New city MP: My vision

NORWICH EVENING NEWS
Norwich's new MP today spelled out her vision for the role, pledging to be a “champion of the people” and work tirelessly for the city.

Chloe Smith, 27, won the seat with a majority of more than 7,000 votes yesterday and immediately vowed to represent the people of Norwich North with “honesty and conviction”.

Key priorities for the newest and youngest member of the House of Commons include re-establishing a health facility on the site of the former NHS Walk-in Centre in Dussindale, bringing the Northern Distributor Road (NDR) to fruition and tackling anti-social behaviour.

Miss Smith, who won the seat with 13,591 votes, told the Evening News: "I'm delighted and proud to be the next MP for Norwich North.

"I want to walk out of here and be a very, very good constituency MP and that job starts today.

"A priority is to get a new health facility on the site of the old NHS Walk-In Centre in Thorpe St Andrew.

"I also want to see the NDR put in place and the A11 dualled.

"Anti-social behaviour is an issue and there's a number of things I want to do, such as regular meetings for constituents, regular meetings with businesses and regular meetings with police."

When asked what she meant by wanting to be a 'real' MP, Miss Smith said she wanted to be out on the streets of the constituency, helping people in the area and caring about them.

Her first interviews and speeches also told of her desire to be seen as an open and honest politician.

She said: “Today was an enormous vote for change away from Labour to the Conservatives, but also a huge vote of confidence in a new type of politics - clean politics where there is transparency and honesty.

“I now have the great responsibility and privilege of carrying through on that.”

The outright favourite also used her victory speech to pay tribute to her predecessor, Ian Gibson, who stood down following the MPs' expenses scandal.

Miss Smith said he had been a strong and independent voice for the constituency.

She said: “As a Conservative I may not agree with Dr Gibson's views on everything but I intend to represent the people of Norwich North with the same honesty and conviction.”

She added: “No doubt in making me your member of parliament today you have invested in me a great responsibility but it is a responsibility I take on with pride and humility. It will be an honour to serve you and I will not let you down.”

Following a crushing defeat, which saw Labour's 21,097 votes in 2005 fall to just 6,243 this year, Bob Blizzard, the MP for Waveney and Labour by-election campaign manager, spoke to the press on Chris Ostrowski's behalf while the Labour candidate was laid up at home with swine flu.

He said: "We would have like to have done better. You never like losing a seat but what we noticed when we looked at the results was that the Conservatives polled fewer votes than in 2005 so we are encouraged by that.

"It does make us believe that Labour can, at the next general election, convince people who stayed at home yesterday or who dabbled with other minor parties, but who definitely don't want the Conservatives to win, that the future of this seat is in their hands and they help us win it back for Labour.”

However, Norwich South MP, Labour's Charles Clarke, conceded it was a “very bad” result for his party.

He added: “On a personal basis I congratulate Chloe Smith on her victory and will work with her to promote the interests of Norwich.

“This is a very bad result for Labour - worse than I had expected. The by-election never should have happened and it is a coruscating verdict on the way in which Labour has dealt with the issue of MP expenses.

“Our party has to learn the lesson and change its whole way of operating. At the general election I am sure we will run a very strong challenge in Norwich North and regain the seat for Labour.

“The Green result shows that when scrutinised in public elections people do not accept their approach.”

The Green Party and the UK Independence Party both celebrated increases in their percentage of the vote.

UKIP candidate Glenn Tingle, who received 4,068 votes compared to the party's 1,122 in 2005, said: “We're very pleased. I would like to have got a third or even a second, but at the next general election I think we will have an even bigger showing."

Mr Tingle said he believed the party would have got more votes but for the voters' displeasure with Labour which resulted in many people voting for the Conservatives in a show of protest.

"This is what I've had on doorsteps," he said. "I would vote for you but don't think you've got a chance."

Green Party candidate Rupert Read, who got 3,350 votes, said considering the huge difference in resources between the Green and Conservative by-election campaigns, he felt they had performed very well.

He said: "Obviously I wanted to win but we were coming from a very low base here in Norwich North.

"We had 9.7pc of the vote and more than trebled our vote.

"The big winners for votes here are ourselves and UKIP, which have grown significantly and the old parties have gone down.

April Pond was placed third for the Liberal Democrats with 4,803 votes.

Baroness Ros Scott, party president of the Lib Dems, said: "The fact we came third we would regard as a very good campaign for us.

"We had a good candidate who was so 'Norwich', a genuine person and I think people liked and appreciated that."

Craig Murray, who campaigned under the slogan Put an honest man in Parliament, came sixth with 953 votes.

Mr Murray said: "I would have liked to get a better vote myself but for the independents it's not always about that.

"The second thing is that more than half of the people didn't bother to vote at all.

"If you look at the Conservative vote it was 2,000 less than it was for the last general election and Labour fell from 21,000 odd to 6,000.

"60 per cent of the Labour vote disappeared."

He was narrowly ahead of the British National Party's Robert West with 941.

Keith Simpson, Conservative MP for Mid-Norfolk, was at the count supporting Chloe Smith. He said: "I'm very, very pleased. I thought increasingly that we would win. I was pleasantly surprised by the majority and turnout as well, it bodes well for Chloe if she works hard and carries out her promises over the next few months."

Mr Simpson added that Miss Smith, given her impressive showing in this by-election, could well hold onto the constituency at the next general election.

And what about the "Look East Special"

And if they think getting no coverage is so bad then what would they say about getting the sort of one line negative coverage that April Pond got from the BBC all the way through the campaign.

