Tag Archives: craig murray

Craig Murray rejected by SNP as parliamentary candidate for saying he would defy whip to vote against Bedroom Tax

Craig Murray has always been a free spirit. As an ambassador, he favoured human rights over the war on terror. He was always happy to criticise the Liberal Democrats when he was a member, as are many of us. He left us in 2011 and joined the SNP to campaign for Scottish independence and was a shoo-in for the seat of Falkirk which the SNP hope to win. Unfortunately, he came up against the SNP’s approval process and lost.

Here’s what he had to say on his own blog:

Upset and depressed after being barred from the SNP candidates’ register by the hierarchy for “lack of commitment to group discipline”.

I was asked at assessment whether, as part of a Westminster deal with another party, I would agree to vote for the bedroom tax if instructed by the Party. I replied “No.” End of SNP political career. Problem is, I really believed we were building a different kind of politics in Scotland. I also knew that a simple lie would get me in, but I couldn’t bring myself to utter it.

I had very, very strong support from ordinary members to be the candidate in Falkirk or in Airdrie, and had 17 requests to stand from other constituencies, several from branch meetings. I wonder what the SNP new membership will think of this?

Posted in News | Also tagged | 37 Comments

Daily View 2×2: 8 June 2010

Good morning and welcome to World Oceans Day. Apologies for having missed last Tuesday’s Daily View – I was over-excited as it was my birthday – and half term!

On this day in 1999, disgraced ex-cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken was given an 18 month jail sentence, after he admitted lying during a failed libel action.  The former Conservative MP admitted both charges earlier in the year, following the collapse of his libel case against The Guardian newspaper and Granada TV.  Passing sentence at the Old Bailey, Mr Justice Scott Baker told Aitken he had woven a web of deceit and committed an inexcusable breach of trust.

Posted in Daily View | Also tagged , , , , , and | Leave a comment

Are YouGov and Murdoch ‘push-polling’ for the Tories?

‘Push-polls’, for those unfamiliar with the term, are a political campaigning technique “in which an individual or organization attempts to influence or alter the view of respondents under the guise of conducting a poll” (Wikipedia).*

And it looks like Rupert Murdoch’s Sun newspaper someone [EDIT 20/4/2010 – see Update below) has been paying internet polling firm YouGov to undertake some ‘push-polling’ against the Lib Dems, following the surge in support for Nick Clegg’s party after last week’s televised debate.

Former British ambassador Craig Murray spotted the following comment on the PoliticalBetting.com website, and noticed its significance:

Just

Posted in General Election and Polls | Also tagged , , and | 11 Comments

LibLink: Craig Murray – British democracy: no better than Uzbekistan’s

Over at The Guardian’s Comment Is Free, blogging Lib Dem and former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray argues that – with postal ballot-rigging, partisan officials, censorship of candidates, etc – no independent observer could call our elections free and fair. Here’s an excerpt:

In my diplomatic career, I spent a great deal of time assessing the democratic merit of elections in various countries abroad. That gives me a peculiar perspective in looking at elections in the UK, and wondering what a foreign observer would make of them. I can do this also with the insight of having twice run

Posted in LibLink | 33 Comments

Craig Murray re-joins the Lib Dems

Craig Murray, the former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan who was sacked by the British government for his outspoken commitment to human rights, has re-joined the Lib Dems.

Craig was a party member until 2005, when he chose to stand as an independent against Jack Straw. He stood again as an independent in last year’s Norwich North by-election. Writing of his decision on his blog, Craig says:

Politics is about the governance of society, and that entails people working together and collaborating their views. It is by definition a social pursuit, so to attempt to pursue it entirely alone to avoid

Posted in News | 10 Comments
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