I recently wrote to the six candidates standing in the West Lancashire By- Election which is to be held on Thursday 9th February 2023.
I asked for their answers to some fairly straightforward questions on the government’s Ukraine and Russia policies.
These policies, after all, are causing our nation massive economic hardship, which affects virtually everyone in the UK in some way.
After giving each of the candidates a number of very polite reminders, only one had the courtesy to respond.
It is a terrible indictment of the standard that UK politics has fallen to, when candidates feel so arrogant that lowering themselves to answer important questions which affect their electorate is just so beneath them. Engagement with the electorate is not for them, unless on their own PR terms. They avoid issues which might cause them difficulties and do not care what people might think of them. To an extent, they feel they can get away with this sort of conduct, this disdain for the wider electorate in their constituency. The reason is mainly twofold:
Firstly, they know they will be protected by the old mainstream media who have largely lost interest in questions to candidates, and on this by-election, the same as the other ones over the last few months, they have barely said anything about it at all. Worse still, the local media in West Lancashire have not mentioned these questions to candidates ( even though they and the national media were all given copies). So in essence this by-election has been downplayed by both national and local media, which is appalling.
Secondly, recent by-elections have had very low turnouts. This encourages a number of candidates to be complacent and to not interact with their voters as they really should do.
This is especially so when a constituency is seen as being held very firmly by one party and other parties perceived to have no chance at all. This all involves taking the voter for granted and no candidate should ever do that. This would certainly not be the case if we had the Single Transferable Vote ( STV) voting system, as with that the voter votes for candidates in order or preference. This means that more candidates have a fairer chance of winning the seat, because they could benefit from voter’s second choices ( as the system requires a successful candidate to win 50% of the votes.
Changing the voting system would be a start, but the governing party have taken a backward step for democracy and reverted to the old First Past the Post system for Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner elections.
I have published a number of articles on the responses I have received from candidates on different issues in by-elections.
I am aware how remote and arrogant some candidates can be, but this one was the worst response.
If politicians genuinely want to rebuild trust with the people, then it requires a complete change of mindset by them.
I hope some of the guilty candidates and political parties will reflect on what I have said and endeavour to put their reputations right.
Unusually, there was not a Freedom Alliance Party candidate at this by-election, which was due to some now resolved internal issues.
To be fair to them, they have always responded to election questions from me.
I have no objection if any other local or national media want to endeavour to follow this story up , in particular the candidates who did not respond.
I could not delay this article any longer, as people are already putting their postal votes in.
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The questions sent the candidates were as follows:
Dear ( Name of candidate)
I am writing to all the by-election candidates to ask their views about the UK government policies regarding Ukraine and Russia.
These policies are causing a major economic crisis, inflation, and huge extra costs, which the public are having to bear the brunt of.
The government has been using its direct and indirect powers with the UK media to ensure there is no debate on this important issue.
I ask you as a candidate in this election, the following:
1.) Do you believe that the government and UK media should open debate on this issue, instead of only having their point of view?
2.) Do you accept that the government has no mandate from the public for their Ukraine/Russia policies?
3.) Do you support there being a UK wide referendum on the issue?
4.) Do you support the ending of sending arms to any one side in the Ukraine conflict?
5.) Do you believe the government has been engaged in “mission creep” in Ukraine?
6.) Will you commit to working for peace and to reverse the government’s interventionism in a foreign proxy war?
Please let me know your views as soon as possible.
Your answers can be Yes or No, and/or more detailed.
The responses will be made public in a fair and impartial way.
There are some further informative points made as an appendix (at the very end) to this email to you.
All best wishes with the election
Anthony
Anthony Webber
Independent Political Commentator
07824 444604
The responses from the Labour, Conservative Liberal Democratic and Reform UK party candidates have sadly not been given.
There was an opportunity for their candidates to distance themselves from the Ukraine and Russia policies of their parties, but that opportunity was missed.
We know that these parties support the government’s policies and it can now be assumed their candidates do too.
The big shock and disappointment is that of the Reform Party UK. After their disapproval of Andrew Bridgen, MP, on covid-19 vaccine safety, it has also enabled people to see that they also support the government’s policies on Ukraine and do not back a referendum on that issue. So much for the reform of UK politics and that has all been a huge let down to many people.
As for Alan Hope of the Monster Raving Loony party, he did at least respond to previous questions on Ukraine from me at the last by-election. Although he did not support a referendum, his other Ukraine views were at least more moderate and considered, which is not something necessarily expected of a party which is supposed to be “Loony!”