Here is the intro from the Look East TV special. UKIP were not given a slot on this but they should think themselves lucky compared to the way April Pond was introduced to the audience by Stewart White...


CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO HEAR THE INTRO.

BBC at its most blatantly biased

Daily Telegraph
Several weeks ago, the BBC decided to start running stories about how well the Green Party would do at the Norwich North by-election. It is far from clear whether programme editors thought that this would happen anyway, or whether they hoped to make it happen. After all, what minority candidates most crave is airtime: to be treated as mainstream, and so to anticipate the “wasted vote” argument.

The BBC obliged. Lord, how it obliged. Throughout the campaign, it ran programmes with Conservative, Labour, LibDem and Green spokesmen. Now don’t get me wrong: I rather like the Greens. But there was no basis to the claim that they were the fourth party, either nationally or locally. The last test of electoral feeling was June’s European election. The United Kingdom Independence Party won 13 seats and came second; the Greens won two seats and came fifth. In local elections on the same day, UKIP beat the Greens in most Norwich North wards.

UKIP activists politely drew these facts to the BBC’s attention in the hope of fairer coverage. They misunderstood the Corporation’s mindset. In Beebworld, Greens are essentially nice, and deserve a fair crack of the whip. But UKIP are anti-immigration, anti-Brussels and, worst of all, sceptical about climate change. They are not Our Sort Of People, and should be covered accordingly, if at all.

Newsnight, Look East and Radio 4 all chose to disregard UKIP and treat the Greens as the main story. Three days before the poll, the BBC’s Eastern region TV held a hustings meeting for four candidates: Conservative, Labour, LibDem and Green.

What was the result in the event? UKIP won 11.8 per cent of the vote - comfortably ahead of the Greens and remarkably close to the LibDems (or “worryingly close” as I just heard a Radio 5 Live presenter put it).

Did our state broadcaster apologise for its mistake? No, alright, that would have been expecting too much; but was it, at least, a little abashed in its tone? Nope. It simply edited UKIP out of its coverage. On the one o’clock news, a little bar chart came up to represent the results: blue for the Conservatives, red for Labour, yellow for the LibDems and, er, green for the fifth-placed Greens. The party that had come fourth, and been just 800 votes behind the LibDems, wasn’t represented. Nor was UKIP mentioned on the contemporaneous radio news.

Like everyone else, I’m habituated to a measure of one-sidedness from the BBC. When, earlier this week, one of its senior controllers called publicly on the Corporation to “foster left-of-centre thinking”, I didn’t become especially exercised. This, though, goes beyond the general Leftiness which we’ve come to expect in drama, comedy and consumer affairs programmes. It is an issue of measurable bias between political parties, of empirically identifiable partisanship.

I hold no brief for UKIP, but this dispute transcends party loyalties. It is one engagement in a wider Kulturkampf. The BBC simply can’t bring itself to be fair to to those it regards as being outside the Left-liberal comity. All of us, including those who fight against UKIP at elections, should be angry on that party’s behalf. If you haven’t yet joined Charles Moore’s licence fee boycott, do so now.

Ideas win elections

Daily Mail

One should not over-elaborate the analysis of elections. The central question is always the same. Who won? This is certainly true of the Norwich North by-election, where Chloe Smith turned Dr Ian Gibson's Labour majority of 5,459 in 2005's General Election into a Conservative majority of 7,348.

Allowing for all the special circumstances, that is probably a good enough result to produce a Conservative victory next year, both nationally and in Norwich North. That is what matters; it is natural for the Conservatives to be delighted with last Thursday's result as well as relieved. Miss Smith is more than entitled to enjoy her triumph.

There are, however, some interesting undercurrents revealed in the Norwich North results. First, there is one piece of excellent news, which I had not totally expected. After its relatively successful result in the European Elections, the British National Party (BNP) thought it a good idea to put up a candidate in Norwich North. It was mistaken. The BNP was beaten into seventh place with just 941 votes.

That does not mean the BNP may not become a future threat, but it does show it has limited appeal outside a few deprived areas. Seventh place in a by-election is a joke position for a group claiming to be a national party.
The result put the Conservatives in first place, Labour second, the Liberal Democrats third, the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) fourth and the Greens fifth.

The result is disastrously bad for Labour. Undoubtedly, Labour voters resented the brutal dismissal of Dr Gibson, a popular and independent-minded local MP. The Labour vote fell by 70 per cent from 21,097 in 2005 to 6,243 in 2009. The opinion polls have been reporting that Labour support in the country has fallen from 36 per cent at the last General Election to a figure in the mid-20s now. Norwich has confirmed the opinion polls reflect reality.

The Conservatives won the seat largely because Labour has become so unpopular. In 2005, the Tories came second in the Norwich seat with 15,638 votes; in last week's by-election they came comfortably first with 13,591. The Tories would have been able to win the seat simply by retaining the support of their past voters, though they did well to increase their share of the votes.

The Lib Dems also had a lower vote in 2009 than they had had in 2005. At the by-election they came third, but they had only 4,803 votes to the 7,616 they had won in 2005. Although Labour did by far the worst, all three traditional parties won fewer votes than they had won at the last General Election.

The three leading parties, taken together, saw their vote fall from 44,300 in 2005 to 26,700 in 2009. Resentment over parliamentary expenses may have partly caused the decline, but an analysis of the vote for the new parties suggests there is more to it than that.

Two of the new parties came just below the three traditional parties in the ranking order. Both had performed reasonably well in the European Elections. UKIP increased its 2005 vote from 1,122 to 4,068 at the by-election. That put it in fourth place. Indeed, UKIP was fewer than 1,000 votes behind the Lib Dems. The Greens increased their General Election vote of 1,252 to 3,350.

