You’ve possibly seen this already, as I’m a bit late to the party [bad pun]. A Liverpool paper has reported:

A TORY candidate yesterday sought to disassociate himself from the views of an anti-EU campaign. Matt Wright, who will stand in the Vale of Clwyd in the general election, said the Albion Alliance had been ‘disingenuous’ over his pledge of support.

The accusation was first carried in the North Wales Daily Post as a result of one of their journalists contacting us for comment. Ian Parker-Joseph took the journalist through what had actually been sent to Matt Wright, his response and further action and in that letter, it quite clearly states what he was pledging to.  Witterings from Witney is our main man dealing with candidate correspondence and he has some interesting tales to tell about what’s been happening.

Our front page also carries the pledge itself so we’re having trouble seeing where our disingenuity comes in:

I pledge to work tirelessly to give the voters of my constituency a democratic and direct voice in the United Kingdom’s continued relationship with the EU.

I pledge that I will sponsor a Private Members Bill, written in clear concise terms, calling for a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union – and/or support any motion for such a referendum – and to vote positively for any Bill that may call for such a referendum, irrespective of Party Whip, with a view to the successful outcome of this pledge within 1 year of a new Parliament or sooner.

Vale of Clwyd Labour AM Ann Jones, attempting to cash in on Matt Wright’s earlier commitment to support the people in his constituency and in a broader sense, the people of the UK, said:

“The fact that a Mr Wright has joined a rag-tag alliance with UKIP and Co shows just how out of touch he is with local people. I am astonished that he would wilfully support a Bill that would do such damage to our economy.”

Ann Jones says that any group or person who wishes to reverse the spiralling EU debt, unaccountability, rampant corruption and damage to the UK through the plethora of EU laws constraining UK citizens in every walk of life whilst paying through the nose for that privilege – any such group or person would do “damage to the economy” and is no more than a rag tag.

The interesting thing is that everyone from the initial journalist through to the Labour anti-democratic member has missed the point that the Albion Alliance is not an “anti-EU” campaign. It is a “pro-referendum” campaign – different other animal.

Ian Parker-Joseph, meanwhile, points out why we have had to introduce a Secret Pledge mechanism:

The Albion Alliance, in their campaign to have candidates at the forthcoming election sign a pledge to propose and support such a bill, have uncovered instances where some candidates, especially those standing for the Conservative Party, have intimated that they have come under pressure not to sign as they would then face deselection.

For this reason Albion Alliance have introduced a ’secret pledge’ whereby candidates may make their pledge, but that pledge will be withheld from public view until such time as nominations close, after which they could not be deselected.

For some time David Cameron has exerted an ‘iron-control’ over his party, candidate selection and policies. (see this article and the quote “A very small number of people take a different view on the science, but the policy is driven by me, and that is the way it is going to be” as an example of his attitude)

There’s dirty politics going on, folks and the party leaderships’ aim is to under no circumstances accede to the will of the people to let them have a say in their affairs but to retain control of the reins of power by all means possible. 

Guido posts on this here.  Meanwhile, Witterings from Witney reports on Gordo’s latest move to change the voting system.

Remember – your MP and other candidates know far better than you what is good for you so they suggest you desist in these attempts to have your voice heard, relax and just allow their whitewashes to satisfy you – there’s a good boy or girl.

Filed under: Politics & economics