Incredible.Brexit party challenges byelection result over 'postal vote corruption'
The Brexit party is to launch a formal legal challenge against the result of this month’s Peterborough byelection, where it was narrowly beaten by Labour, claiming that allegations of corruption connected to postal votes need to be investigated.
Nigel Farage, the party’s leader, insisted the challenge was about more than the loss to Labour by 683 votes, saying the wider use of postal votes was open to abuse and needed to be investigated.
“I know people will say: ‘Oh, but it’s sour grapes.’ It isn’t,” Farage told a press conference in London.
“Actually, as far as I’m concerned, this is about a lot more than Peterborough. It is about a system that is wide open to corruption, to intimidation, to bribery, to abuse on a whole number of levels. I have mentioned this a number of times in the past.”
The party plans to issue a petition under the 1983 Representation of the People Act, which allows election results to be challenged retrospectively for reasons including errors or corruption connected to the polling.
Such challenges are rare, with the last successful one coming in 2010, when the Labour minister Phil Woolas was ejected from his Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency after a specially convened election court upheld a complaint that Woolas had knowingly lied about his Lib Dem opponent.
Police investigated five complaints connected to the Peterborough byelection on 6 June, in which Labour’s Lisa Forbes defeated the Brexit party’s Mike Greene in a vote Farage’s new organisation had been tipped to win.
Labour has rejected any wrongdoing, and police have ruled that no offences were committed in three of the five complaints so far looked at.
The Brexit party chair, Richard Tice, conceded that the evidence so far seemed uncertain, but said that was why a full investigation was required.
“You’re absolutely right – there are a lot of rumours, a lot of hearsay, some of which is just that,” Tice said. “There is evidence emerging. That will be presented to the electoral court. It’s wrong to prejudge that, or announce that now.
“It’s only by having a full petition that we can truly get to the bottom of what may or may not have happened here, but also the lessons for the broader system.”
He said there were many unanswered issues: “Why were there rumours that morning that the Labour party had won by 500 votes? There are so many questions. We need answers. And the only mechanism available to us to give us those answers is to lodge a petition under the Representation of the People Act 1983. So we will be doing that this week.”
Both Farage and Tice said they hoped more widely for UK elections to return to the pre-2001 system of voters only being allowed a postal ballot if they can show they are away or ill, rather than on demand. Since then the proportion of general election votes submitted by post has risen from about 2% to 18% in 2017.
That's Boris for you, one minute he's advocating for Turkey to join the EU, the next he's courting Islamophobes.Johnson's comments about Muslim women and letterboxes were manufactured with the entire intent of appealing to this base.
I wonder how people would get on living in a muslim country if they wanted nothing to do with Islam?Tweet
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For anyone with a brain then yes of course.Totally agree but if keeping Tories in is their ultimate aim, isn’t Johnson the least safe option now after this story?
I'm more cynical. I think they're throwing him under the bus. Operation 'blame Boris'.For anyone with a brain then yes of course.
But diehard Tories love Boris because he is a bumbling idiot. And therefore, they can associate with him.
What has any of this got to do with the tweet I posted ?I wonder how people would get on living in a muslim country if they wanted nothing to do with Islam?
Muslims in islamic countries have phobias about western culture, which is why they ban a lot of things considered normal here.
What has any of this got to do with the tweet I posted ?Muslims in islamic countries have phobias about western culture, which is why they ban a lot of things considered normal here.
The tweet was about a supposed Islamaphobia problem within the conservative party.What has any of this got to do with the tweet I posted ?
What has any of this got to do with the tweet I posted ?
What if someone wanted a beer in a bar in Saudi Arabia, and then take their girlfriend to the cinema and have a cuddle?I tend to break out in a rash if I have to hear someone talk about GoT, I feel nauseous every time I see a advert for Love Island. What you mean when you say ''phobias about western culture''
Let's keep it this way, and then there will be no phobias.And also just because some Muslims far right dictatorships bans lots of things considered normal in the west(Although again I would need you explain this in more detail)doesn't mean we should also do the same.