Both parties are perceived by the public as single-issue parties. Nevertheless, both were able to increase their votes at a by-election in which the three major parties were unable to do so. Labour's vote was catastrophically lower. Obviously, the European and Green issues are important to voters.
Last week, Labour lost some 15,000 votes, votes that Dr Gibson had won in 2005. No doubt many of these voters simply abstained, but the two new parties gained 5,000 voters.

If Britain had adopted electoral reform, which is the long-standing policy of the Lib Dems, these new parties, including the BNP, would have an opportunity to grow to the point at which they would become natural coalition partners. The parties that are the biggest threat to the established parties would also make the most attractive coalition parties.

The Lib Dems would be attractive coalition partners for Labour, as they have been in Scotland; UKIP might be a potential coalition partner for the Tories, though that would be resisted. The Greens are a threat to the Lib Dems, but could also be their partners. As we do not have proportional representation, this change-your-partners dance will not take place - yet.

Nevertheless, British politics will increasingly be influenced by the single-issue parties. It is no longer reasonable to think UKIP or the Greens are merely crankish parties, bound to fade away. The opinion polls suggest both are in the interesting situation of being single-issue parties whose issues have strong public appeal. Most voters are certainly more conscious of Green issues than they used to be a generation ago; most voters have also become increasingly critical of the European Union and the Lisbon Treaty.

The Lib Dems in the House of Lords voted with the Government against the Lisbon referendum, which the country had been promised. Obviously, Eurosceptics will hesitate before they vote Lib Dem. Support for Green issues crosses the boundaries of other parties - the Tories can claim to have been a Green party for a long time in that they were always the countryside party.

I would not particularly welcome coalitions of conflicting ideas - which electoral reform has created in Scotland - into Westminster. But I do welcome the mixture of ideas which is fermenting in our politics. The Norwich North result supports the forecast that Labour is on the way out and the Tories are on the way in.

Yet it also supports the view that the politics of ideas, which we knew in the Forties, may be coming back. It was the ideas-based parties, UKIP and the Greens, which were the only ones to increase their votes in the Norwich North by-election.

NORWICH NORTH RESULT

Conservative majority 7,348 (21.37%)
16.49% swing Labour to Conservative
Electorate 75,124; Turnout 34,377 (45.76%, -15.33%)


2005 result:
Gibson (Lab) 21,097 (44.86%)
Tumbridge (C) 15,638 (33.25%)
Whitmore (LD) 7,616 (16.19%)
Holmes (Green) 1,252 (2.66%)
Youles (UKIP) 1,122 (2.39%)
Holden (Ind) 308 (0.65%)
Lab maj 5,459 (11.61%) - Turnout 47,033 (61.09%)

VIDEO: Norwich North Declaration

Greens - What might have been?

Election of the 13th Green Councillor in Hove breaks Tory majority

The victory of Green candidate, Alex Phillips, in the Hove by-election, brings the Brighton and Hove Green Group of Councillors to 13, matching Labour and robbing the Conservatives of their majority. In Norwich North the Greens tripled their vote but still came in 5th behind UKIP as Tories crush Labour.

Greens in Brighton and Hove are jubilant at winning the strategically important Goldsmid by-election in Hove, taking the seat from the Tories.

The result sees the election of the first Green councillor, Alex Phillips, from Hove, to Brighton and Hove City Council. It also deprives the Tories of their majority on the council. Labour and the Greens are now tied for being the 2nd largest group.

Caroline Lucas, national Green Party leader, and parliamentary candidate for Brighton Pavilion, said, "This is a spectacular win. It signals an unstoppable surge to elect the first Green MP at Westminster, whenever Gordon decides to go to the country. With this result, we’re on the threshold of taking Green politics to the heart of Westminster."

Alex Phillips said, "Thank you to all the voters who put their faith in me. It’s a ringing endorsement of Green policies and the work of Green councillors locally. I will be hard working and unswerving in my task of representing local people and delivering positive Green change."

Councillor Bill Randall, convenor of the Green councillors on the city council, said, "With my council colleagues, we’ll be reviewing the options and consulting our membership to ensure that we get the best and greenest deal for local residents. Between us, we will do what is right in these very difficult times."

Alex won 38.5% of the votes - an increase of 17% over the last time the seat was contested with a swing of more than 12% from Labour to Green.

Full result

GRN 1,456 - 38.5% (+17.6%) GRN GAIN FROM CON
CON 1,104 - 29.2% (-0.9%)
LAB 816 - 21.5% (-6.8%)
LD 280 - 7.4% (-7.32%)
UKIP 129 - 3.4% N/A (others 6% last time)

Tories win Norwich North by-election

Norfolk Eastern Daily Press

Conservative candidate Chloe Smith was today named the new MP for Norwich North.

The 27-year-old romped to victory in the by-election, overturning Labour's 5,000-plus majority with a victory margin of more than 7,000 votes.

She received 13, 591 votes, with Labour candidate Chris Ostrowski receiving 6, 243, the Liberal Democrat’s April Pond 4, 803, UKIP’s Glenn Tingle 4, 068 and the Green’s Rupert Read 3, 350.

Miss Smith becomes the youngest MP in the country and the youngest MP for the Conservatives for 30 years and replaces Labour’s Ian Gibson, who resigned from his seat last month after the Labour star chamber told him he could not stand in the next general election following the expenses scandal.

The result is a devastating blow to Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Labour Party.

