'East London' 'MP' Mr George Galloway makes a sort of appearance on the West Midlands political scene, as reported by the DAILY TELEGRAPH

EAST LONDON PRESS report
1920 Hrs GMT
London Wednesday 27 May 2009


The "Bethnal Green and Bow constituency" "MP" Mr George Galloway has 'returned' to the DAILY TELEGRAPH.

In an indirect sort of way.

The last time he was featured on that publication was before his career-saving libel action against them, caused by their proximity with Tony Blair's crusader agenda..

Crusader as in a wanton war against the Arabs and the Muslim Arabs in particular.

This time, it is via Julie Kirkbride. Another DAILY TELEGRAPH EX!

Ms Kirkbride is of course the target of the increasingly angry Mrs Louise Marnell. She has told the DAILY TELEGRAPH that she has never voted in a general election. She is just an angry housewife in Bromsgrove.

EAST LONDOIN PRESS is unable to bring any direct comment from Louise Marnell. Not yet. We shall be doing so later.

For now, she is confident that she is almost there. Forcing Julie Kirkbride to quit that is.

It would be interesting to find out what Louise Marnell does next.

We can say that she will herself attract determined Conservative Party attempts at painting her as not so honest after all. They have suggested that she is being used by ‘George Galloway’ and the ‘Respect’ party.

If events turnout in a way that proves the Tories’ currently denied claim that Louise Marnell is a stooge for any party or group then that would undermine the ethics of the campaign against Julie Kirkbride. And those of other campaigns against other discredited MPs.

If events show that there was any relevant link between Louise Marnell and the ‘Bethnal Green and Bow’ constituency ‘MP’ George Galloway then that would be also a significant 'development'.

For there is no independently verifiable indication in the East End of London today of any public activity by any grouping, including by George Galloway, about the British MPs’ corruption and sleaze.


We publish below the texts of ANDREW PIERCE as posted on the DAILY TELEGRAPH web site in the past 40 minutes::



MPs' expenses: Revenge before reform
While the talk at Westminster is of changing the political system, many voters are demanding something more brutal, observes Andrew Pierce.

By Andrew Pierce
Last Updated: 7:31PM BST 27 May 2009

Comments 1 | Comment on this article



It was in Bromsgrove in 1605 that some of the Gunpowder Plotters unsuccessfully sought sanctuary, after their audacious plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament was discovered. Some four centuries later, the usually sedate Worcestershire town is again at the centre of an extraordinary campaign, albeit by more peaceable means, to bring down MPs who have brought the Palace of Westminster into disrepute.

The modern equivalent of a peasants' revolt is being conducted against Julie Kirkbride, Bromsgrove's Tory MP, by Louise Marnell, a housewife, from a battered trestle table in the high street.


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Local Tories insist that Mrs Marnell is a stooge for the Respect Party, whose best known MP is George Galloway, a charge that she denies. "I have never voted in a general election," she says. "I'm just an angry housewife." Mrs Marnell has collected 3,500 signatures in an unprecedented campaign to remove a sitting MP a year before the next general election has to be called.

In the space of a week, Miss Kirkbride, 48, has gone from popular local MP to a pariah figure after the publication in The Daily Telegraph of the evidence that she and her husband, the Tory MP Andrew MacKay, claimed £170,000 between them in second home allowances over four years. He claimed for their joint flat in Westminster, while she claimed for their family home in her constituency.

At the weekend, Mr MacKay was humiliated at a bad-tempered public meeting in his Bracknell constituency, where he was heckled and branded a "thieving toad", amid demands to "give it all back". He was humiliated again when David Cameron ordered him to stand down, having heard a recording of the meeting.

In truth, Mr Cameron hoped that by offering up one sacrificial lamb he would be able to save the neck of the telegenic Miss Kirkbride, who would almost certainly have been offered a ministerial post if the Tories were to win the next election.

But it is clear that the demand for blood has not been sated. Across the country, the outpouring of public anger is reminiscent of the wave of revulsion that swept the white-suited Martin Bell to victory against the Tory Neil Hamilton in Tatton on an anti-sleaze bandwagon.

If, and it is a very big if, Miss Kirkbride is still the Tory candidate at the general election, she will almost certainly face a Martin Bell-style figure. Only yesterday, a poll on the Conservativehome website showed that 81 per cent of more than 1,100 party members wanted her out.

The ripples from Mr MacKay's Bracknell constituency, and now from Bromsgrove, are being felt across the country. In Redditch, which adjoins Bromsgrove, there is talk of an internet campaign against Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, who triggered the expenses row with the designation of her sister's back bedroom as her main residence.

In Scunthorpe, an ElliotMustGo.com website has been set up after the Labour MP Elliot Morley claimed £16,000 for a mortgage which had been paid off 19 months earlier. The site has attracted almost 1,000 signatories in a matter of days. A similar site has been set up on Facebook, the social networking site.