My election articles are always entirely fair and thus I commend the Green party candidate, Peter Cranie, for his engagement on this important issue.
His response is published here is full. He does not favour a referendum and is generally supportive of the government policies.
However, he has done what many people have said is essential in a democratic country, and that is to be prepared to debate the issue.
We have a pretend democracy if we do not have debate.
Clearly the Green party need to re-visit their out of date Conference resolution but here it is plus the question responses in detail:
Green Party conference condemns invasion of Ukraine and calls for tougher sanctions
4 March 2022
- Members at Spring Conference vote overwhelmingly to support emergency motion deploring Putin’s invasion of Ukraine
- Motion wants to see extension of sanctions to include oil and gas
- Leader: “People across the world have been shocked to see such horrific images emerge from a country where millions of innocent civilians are now having to flee or risk their lives being put in danger”
The Green Party has condemned Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and called for sanctions to include a comprehensive export and import ban, including oil and gas, after an emergency motion was overwhelmingly passed at its Spring Conference today.
The motion, which was passed during the opening plenary of the party’s conference, calls on the UK government to waive visa requirements for refugees of all nationalities fleeing Ukraine and to provide them with safe routes to sanctuary.
Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer said:
“The abhorrent and unprovoked attacks we have seen in Ukraine must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. People across the world have been shocked to see such horrific images emerge from a country where millions of innocent civilians are now having to flee or risk their lives being put in danger.
“The least we can do is open our doors to all those who are seeking refuge from this horrific invasion.
“At the same time, the UK government must recognise that it is Europe’s addiction to fossil fuels that has been one of the key drivers of our reluctance to challenge the abuses of the Putin regime. We must do everything we can to reduce our reliance on this energy and massively ramp up our installation of renewable energy sources before next winter.”
The motion proposer, Michal Chantkowski, Deputy Convenor of the Green Party’s International Committee, who is of Polish heritage, said:
“In the face of Vladimir Putin’s aggressive behaviour on the international stage, the UK Government must put an end to Kremlin–linked interference in British politics and must, as a matter of priority, release the full Russia Report and carefully consider its findings, including the impact of Russian interference on the 2016 referendum on EU membership.”
1.) Do you believe that the government and UK media should open debate on this issue, instead of only having their point of view?
You cannot put the media and govt into a single category. We need to consider the factual events that are taking place. Crimea was annexed. A low level war was already running in the Donbas between Ukrainian forces and Russian backed forces. Russia invaded other areas of Ukraine, and here is my opinion, presumably believing that it would be a quick and successful war from the view of the Russian leadership.
Inflation has gone up and this is causally linked with the war. I think that is recognised and discussed openly.
2.) Do you accept that the government has no mandate from the public for their Ukraine/Russia policies?
Gaining a mandate on each and every issue is not possible. Our (non-representative) democracy usually elects a single party with a minority vote, but hands it the power to make decision on our behalf for up to 5 years and a month.
3.) Do you support there being a UK wide referendum on the issue?
Without safeguards, referenda in the UK can be skewed by those with the most money and control in the media, without any accountability afterwards.
https://www.csis.org/blogs/brexit-bits-bobs-and-blogs/did-russia-influence-brexit
4.) Do you support the ending of sending arms to any one side in the Ukraine conflict?
I don’t believe we should be in the business of exporting arms to other countries for profit. However, I know Ukrainian and Russian parents of my children’s friends. They do not support what they see as Putin’s war. Civilians have been killed by rocket strikes (and there are personal accounts of this, with families affected). I personally support defensive capability for Ukraine if this can protect civilians.
5.) Do you believe the government has been engaged in “mission creep” in Ukraine?
I would not term it that way, but clearly the level of support has increased.
6.) Will you commit to working for peace and to reverse the government’s interventionism in a foreign proxy war?
I am in favour of peace and will support moves towards. I would point out that actions in 1938 did not secure peace and the historical precedent is that pacifying an aggressor country does not usually succeed.
Hi Anthony
This is the first email I’ve received so assuming there was an issue with the last one.
A link on Green policy motions passed since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia:
I’ll try and answer your questions concisely with appropriate links. These are my personal views and may differ slightly from our party line.
Many thanks for exercising your democratic rights and making contact with the candidates. You may not agree with my responses but we are in country where we can freely exchange most views and opinions.