Following the announcement, at 12.50pm today by acting returning officer Colin Bland, a delighted Miss Smith also paid tribute to Mr Gibson describing him as “an MP with a strong, independent and local voice”.

She said: “As a Conservative I may not agree with Mr Gibson’s views on everything but I intend to represent the people of Norwich North with the same enthusiasm and conviction.

“This has been a victory for honest politics. There is no doubt in making me your member of parliament today you have invested a great deal of responsibility in me and it is a responsibility I take with great pride and humility and it will be an honour to serve you and I will not let you down.

“Come the general election, if you feel I have not met my promises, you can vote me out.”

She pledged to campaign to get the NDR opened and to reopen a service at the walk-in centre at Dussindale.

Turnout for the by-election stood at just 45per cent, which will be seen in some quarters as another damning indictment of the public’s loss of faith in politicians following the expenses scandal. It is, however, about par for a by-election.

The figure is a massive drop though from 2005 general election when 61pc of people voted. People in Norwich North went to the polls yesterday and the Norfolk Showground count started this morning.

All of the candidates were present, apart from Mr Ostrowski who is still ill with swine flu. His wife Katie was on the platform for the announcement and said: “I can’t begin to tell you how devastated Chris is at not being here after quite literally being struck down by swine flu.

“Chris has asked me to thank Ian Gibson for 12 fantastic years as a Labour MP for Norwich North. I’m immensely proud of Chris and the campaign he has run. Together in this campaign we have made lots of new friends and met up with old friends. I’m sure he will be back on his feet before long and I can assure you that’s not the last you have heard of Chris Ostrowski.”

April Pond, Lib dem candidate, said: “I would like to thank the wonderful people of Norwich North for their support and I have enjoyed meeting everyone.”

She thanked Nick Clegg, Lib dem leader, for his support during her campaign and added: “I think this has been a disastrous result for Labour.”

Greens Say..."best ever by-election result"

9.7% is best ever by-election result for the Green Party

Green party campaigners were today celebrating their performance in the Norwich North by-election after more than tripling their vote, compared with the 2005 general election.

The result was by far the best performance ever for the Green Party in a Westminster by-election.

The Green Party received 9.7% of the vote, up from 1,252 in 2005 to 3,350 today.

In comparison to 2005, the votes of Conservative, Labour and LibDem parties all went down. The Labour and LibDem vote also fell as a proportion of the turnout.

Adrian Ramsay, opposition leader on Norwich council, and the Green Party's deputy leader, said: "This was our best by-election result ever. Our best previous result was 7.4% in the Haltemprice and Howden/David Davis by-election. We started from a low base (2.7% in the 2005 general election), and we trebled our vote. On the ground, we had roughly £12,000 to spend, compared to the £100,000 that the Tories have apparently spent."

"Rupert ran a positive campaign, on issues such as the NHS, renewable energy, transport and living wages, and we are very pleased with the level of interest we've generated. With new members and supporters, we can now concentrate on Norwich South for the general election."

On the issue of the coming general election, Ramsay said that: "Norwich South will be different from Norwich North, since two-thirds of Norwich North was outside of Norwich City. The Greens have led local election vote share in Norwich for the last three years running, and we are the official opposition within Norwich City."

Rupert Read, the by-election candidate, added that: "The Norwich North campaign was done on a fraction of the budget of the large parties, some of which deluged residents with countless leaflets. We are pleased to have done so well without that kind of overkill."

UKIP Says....

Glenn's huge popularity saw UKIP record the biggest percentage gain of the top five contenders, surging a record 9.5% this time around to poll 4,068 votes, representing nearly 12% of the total cast.

A delighted Glenn said: "This result shows that we are major league – bring on the General Election!"

BNP Says....

BNP “Now Established” in Norwich

The British National Party is now firmly established in Norwich after cracking one of the most difficult regions in England for the party, said deputy leader Simon Darby.

In his reaction to the by-election result in that constituency which saw the BNP poll 941 votes from a standing start in a seat where there was no group or branch at the start of the campaign three weeks ago, Mr Darby said that valuable lessons had also been learned from the exercise.

“We knew that the result would not be very good, but that was not why we contested the seat,” Mr Darby said.

“From absolutely nothing in Norwich we now have a core of activists with election experience and the basis for a branch and future growth,” he said.

“We were also able — despite financial limitations and the other parties pouring huge resources into the campaign — to test out a new literature via the mail delivery system and get it thoroughly debugged, which will stand us in good stead in other far more favourable areas.”

Mr Darby paid tribute to Reverend Robert West, who carried the party’s banner into the election. “Reverend West agreed to front the campaign in spite of the huge obstacles which faced the party in Norwich,” he said.

“In spite of that, he proved himself capable of being up to the huge task of starting a campaign and organisation from scratch and for that the party is extremely grateful,” he said.

* Mr Darby added that the fact that the Conservatives had won the seat came as no surprise and indicated that the Labour Party was heading for a severe drubbing at the next election.

“We must now redouble our efforts to make sure that the electorate understand that the Tories are just the same as the Labour Party on all the fundamental issues,” Mr Darby said.

Bill Holden Says..."Corruption won"

Norwich North election report: Corruption won.

With an electorate of some 75,000 potential voters you have elected an MP with only 13,591 votes. there was a 45.8 % turnout.

Craig Murray Says..."I Was Rubbish"

I can't think of a great deal more to say, except that it is worth noting that the Conservatives are celebrating wildly losing 2,000 of the votes they had at the General Election. It was great to see the New Labour betrayers getting almost totally deserted by their followers, and instructive that the LIBDems also lost a third of their vote.

