brexit supporter.
In Ashfield, in Nottinghamshire, Martin Daubney, currently an MEP for the Brexit party, will be standing. In 1997 Geoff Hoon won the seat with 61.5% of the vote. In 2010 Gloria De Piero – a former TV presenter, parachuted into the constituency – secured only 33.7% of the votes, and had a majority of 192 votes over the Lib Dems. In 2017 she secured a majority of only 441 votes over the Conservatives. Perhaps wisely, she’s not standing at this general election.
Ashfield is the seat where I stood for J4MB in 2015, while Ray Barry stood for us in nearby Broxtowe. We famously secured the same number of seats as UKIP at that election. Led at the time by Nigel Farage, UKIP contrested 624 seats.
We wish Philip, Mark, and Martin success.
Our last general election manifesto is here.
Our YouTube channel is here.
If everyone who read this gave us £5.00 – or even better, £5.00 or more, monthly – we could change the world. £5.00 monthly would entitle you to Bronze party membership, details here. Benefits include a dedicated and signed book by Mike Buchanan. Click below to make a difference. Thanks.