That's completely besides the point of what's been posted though. The issue is Tory members clearly have a warped perceptions of Islam's influence on the UK because they believe there are no-go areas and that Sharia Law has been implemented in parts of the country. Islamic countries may have their issues (and those issues are severe in some places) but that shouldn't mean we're then hostile to all Muslims as a result considering Muslims themselves are often on the receiving end of Islamic extremism.I wonder how people would get on living in a muslim country if they wanted nothing to do with Islam?
Muslims in islamic countries have phobias about western culture, which is why they ban a lot of things considered normal here.
How would you think this compares with the Labour, Liberal, Greens and Brexit Parties?That's completely besides the point of what's been posted though. The issue is Tory members clearly have a warped perceptions of Islam's influence on the UK because they believe there are no-go areas and that Sharia Law has been implemented in parts of the country. Islamic countries may have their issues (and those issues are severe in some places) but that shouldn't mean we're then hostile to all Muslims as a result considering Muslims themselves are often on the receiving end of Islamic extremism.
That is interesting.I'm more cynical. I think they're throwing him under the bus. Operation 'blame Boris'.
Because it's a lose - lose situation as far as I can see. It's either fail to deliver Brexit or crash the economy and breach an international peace treaty. The Tories need a fall guy.That is interesting.
What makes you think that.
Genuinely looks like they've used a body double for that photo. Bizarre.The photo of Boris and his girlfriend from 'yesterday', that is doing the rounds, suggests his hair grows at an alarming rate and he's piled the weight back on. Poor guy.
OK. Understand although I thought that TM was the sacrificial lamb.Because it's a lose - lose situation as far as I can see. It's either fail to deliver Brexit or crash the economy and breach an international peace treaty. The Tories need a fall guy.
I've heard some commentators say that he's popular with the party because he's a flip flopper who can be plied by good arguments and will cooperate. Basically the opposite to the head strong and charmless May.
Poor us if he wins the leadership contest.The photo of Boris and his girlfriend from 'yesterday', that is doing the rounds, suggests his hair grows at an alarming rate and he's piled the weight back on. Poor guy.
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I think you're giving the Conservative membership far too much credit. They're predominantly a bunch of xenophobic, Islamophobic, bigoted old white people who want a no deal Brexit irrespective of the obvious damage it will cause. That's why they want Johnson. They also fear a Corbyn government above all else. They're not going to vote for someone who they anticipate will be a disaster and consequently pave the pathway for Corbyn to enter Downing Street.I'm more cynical. I think they're throwing him under the bus. Operation 'blame Boris'.
Bingo.I think you're giving the Conservative membership far too much credit. They're predominantly a bunch of xenophobic, Islamophobic, bigoted old white people who want a no deal Brexit irrespective of the obvious damage it will cause. That's why they want Johnson. They also fear a Corbyn government above all else. They're not going to vote for someone who they anticipate will be a disaster and consequently pave the pathway for Corbyn to enter Downing Street.
What the hell is this shit?I think you're giving the Conservative membership far too much credit. They're predominantly a bunch of xenophobic, Islamophobic, bigoted old white people who want a no deal Brexit irrespective of the obvious damage it will cause.
Yeah you're right unfortunately. The fear of Corbyn and Muslims is the predominant reason for going for someone like Johnson. He is far more electable than the likes of Hunt, Gove or Javid.I think you're giving the Conservative membership far too much credit. They're predominantly a bunch of xenophobic, Islamophobic, bigoted old white people who want a no deal Brexit irrespective of the obvious damage it will cause. That's why they want Johnson. They also fear a Corbyn government above all else. They're not going to vote for someone who they anticipate will be a disaster and consequently pave the pathway for Corbyn to enter Downing Street.
An uncomfortable truth for you, it would appear.What the hell is this shit?
Wasn't it Cameron who introduced same sex marriage?An uncomfortable truth for you, it would appear.
Wasn't it Cameron who introduced same sex marriage?