The real lesson is that the total vote for the three "Main parties" fell from 42,000 votes at the general election to 23,000 now, with each of them shedding votes. That is a profound statistic. The political landscape is indeed shifting sharply, even if my own efforts to affect it were rubbish. Tory braying is futile and shallow.

In this "great victory", 18% of the electorate voted for them. I know from doostep experience that many of those who stayed at home were not merely apathetic, but actively hostile.

Turn-out low as voters show disgust at politicians

The Telegraph
All parties were playing down their prospects of success, although the Conservatives were predicting victory by a modest margin.

Outsider candidates, including the UK Independence Party and the Greens, were expected to fare better than usual, with many traditional Labour deciding not to vote. A party source said: "It looks very bad for Labour."

Sources suggested that turnout was far lower than at the General Election, when more than 61 per cent of eligible voters took part in the poll.

The contest, which has been dubbed the "expenses by-election," was triggered by the resignation of Labour's Ian Gibson, who stood down in protest after he was barred by the party from being a candidate at the next general election.

He was disciplined following The Daily Telegraph's disclosure that his daughter and her boyfriend had lived with him in his taxpayer-funded second home, which he later sold to them at about half the market value.

Gordon Brown has admitted that the poll is taking place in "unique" circumstances with Mr Gibson, who had been a popular constituency MP, attracting the sympathy of voters who feel that he had been made a scapegoat for the expenses scandal.

Charles Clarke, the former home secretary who represents the neighbouring seat, claimed that he had been sacked in a "kangaroo court".

Opinion polls had suggested that the safe Labour seat, which Mr Gibson secured with a 5,459 majority, was likely to be won by the Conservative candidate, 27-year-old Chloe Smith.

Labour's woes were compounded when candidate Chris Ostrowski collapsed with swine flu a few days before the election, and is thought to be unlikely to make it to the count, which has been delayed until today with the result expected at around noon.

Officials said that the delay was caused by a higher than usual number of postal ballots.

VIDEO: WHAT IS NOTA

Labour braces for byelection defeat

Guardian

Tory candidate Chloe Smith canvasses in Taverham on the eve of the Norwich North byelection. Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA

Voters will go to the polls tomorrow in the Norwich North byelection with Gordon Brown braced for defeat in a seat that Labour has held comfortably since 1997.

David Cameron is due to visit the constituency for the sixth time in the morning, giving a final boost to a campaign seen by Conservative headquarters as an important test of the party's ability to withstand a Labour attack based on a "Tory cuts" message.

Unusually, the votes will be counted on Friday, rather than tomorrow night, partly because staffing a daytime count is easier. This has not happened at a byelection in recent years.

The byelection was caused by the resignation of Ian Gibson, a leftwinger who left parliament after Labour ruled that he would not be allowed to stand at the next election because he used parliamentary expenses to fund a flat which he subsequently sold at a discount to his daughter .

Gibson, who was popular in the constituency, had a majority of 5,459 in 2005 and Labour's decision to ban him as a candidate appears to have backfired, with some voters telling the party that they will not vote for his replacement, 28-year-old Chris Ostrowski, because they think Gibson was treated unfairly.

The Conservatives seem confident of victory. But they are nervous of comparisons with the Crewe and Nantwich byelection last year, when the Tories overturned a Labour majority of more than 7,000, winning by 7,860 with a swing of 17.6%.

"Crewe and Nantwich took place against the backdrop of the abolition of the 10p rate of tax and voters were so angry that they came straight over to us. Norwich North is different because, as a result of expenses, the voters are angry with all parties," said one senior Tory.

Chloe Smith, the 27-year-old Conservative candidate, has responded to the challenge of campaigning in a climate of scepticism about politicians by issuing her own "contract with the people of Norwich North" containing various promises on policy and expenses.

The Liberal Democrats, who were well behind the Tories in 2005, claimed yesterday that it was now a Tory/Lib Dem contest, with their candidate April Pond, and that Labour could come third.

At the start of the byelection Labour campaigned aggressively on the theme of "Tory cuts", in what was seen as a dry run for the general election strategy being planned by Brown. But the Tories believe that this tactic has been unsuccessful in Norwich North because they are winning the argument on public spending nationally.

Labour's campaign suffered a blow when Ostrowski was taken to hospital with swine flu yesterday. He was recuperating today, but cabinet ministers Andy Burnham and Alan Johnson were in Norwich North campaigning on his behalf.

"I am very confident that we can win this byelection," said Burnham. Privately, Labour was trying to make life difficult for Cameron by suggesting that anything less than a 10,000 majority would be a disappointment for the Tory leader.

VIDEO: NO2ID Hustings debate

By-Election question responses that were filmed from the NO2ID Hustings debate on last Friday:

Question 1, ID Card - Part 1


Question 1, ID Cards - Part 2


Question 2, Afghanistan - Part 1


Question 2, Afghanistan - Part 2


Question 3, Norfolk Unitary Authority.

Rupert Read Says....

MAKE HISTORY

On the eve of polling in the Norwich North by-election, Green Party candidate Rupert Read urged voters to make history by electing the first Green MP at Westminster. He said:

"Norwich people should not doubt their own power to change politics. They can. They already know that by voting Green they can get a Green politician - there are 20 Green councillors in Norwich. If they vote Green again (tomorrow/today), they will get a Green MP, make history and change the face of British politics. They will also give millions of British people hope, whereas one more Tory, LibDem or Labour MP would change nothing.