Peter
Election candidates and details of previous election:
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jo Barton | ||||
| Green | Peter Cranie | ||||
| Labour | Ashley Dalton | ||||
| Monster Raving Loony | Howling Laud Hope | ||||
| Reform UK | Jonathan Kay | ||||
| Conservative | Mike Prendergast | ||||
| Majority | |||||
| Turnout | |||||
Previous result[edit]
| General election 2019: West Lancashire[15] | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Rosie Cooper | 27,458 | 52.1 | –6.8 | |
| Conservative | Jack Gilmore | 19,122 | 36.3 | –1.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Simon Thomson | 2,560 | 4.9 | +2.9 | |
| Brexit Party | Marc Stanton | 2,275 | 4.3 | N/A | |
| Green | John Puddifer | 1,248 | 2.4 | +1.1 | |
| Majority | 8,336 | 15.8 | –5.7 | ||
| Turnout | 52,663 | 72.0 | –2.4 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | –2.9 | |||
Some additional points of view on the Ukraine/Russia conflict:
New Petition for a Referendum on the government’s Ukraine/Russia policies:
https://bit.ly/petitionforpeace
Also attached is a link to a Sonia Poulton “Rise” programme interview of me on the subject on 13/1/2023:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPj_Jk_3Eis
Further Notes:
There was a Parliamentary Petition which closed at the end of December 2022, which sought to have a Referendum on whether the UK should be neutral in the Ukraine/Russia conflict.
This achieved 13,537 signatures despite it being the most shadow banned petition there has ever been. Also, it was rigorously no platformed by the old and new mainstream media.
To give an example of how much difference this can make, the day after GB News promoted a completely different petition, to call a General Election, it achieved 40,000 signatures.
In addition, the government and its agencies went out of its way to use a variety of tactics to prevent this petition reaching the 100,000 needed to quality for a Parliamentary debate. This has included people in the media, both mainstream and otherwise.
This Petition was unique in that the Government’s official response was so inadequate and evasive, that even the Parliamentary Petitions Committee formerly asked them to provide another one, which they had to comply with.
Having tried to avoid the issue, the Government finally stated they would not agree to having a Referendum on the subject and yet again avoided the fact that they had no mandate from the British people for their Ukraine/Russia policies.
This is a fundamental issue of democracy which the Government is flouting.
The taxes paid by British citizens are being used to be interventionalist in a proxy war and to finance a foreign country with billions of pounds of arms and “aid.” President Zelensky’s Ukraine has become a black hole into which our citizens money has been needlessly poured.
The Government’s Ukraine and Russia policies have directly caused the energy crisis and all the economic and other consequences of their involvement.
This is all with NO mandate whatsoever from UK citizens.
This issue is so serious that a brand-new Parliamentary Petition has been launched from the start of this year of 2023.
It has the advantage of more up to date wording, reflecting the current economic, political, military, social and humanitarian situation pertaining now.
The previous Petition had the disadvantage of having become swiftly out of date with what the Government involved the UK with, all with NO democratic mandate.
The New Petition had to take into account that it had to be different to the previous one and that there are limitations on the number and type of words which can be used, both for the brief description and for the further detail, not an easy task.
This Petition is Standing up for Freedom and Democracy
The NEW PETITION is as follows:
Referendum on ending government’s economically costly Ukraine/Russia policies
The government, unless they change their policies, (including ending economically self-defeating sanctions against Russia (causing energy price rises) and sending billions in arms to Ukraine, instead becoming neutral peacemakers), to hold a UK wide referendum on the subject within six months maximum.
More details
The government have intervened on one side in the Ukraine conflict, without any mandate from UK citizens, who have had to suffer massive economic consequences.
These include increased energy, cost of living, interest rate, inflation, unemployment, tax and rates rises, plus strikes, business damage, and reduced government services.
Taxpayers paid £100bn Energy price support and £10bn Ukraine military and other aid to date.
Striving for peace would help end the bloodshed, restore stability and deescalate the world energy, food and refugee situation.
Sign this petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/629895
Or: The main point about this Parliamentary Petition is not to take sides, but to facilitate free and open debate so that the voters can decide by Referendum on this very important issue which affects every citizen in the UK.
It also is a moral and humanitarian issue, as the UK government has blood on its hands as military aid supplied has killed and injured both armed forces personnel and civilians. The conflict has also caused there to be nearly 8 million Ukrainian refugees and a worldwide food, energy and minerals crisis.
This issue is without doubt a Referendum one, which crosses party political boundaries.
The request is to sign and promote this Petition for the sake of democracy and for the people to make the decision on this issue through a free and fair Referendum.
To deny the news of this Petition is to deny debate and democracy and indeed having a free society.
This issue needs courageous people to come forward of whatever opinion on this conflict, to stand up for and promote freedom !
Anthony Webber
Independent Political Commentator
https://bit.ly/petitionforpeace
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