The Morley website says: "We feel very strongly that a moral and professional line has been crossed in terms of the behaviour and standards expected of an MP. We call for Mr Morley's immediate resignation and a by-election to be called to find a suitable candidate to represent Scunthorpe's interests.

"We are not a political party or positioning a candidate for election, we are simply constituents who are disgusted at the conduct of our MP. The hard-working people of Scunthorpe are very let down by this and are seeking support for a public meeting to demand that he resign with immediate effect and that a
by-election is held.

"Remember though – if writing to Mr Morley, please be polite and to the point, there's no need to be rude or offensive, Mr Morley has served the town for many years and deserves our respect for that. The internet is a wonderful thing for giving yourself a voice so tell your friends on social network sites, and look for Elliot Must Go Groups – if there isn't one on your social network – set one up!"

Feelings are running so high in the town that community police officers have been stationed outside Mr Morley's home. Motorists have slowed down to shout abuse. "Pay it all back," is the most familiar refrain. There are signs of more trouble for the Gosport Tory MP Sir Peter Viggers, who was ordered by the party high command to stand down at the next election after he claimed £1,600 for a house for his ducks on his country estate. Some local people have been in touch with the Bromsgrove group for advice on a campaign. A similar story is emerging in the Mid-Worcestershire constituency of the Tory MP Peter Luff after public revulsion at his spending on furnishings, including a £1,300 rug and £600 china set. Readers' messages posted on the website of Worcester News give a flavour of how his constituents feel. One said: "The public need an opportunity to express their anger, concerns, disappointment, disgust." Another demanded that Mr Luff should go before a public meeting to answer the following question: "I would not have been able to carry out my work as an MP if I had not claimed taxpayers' money to pay for a £600+ china set becausee_SLps"

In Bromsgrove, public anger boiled over when a missile was thrown through the window of the Conservative Party offices. The siege mentality was confirmed when a reporter from BBC's Newsnight tried to gain access. The constituency secretary refused to open the door and could be seen repeatedly mouthing the words: "No comment."

A message has been put up on the party website asking for support. "Never before in Bromsgrove has it been more important for us all to unite behind our MP Julie Kirkbride. She is, as you all know, an extremely compassionate hard-working person who has used her talents to assist so many people in our community and for the benefit of Bromsgrove."

Significantly, the local party did not mention the word expenses in its defence of its MP. Mrs Marnell was contemptuous. "I have never met the woman and I am sure she is very nice," she says. "But when people are losing their jobs, struggling to pay mortgages, there is a real sense of anger at all this money she has had with her MP husband. The phone never stops ringing with people saying they want to sign the petition."

In Scunthorpe, the campaign is being led by Michael Taylor, 38, an IT specialist, who has lived in the town all his life. "My father was a steelworker," Mr Taylor says, "so we have never been affluent. I went to the local comprehensive. This town has always been poor with high unemployment. It really hurts local people to think that their MP, someone they would usually look up to, was claiming for a mortgage which had been paid off."

In the last few days, Labour and the Tories have been engaged in an increasingly frantic race to try win credit for reforming the political system, with proposals for fixed-term parliaments and voting reform.

But such talk has cut little ice with voters whose most pressing demand is the removal of their MP. "I am sure electoral reform is important," Mr Taylor says, "but to people in places like Scunthorpe, we want a chance now to vote out our MP who claims more in expenses than most people here earn in two years. We are not content with him being deselected by the next election, which gives him another 12 pay cheques. We want a by-election now."

Earlier this year, as the Commons debated the publication of MPs' expenses, it was Julie Kirkbride who spoke the loudest in opposing making public MPs' addresses. Miss Kirkbride, who last year was voted the second most attractive MP in an internet poll, feared unwanted attention from "fixated" male admirers. Public feeling against her today is such that only her most diehard supporters are willing to believe that was her real reason.

As the revelations over expenses continue, it looks likely that more campaigns will begin against MPs who hope to limp through to next May in order to preserve the pension entitlements and pay-offs which are automatic at general elections.

These protests are not, as some MPs claim, media driven. They are spontaneous, grass-roots rebellions against dishonest behaviour by our elected representatives.

Bromsgrove was once the world centre for nail making. Those nails are now being collected by opponents of Miss Kirkbride to hammer into her political coffin if, and when, she is forced to step down by Mr Cameron.

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5395803/MPs-expenses-Revenge-before-reform.html

MPs' expenses Get feed updatesComment Get feed updatesPersonal View Get feed updatesAndrew Pierce Get feed updatesPolitics Get feed updates


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MPs' expenses Get feed updatesComment Get feed updatesPersonal View Get feed updatesAndrew Pierce Get feed updatesPolitics Get feed updatesComments: 1

I think it is about time that Gordon Brown realised that the voters are not going to have the wool pulled over their eyes again and called a general election. Who can you trust and also what elese is hiding in the dirty linen.One other thing I would be interested to know do the MP's claim a car allowance and if so do they pay tax like anyone else has to whether they are reps or management
Maureen Stone
on May 27, 2009
at 07:49 PM
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