"This campaign has been a great step forward for the Green Party. We originated a pledge to run a clean campaign, which most of the other main parties signed. We've been helped by many supporters both local and from far afield, with a 'battle bus' run on recycled vegetable oil, but with only a fraction of the financial backing of the other three main parties. Yet we are seriously challenging the old parties. I hope Norwich voters continue to 'do different', as we say around here. Britain needs that difference and electing the first Green MP would make a big, big, difference."

Rupert Read and the Green Team will continue campaigning throughout polling day, Thursday. Their 'chip fat' battle bus will be touring Norwich.

Chris and Katie thank well-wishers

After Chris fell ill from a suspected case of swine flu, well-wishers have sent him dozens of messages of support.

Labour's Chris Ostrowski said:

"I'd just like to say a big thank-you for all of the messages of support that Katie and I have had from people - including the Prime Minister - after I fell ill on the campaign trail."

Gordon Brown sent a handwritten note to Chris, following his illness:

"Dear Chris

I am sorry to hear you are unwell. You have fought a great campaign. We are all very proud of you. My best wishes to you.

Gordon."

Craig Murray Says....

Almost there now. The Labour candidate has reportedly gone down with swine flu, and I do hope he gets better soon. I feel ten years younger than I did at the start of the campaign and have enjoyed it enormously.

Two nights ago the BBC Look East programme broadcast a live "Candidates debate" from which I was excluded, and which may have a major effect on the result. The four "Main parties" were included - NuLab, Con, LibDem and Green. The BBC is desperate to shoehorn an outraged public opinion back into support for political parties. They are certainly making it as difficult as possible for independents to campaign.

The BBC also lied to me in that they said that the debate would be between the "main four" parties, but there would be a short "package" on me and on the UKIP candidate, as the other two candidates the BBC was "taking seriously". That turned out to be a straight lie - they ran a "Package" on the UKIP candidate but not on me. You will recall that Michael Crick from Newsnight said that I had to queue "behind UKIP and the BNP" to be interviewed. Well, I am still waiting.

We had the fun of invading the BBC's offices and posing with a real dalek, which seemed a fit representative of the BBC's attitude to democracy. The BBC got very cross.

I have a nasty feeling the turnout could be very low. To say that people are unenthused with politics would be an understatement. With the Conservatives alone having delivered over 20 different leaflets to each house, the public are starting to react against leafletters from any party. As this is our only way to reach people, that is difficult.

But the public meetings we have held have been lively debates with really nice and interesting people. The difficulty is in persuading people that it is worth trying to effect change. To turn electoral despair and disillusion into hope and action is the challenge. I don't think we have cracked it this time. But it has been an uplifting experience to try.

The other real postive is the change in public mood on the Afghan War. The public on the doorstep appears to be resisting the politicians' spin that we need to fight it better, and to understand it is a spiral of disaster.

Chloe Smith Says.....

Apologies for the lack of posting on my blog recently: things have been really hectic in the final few days of the campaign. I’ve attended three hustings events in the past few days – two with the BBC (one on radio and one on TV) and one for NO2ID. We’ve also got one final hustings this evening at the Baptist church on Duke Street. The hustings have largely been good natured affairs, although I think it is quite apparent to everyone that the Lib Dems and the Greens don’t see eye to eye!

My weekend was mainly spent canvassing and attending fetes. I have been really grateful that so many volunteers from right across the country have given up their time to come and help me out on the campaign. If I am lucky enough to be elected as Norwich North’s next MP tomorrow I will owe a huge amount to the untold number of people who have knocked on doors and delivered leaflets for me in recent weeks.

On Friday I took David Cameron to the bingo to meet local residents and play a few games (neither of us did very well unfortunately!). We then went to the University to hear about their work on biofuels. David was here again on Monday, making his fifth visit to the constituency – which just underlines how seriously the Conservative Party are taking this by-election. We had a rally for supporters and there was a great buzz about the place.

Yesterday Ken Clarke came up to visit some local firms. We spent a lot of time talking about business in Norwich and also a lot about jazz! In the evening we held a 'Quiz Chloe' event in Taverham which was attended by about 50 people and was a great success. They asked lots of difficult questions and we had a great discussion about the need for honesty and transparency in politics.

There are only just over 34 hours now until the polls close so if you’ll forgive me this will probably be my last blog until Friday. I’m off now to speak to as many local people as possible in the time that remains!

Final Lib Dem tabloid

See full leaflet at NORFOLK BLOGGER: from the heart of Norwich North

Tomorrow: Norwich North gives its verdict

NORWICH EVENING NEWS

The eyes of the nation will be on Norwich tomorrow as voters finally get to cast their votes in a contest overshadowed by the sacking of Ian Gibson and the expenses scandal.

Yesterday's campaign saw Lord Mandelson, Ken Clarke and Vince Cable all visited the city for Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems.

Yet news that Labour's Chris Ostrowski had been taken ill with suspected swine flu became the biggest talking point of a contest which has largely failed to catch the public imagination.

Ironically Mr Ostrowski was struck down as a new national opinion poll suggests Labour's fortunes are showing signs of a recovery.

Ipsos Mori found that backing for Labour was up for the second consecutive month from its historic low of 18pc in May to 24pc now.

Satisfaction with the Government has also improved slightly, from 16pc to 19pc in the past four weeks.

But 75pc said they were dissatisfied with the government, while backing for the Tories has also increased, suggesting that voters are returning to the major parties as the dust begins to settle after the MPs' expenses revelations.

Support for David Cameron's party rose two points to 40pc, giving the Tory leader an overall poll lead among those certain to vote of 16 points.