That was passed despite the Tory party, not because of it.The same-sex marriage bill successfully got through its third reading in the House of Lords on 15 July 2013 and the Commons confirmed all of the Lords' amendments on the following day, with Royal Assent given on 17 July 2013. Yet, even if the bill had passed its second reading in the House of Commons by 400 votes to 175 a few months before, on 5 February 20131, only 127 Conservative MPs were in favour, 35 did not vote and five abstained by voting both in favour and against. It is worth noticing that 136 Conservatives opposed the bill, including two cabinet ministers – Environment Secretary Owen Paterson and Welsh Secretary David Jones –, eight junior ministers, and eight whips
That's a fair and really good point. Kudos!That was passed despite the Tory party, not because of it.
Without commenting on whether or not she should be defending Johnson, you can't criticise her for going into a live interview fully prepared. Otherwise you end up with people making a fool of themselves because they don't have the answer off pat. Like Abott, or Corbyn himself. Would you go into an exam without revising first?Tweet
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Wow this is pretty pathetic.
What a narrow way to read history, and it does nothing to undermine what I said. I'm talking about the Conservative party membership, not what legislation one of their PMs introduced in spite of the majority of his MPs opposing it.Wasn't it Cameron who introduced same sex marriage?
I'll give you this.I think you're giving the Conservative membership far too much credit. They're predominantly a bunch of xenophobic, Islamophobic, bigoted old white people who want a no deal Brexit irrespective of the obvious damage it will cause. That's why they want Johnson. They also fear a Corbyn government above all else. They're not going to vote for someone who they anticipate will be a disaster and consequently pave the pathway for Corbyn to enter Downing Street.
Without commenting on whether or not Priti Patel is better than Abbott or Corbyn, as a woman who was sacked for carrying out clandestine meetings with foreign officials. It's more that she is being told what to say by the Johnson campaign and she doesn't have the wherewithal to have an original thought. Rightly or wrongly at least Abbott and Corbyn have that.Without commenting on whether or not she should be defending Johnson, you can't criticise her for going into a live interview fully prepared. Otherwise you end up with people making a fool of themselves because they don't have the answer off pat. Like Abott, or Corbyn himself. Would you go into an exam without revising first?
You tend not to be allowed into an exam with the answers already on a sheet for you. It's not good practice. She's an MP who is supposed to support Johnson. It's not a good look to appear incapable of formulating her own arguments in her owns words to explain that or to defend him after he commits yet another blunder. If she supports him or wants to defend his behaviour then she should have no problem giving voice to those reasons.Without commenting on whether or not she should be defending Johnson, you can't criticise her for going into a live interview fully prepared. Otherwise you end up with people making a fool of themselves because they don't have the answer off pat. Like Abott, or Corbyn himself. Would you go into an exam without revising first?
Marx actually, Gaucho Marx.They don't fear Corbyn because of his competence (or incompetence), or because they believe he's Stalin resurrected; they fear him taking their money away.
'I was Boris Johnson’s boss: he is utterly unfit to be prime minister' ~Max Hastings said:Johnson would not recognise truth, whether about his private or political life, if confronted by it in an identity parade.
Ok, I concede that I didn't know the actual conservative votes on gay marriage, and that was my bad. I'm trying to get my head around the liberal sympathetic view of Islam when muslim countries strongly oppose LGBT.What a narrow way to read history, and it does nothing to undermine what I said. I'm talking about the Conservative party membership, not what legislation one of their PMs introduced in spite of the majority of his MPs opposing it.
You've just been shown that only six years ago 136 Conservative MPs believed that gay people should not even be allowed to marry. The Ottoman Empire decriminalised homosexuality in 1858. It took the United Kingdom until 1967 to do so. Our government pushed a hero of WWII to suicide because he was gay. Was religion a driving factor behind these disparate decisions? You talk in very general terms and make broad sweeping statements which serve only to reveal your own prejudice. There are problems with homophobia everywhere. It is not an issue exclusive to certain followers of Islam.Ok, I concede that I didn't know the actual conservative votes on gay marriage, and that was my bad. I'm trying to get my head around the liberal sympathetic view of Islam when muslim countries strongly oppose LGBT.
I understand that the rights of all people should be protected, but the muslim view of LGBT is very severe. Sort this out for me.
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