The Dollis Hill by-election is just coming to a close

The Dollis Hill by-election is just coming to a close, and just to make sure that voters will have enough to put in their re-cycling bins, the Lib-dems have sent round two more pieces of election literature.

Both employ their device of printing the statement of publication in very small writing so that it is not immediately apparent what the document is. One is a rehash of earlier anti-Labour leaflets that no where prominently say who or which party to vote for. The second is a letter in a cursive word processor font that looks like handwriting, from Sara Teather MP calling for a vote fro the Lib-dem candidate, Alison Hopkins. This letter arrives through the door in a hand addressed envelope.

Just the usual slightly deceptive  tactics that have characterised this campaign , and others locally recently, Lib-dems not openly calling for a Lib-dem vote or always clearly naming their candidate, and  above all, not mentioning Lib-dem participation in the current coalition government which is forcing cuts on local councils all over the country.

I hope that not many voters will have been fooled by these silly tactics, and any event I would like to thank Brian Orr, Martin Francis, Shahrar Ali, and Matthew Butcher for all the vital help that they have given to my campaign in this by-election.

More Dodgy Leaflets in Dollis Hill

Yet another two Lib Dem leaflets have appeared today and the candidate Alison Hopkins is at least becoming open about if the fact she wants people to vote for her, even if she is still reticent about which party she represents and still doesn’t use the usual Lib Dem colour, yellow, let alone acknowledge that the Lib Dems are part of a central government which is forcing through local service cuts. She can point out that local libraries are being cut by a Labour council, but evidently feels safer not mentioning budget cuts imposed by central on local government.

We can be sure that some earlier Lib Dem leaflets are for Alison, because they have carried, albeit in tiny writing, the legally required information about the publisher and who they are being published for.

This was not the case with another leaflet that I received today. Headed “GUILTY” the leaflet asks people not to vote Lib Dem. As this is something the Green Party also wants, I wish to stress that we do not use illegal leaflets to promote our aims, that this is not a Green Party leaflet and that the Green Party has had no part in its production or distribution.

We have produced only one leaflet. This carries the candidate’s name and uses the party colour and logo. It makes some criticisms of our opponents and mentions some of our key policy proposals. We are aiming to get voters to vote for us without contributing more the “Dollis Hill election leaflet mountain” more than necessary or issuing any publication which breaks electoral law.

Peter Murry, Green Party by-election candidate Dollis Hill, March 2012

My sixth Lib Dem election leaflet (they must have run out of yellow ink)

This one has a blue, black and white colour scheme. On one side a large font slogan “Local People: Backing Alison” then some pictures of some local persons including a Liberal Democrat MP (Sara Teather) and a Liberal Democrat Councillor (Javad Ashraf), but as the leaflet nowhere asks people to vote Liberal Democrat, although it does ask to people to vote for Alison Hopkins, I do wonder why this party seems so shy of stating its name.

Things get really alarming over the page however.

There are a couple of photos of Alison, some statements about how long has she has lived locally. That’s fine. Saying “She will stand up for us against Labour’s cuts” is a bit dodgy, because the Labour council is making cuts at the behest of a Lib-Dem & Tory coalition government.

At the top of the page there is a picture of Victorian building which might be an example of the “luxury hotels” that the leaflet alleges that Labour councillors have been spending money on.

Then there is this:

What is it? A Labour Councillor? Something that Labour Councillors might eat in “luxury hotel”? Something that has just been eaten and regurgitated in a “luxury hotel”? All that remains of the pilot of the flying saucer that crashed in Gladstone Park in the “Dollis Hill Triangle” event of 1999?

Tell us what this strange image is Alison and why you are showing it to us, the voters of Dollis Hill need to know!

Jenny Jones calls for wasteful HS2 to be stopped

Responding to concerns voiced by Ealing residents that they are being ignored by the government in the High Speed 2 planning process but also applicable to residents in South Kilburn and the Kensal Traingle area, Green Party London Mayoral candidate Jenny Jones said:

HS2 is unpopular, a waste of money, poorly conceived and should be stopped immediately.

Residents and other opponents to the scheme are right to feel aggrieved over having their opinions, and their quality of life, completely ignored.

Many people will be forced to move from their homes to make way for HS2, and the government seems intent on pursuing the project despite the substantial human, financial and environmental cost.

Investment in public transport is essential but it must be done in a way that benefits everyone. Unless transport within London is improved, any gains on journey times made by high speed services to the capital will be lost on the platform of Euston tube station.

My fifth Lib-dem leaflet (have they run out of yellow ink?)

The fifth LD missive I've received since Councillor Alex Castle died came through my letterbox today. slightly more subtle than the previous attempt (see below).

This one looks like a mock up of a Labour Party newsletter, all in black, white and red (have they run out of yellow ink?). Page one is devoted to picture of something which I don't think is Dollis Hill house but could just be a luxury hotel. a brief story beneath criticises Labour Councillors for staying in a luxury hotel.

 The back shows another picture of the alleged hotel perhaps, it seems to be the same building. There is also a picture of two protestors holding a placard that says "HANDS OFF OUR LIBRARY", what is significant about this leaflet is what it doesn't say ie "LIB DEMS SAY HANDS OFF OUR LIBRARY". It is captioned "The Lib Dem team are fighting to save our local libraries", does that mean that the two gentlemen depicted with the placard are Lib Dems? The  text states of the LD candidate Alison Hopkins that: "She is fighting for our local libraries." Crikey, these guys do almost as much paper fighting as the SWP! But no where does the leaflet actually call for a Lib Dem vote. Why so shy Alison? Perhaps it's because you know that the Lib Dems are in coalition with the Tories and that they are, with their Tory allies, forcing through draconian and damaging public services cuts that hurt the poorest in society most.

As my single Green party leaflet will ask; "ARE YOU SICK OF ? . Lib Dem and Tory councillors who pretend the cuts have nothing to do with their Coalition Government." Further more it it will make no bones about it, nor pretend to be anyone else. It says its a Green Party leaflet and it asks people to vote for the Green Party.