The Liberal Democrats were down one on 18pc, although satisfaction with party leader Nick Clegg hit a new peak of 44pc, compared to 28pc who were dissatisfied.

The Ipsos Mori poll found that support for smaller parties had fallen by four points to 18pc since last month, when they performed particularly well in local and European elections.

Yet how that will translate at the ballot box in Norwich tomorrow, where both the Greens and Ukip have fought hard, is still anyone's guess.

Private Lib Dem canvassing suggests that the party is lying second to the Tories, on 24pc. But other party canvassers report that the Greens are performing strongly in traditional Labour areas - and Dr Read was generally seen to have performed well in a BBC TV debate on Monday night.

The bookies are also predicting a clear win for the Tory candidate Chloe Smith with one, Paddy Power, offering odds of just 1/25 for a Conservative victory.

Labour is 10/1, the Greens 16/1, and independent candidate Craig Murray 20/1 - better than both the Lib Dems (33/1), and Ukip (80/1), while the BNP is 200/1.

Lord Mandelson said it was time to move on from the fallout over Dr Gibson.

“Voters have to think about the future and how their interests are best served,” he said. “The by-election has been clouded by the fury over MPs expenses and allowances and the individual case of Ian Gibson - that's inevitable. But what we are seeing shaping up is a clear choice between Labour and the Conservatives about the sort of country we want.”

Lib Dem shadow chancellor Vince Cable said the by-election was an “important barometer” for the next general election and would show how deep a problem that the Labour government has with its support.

“We know its support is crumbling and it's coming to our advantage, but we won't know until Thursday just how deep that is,” he said. “I think there are still doubts about the Tories, particularly in terms of economic policy, it's a very different mood from the 1990s when people were expecting a change of government and were genuinely enthusiastic about the alternative.”

But Ken Clarke said a Tory win on Thursday would be another sign of a need for change in the country.

“It's going to reinforce the message for change and a fresh start,” he said.

And he had his own unique message to Conservative candidate Chloe Smith.

“Good luck Chloe, see you at the shop when you turn up!” he said.

Last Chance For Liberty

LIBERTARIAN PARTY

Tomorrow is the day, I have done my best over the past few weeks to convey the message of liberty to the people of Norwich North, however what I can do has now ended. The responsibility now passes to each and every voter in Norwich North, I urge you all to stand up and tell Labour, The Conservatives and the Lib Dems that we are sick of them taking and taking from the British people and never giving back. Enough is enough, tomorrow is your first chance to vote for the only party that will not take anything from you, be it your money or your liberties.

Perhaps you believe that one of the big three has changed and can be trusted with your vote, to this I say simply if you vote the same, you'll get the same. The big three have dominated politics for generations and have constantly and consistently taken hard won liberties from the British people, many times they have claimed to have shifted position but they always remain parties of big state interference in everyday lives.

Vote Libertarian for real change. Vote Libertarian for honesty and open government. Vote Libertarian for your rights and liberties. Vote Libertarian simply to send the big three a message.

If you vote the same, you'll get the same.

Thomas Burridge.

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Glasgow North East off until November

The Herald

The Scottish National Party tried to bring forward the date of the Glasgow North East by-election yesterday. If they had succeeded, the contest would have been in August, possibly resurrecting for Labour their nightmare performance in Glasgow East last summer when the party managed to lose one of the safest Labour seats in the country to the SNP. As things stand, the vote will not be held until November, five months after the retirement of the sitting MP, former House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin.

If this was the Nationalists' attempt to seize the moral high ground, it was not very convincing. Otherwise, the two SNP MPs who attempted to move the writ before the Commons rose for the summer yesterday would have solicited in advance the support of the Conservatives, many of whose backbenchers were away campaigning in Norwich North. This enabled Labour to defeat the manoeuvre easily. The move also appeared hypocritical 12 months after the SNP firmly opposed the scheduling in the summer holidays of the Glasgow East poll.

In truth, an August poll would have suited the SNP no better than their opponents. Their candidate, former TV newsman David Kerr, has only just been chosen, after Councillor Grant Thoms decided against standing and a second choice, Councillor James Doran, was forced to withdraw following revelations about his finances.

Already Mr Kerr is having to defend himself over a condescending remark about Caledonian University in a constituency where attending any seat of higher learning would represent a considerable achievement for many residents.

However, the Labour Party may have had even more to lose from a summer poll. The closure and amalgamation of a number of local primary schools by the Labour-controlled city council is the burning local issue of the moment. By November, pupils will have settled in their new classes and tempers are likely to have cooled. And, if Labour lost an August election, it would risk launching a new whispering campaign against Gordon Brown in the run-up to the party conference.

As a result, Labour's excuses - that a summer poll would effectively disenfranchise those on holiday and leave no time to improve the very low voter registration figures - though true, sounded defensive. By flooding the lobby with English backbenchers to defeat the SNP attempt to move the writ for the by-election yesterday, Labour merely succeeded in looking as if they were running scared, which is exactly what the Nationalists' intended. In fact, in the European elections, this was one of the few areas where the Labour vote held up, albeit on a low turn-out. The party should have had the courage of its own convictions and accepted the SNP's challenge.

Delaying the election until after Guy Fawkes' night may allow an opportunity to boost voter registration but it leaves one of the poorest constituencies in the country without a sitting MP for five months, which is an affront to democracy. It is particularly unfortunate that a constituency with one of the highest rates of unemployment in the UK has no elected representative to speak for them at a time when drinks giant Diageo is threatening to close the distillery at Port Dundas with the loss of a further 140 jobs.

