Green Grand Tour

Still travelling around the constituency today (Monday). We continue to get a positive response from people in all parts of this, the largest constituency in England. Even got a new Green Party member.

Today’s swing through the Yorkshire Dales National Park included stops at East Witton, Middleham, Leyburn, Bainbridge, Gayle and Hawes. Whilst William Hague continues to make just brief appearances in the constituency, the Green Party is continuing to visit the parts other parties cannot reach.

Previously I have visited most parts of the constituency including Stokesley, Great Ayton, Osmotherley, Northallerton Bedale, Richmond, Catterick, Swaledale and Arkengarthdale and many points in between.

The Liberal Democrat is so committed to Richmond, his election leaflet has a photograph on the front with cars driving on the right hand side of the road, clearly taken on the continent. If you look closely there are other clues too: the driver sitting on the left of the car, the WHITE rear number plate, the number one on the wall that looks like a seven.

As Mr Meredith lives in Brussels, I guess he could not spare the time to visit Richmond for a photograph until the election was called. The likelihood of us seeing much of the Liberal Democrat after the election is remote.

Unlike the Tories and Liberal Democrats, I am fully committed to the Richmond constituency and not focused on my own political career like Messrs Hague and Meredith. As for Labour, well the Green Party got 50% more votes than Labour in the County Council seats we fought last year. For real change, you need the Green Party.

Freedom of the Press (not to turn up)

Great hustings on Friday night, if you, like the Darlington and Stockton Times, happened to miss it. I got the first round of applause and the first laugh. I even had William Hague promising to read the Green Party manifesto.

As reported, all the Richmond Candidates turned up, even William Hague who had said he was too busy. Then I got a letter pointing this out printed in the D&S Times and, hey presto, William appears! The Labour candidate tried hard, but was weak. The Liberal Democrat has been parachuted in from Brussels: clearly given a seat the Lib Dems can't win to serve his apprenticeship. His inexperience showed.

Not everything was perfect (you know how you think of something more pithy to say just after sitting down?), but all in all it was a good night for the Green Party. It was just a pity that BBC North East continues to refuse to talk to me and BBC York interviewed all the other candidates that morning, deliberately excluding the Green Party. As for the Darlington and Stockton Times they reported on the hustings, going into detail about William Hague. It was just a pity their report was printed the morning BEFORE the hustings took place!!!!

Success !!

In a previous blog I reported that William Hague had refused to turn up to the hustings due this Friday (30/4/10) at the Methodist Church in Richmond (7.30 pm). I repeated this complaint in a letter to the Darlington and Stockton Times (see last blog).
On the doorstep, his constituents started to complain about being taken for granted. As the sitting MP with a large majority, Hague showed his complacency by touring marginal seats the length and breadth of the UK (including Northern Ireland) whilst being unavailable to his Richmond constituents. Even the Red Fox from “Make Cruelty History” could not find him (see the hilarious clip of the Red Fox failing to find anyone at William Hague’s campaign HQ at http://cruelsports.wordpress.com/category/keep-cruelty-history/ then scroll down to day 2. The only candidate that met the red fox face to face by the way, was me - see same video where I make my support for the hunting ban clear.)

After my letter was printed in the D&S Times, the Tories started to panic. For weeks they had made it clear that no one from the Conservative Party would be at the 30th April hustings. Then yesterday (Tuesday 27/4/10) a telephone call from the Church minister organising the hustings informed me that Anne McIntosh was going to appear in place of the “far too busy” William Hague. Ms McIntosh was made notorious during the MPs’ expenses scandal for having her gardening paid for (tax free) almost every month from 2004 until the Daily Telegraph rumbled her. Clearly an embarrassment to her Party, perhaps this was something to do to keep her out of the way?
But still, my letter had worked and the Tory stonewall was crumbling. Then the Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates, perhaps a little shaken by the prospect of facing “Rotweiler” McIntosh, complained that she was not a candidate. The Labour Party rang me to persuade me to join their opposition, but frankly I was looking forward to tackling Ms McIntosh about her MP’s expenses.
However, the minister rang me late this afternoon (28/4/10) to say the Tories had changed their mind again and William Hague was now going to come to the hustings after all!

SUCCESS! The Green Party had succeeded in getting Hague to meet his constituents. I rang Elizabeth, my press officer to tell her the good news, only to discover that she had just been told this by her press contacts. It seems that the Tories had informed the Press first, before anyone else.

But the bitter pill comes at the end. William Hague has appeared on TV and radio broadcast by the BBC and others on numerous occasions during this election. Last night on the BBC Look North Election 2010 he was introduced as the “Conservative candidate for Richmond”, a clear breach of broadcasting guidelines as the BBC had not invited me or the other Richmond candidates to the debate. In fact not once during this election has BBC North East invited me to appear on a programme. Now with their last opportunity to redress the balance, none of the broadcast media are going to attend the hustings. Even worse the newspapers are refusing to attend as well. Was that the reason why William Hague contacted the media first? He knows that facing his electorate will be embarrassment for him. So whilst William Hague basks in the spotlight of the media, his political rivals go unreported. This election is supposed to be about you electing your representative to Parliament. It has become a media circus of celebrities, with fair and balanced debate left out in the cold.

Lib Dems Economical with the Truth

Here is a copy of a letter I sent to the Darlington and Stockton Times:

Politicians have been known to be “economical with the truth” in the past, but it concerns me when they do so in your letters page. The Liberal Democrat candidate for Richmond in his letter “Vote for Change” (D&ST 16/4/10) made a number of false claims, which need to be corrected. Mr Meredith, who lives and works in Brussels, used the address of a well-known local Liberal activist on his letter to wrongly claim that Richmond was “OUR great constituency”. Mr Meredith does not live in the Richmond constituency, nor can he vote in the constituency and his sycophantic use of the term “great” contradicts your front-page article of the same day. In that Mr Meredith’s Lib Dem colleague Stuart Parsons quite rightly claims that Richmondshire is being stripped of jobs as the Benefits offices are moved to Northallerton. This deplorable betrayal by Richmondshire District Council hardly suggests greatness.
Secondly, Mr Meredith claims, “Only the Liberal Democrats are committed to changing this unfair electoral system”. Untrue! There are a number of political parties fighting this election on the platform of electoral reform, not least my party, the Green Party.
I have had many years of fighting the unfair electoral system in the Richmond constituency, which has left our councils awash with Tories, (far more than their share of the vote deserves) and with few effective opposition councillors.
Unlike Mr Meredith I do not concede defeat to William Hague, who has been noticeable by his absence in this election, taking voters for granted so much that he has even turned down the traditional “Churches Together” debate by candidates in Richmond on 30th April (Methodist Church 7.30 pm). Mr Hague has a lot to answer for, including his part in the MPs’ expenses scandal and I, as a truly local candidate, will continue to challenge him all the way to Election Day.

Yours sincerely,

Leslie Rowe
Published and Promoted by Leslie Rowe on behalf of the Richmond Green Party, both at 73 Richmond Road, Brompton on Swale, Richmond, North Yorks. DL10 7HF