Just 8% expected to vote Labour

Daily Telegraph

Labour suffered two collapses in Norwich North on Tuesday. First to go was Chris Ostrowski, the party's candidate in tomorrow's by-election, who caught a nasty dose of swine flu and had to be carted off to hospital, and second was his expected share of the vote.

Labour insiders are privately predicting a meltdown in what is supposed to be a reasonably safe seat, with just 8 per cent of voters expected to back Gordon Brown.

At least Mr Ostrowski has a 24-carat excuse to avoid what is bound to be one of the most humiliating counts for a Labour candidate in recent years.

While he wallows in justifiable self-pity, sipping orange squash and adding to the mountain of used tissues on his bedside table, the Greens, Liberal Democrats and Ukip will all be enjoying the benefits of Labour's implosion. But it will be David Cameron, who has invested his personal credibility in the contest, visiting the constituency no fewer than five times, who will be happiest tomorrow night. Norwich North (majority 5,549) is the kind of seat the Conservatives must win if they are to command a majority after the next general election, and Cameron has spared no effort in securing victory for Tory candidate Chloe Smith.


Even the Tories, however, should feel some disquiet. The by-election is a direct result of The Daily Telegraph's investigation into MPs' expenses, and there was a mood of resentment in the constituency on Tuesday.

The contest follows the resignation of Ian Gibson, who had represented the seat since 1997. He claimed thousands of pounds on a flat in London he had designated as his second home, before selling it at a knock-down price to his daughter. Mr Gibson, who was widely respected in his constituency, was by no means the most serious offender in the Labour ranks, but his reputation as a maverick – he is a traditional Left-winger – earned him few friends in the hierarchy.

He resigned his seat after Labour's National Executive Committee barred him from standing at the next general election. His action was widely seen as an act of revenge against Brown – provoking a by-election that will provide more proof of the Prime Minister's vulnerability, and which may even act as the catalyst for a leadership challenge.

Charles Clarke, Mr Brown's arch critic and MP for the neighbouring Norwich South, accused his party's leadership of acting like a "kangaroo court". "People do feel that Ian was unfairly treated and many of our voters on the doorsteps are concerned and are raising that question."

Like the Tories, Labour has deployed its big guns in an effort to minimise the scale of defeat, but to little effect. It was Lord Mandelson's turn yesterday, and what a lonely figure he cut arriving at Norwich railway station. Following Mr Ostrowski's admission to hospital – where, Labour informed us, he was receiving "world-class care" – his campaign team placed itself into voluntary quarantine.

There was therefore no reception committee for the second most powerful man in the government. Alan Johnson was expected in the city today, following in the wake of Alastair Darling, Jack Straw and Harriet Harman. But of Mr Brown there has, predictably, been no sign.

The Tories will win but turnout is less certain. The expenses scandal still hangs heavily over Norwich North, and many voters appear to have turned their backs on all the parties. "I'm not giving any of them my vote," said Laurie Tungate. "They are all as bad as each other."

Ray Downing voted Labour and may switch to the Tories at the next general election, but he is not inclined to vote tomorrow. "I struggle on a pension and this lot line their pockets. Pathetic. They all have their hands in the till."

Ellen Green has always voted Labour but is dismayed by the treatment of Mr Gibson, who has voiced support for Mr Ostrowski but signally failed to campaign on his behalf. "Ian Gibson was a great MP – he always stood up for his constituents. What he did was wrong morally but he was by no means the worst and I do not believe he is a man motivated by money. Mr Ostrowski is not an ideal candidate, and as for Chloe Smith, I find her terribly insincere." There is a feeling here that Labour has shot itself in the foot in its treatment of Mr Gibson. Defeat will deprive the party of a seat it has held since the Blair landslide.

Labour held the seat in 1979 but succumbed in 1983. Fourteen years of Tory ownership followed before Mr Gibson swept in with a majority of 9,470. It fell to 5,861 in 2001 but stabilised in 2005.

Norwich North is primarily a residential district, mostly comfortable but containing patches of deprivation. The Norwich area is showing signs of growth, but the recession still threatens, and crime and anti-social behaviour are a source of concern. Affordable housing is in short supply. Norwich is a stronghold of the Green Party, which is the main opposition party in the city council.

The final days of the campaign have seen increasing acrimony between the parties. Labour issued a 10-page dossier attacking "Tory smears" and counter-attacked by claiming that secret Tory spending plans would result in cuts in Surestart centres and police numbers in Norwich. The Tories, meanwhile, accuse Labour of dishonesty.

During his visit, Mr Darling said that voters needed to be aware of the clear differences between the two on public spending. "Everyone knows that the next few years are going to be tough, and all political parties are going to have to make difficult decisions. What's important is that people understand where the parties' priorities lie. There is a clear difference. The Tories are using the current problems as cover for what they are going to cut. That's what people need to think about when they go to the polling booths. People will want to know, whether it's the Tories, Labour or the Liberal Democrats, where you stand on the issues that make a difference to people's quality of life."

Mr Cameron accused his rivals of "desperate stuff" in their election literature, praising Miss Smith, who worked in finance before joining the backroom team at Tory central office, for mounting a positive campaign. Addressing the expenses issue, he went on: "People are angry with all political parties and they are quite rightly making the people who want to get elected work hard. I'm not being complacent, we have to get out there and win every vote."

The Lib Dems turned their fire on Mr Ostrowski, who works as a business development manager for John Lewis, using leaflets to highlight his Tory past while a student at the University of East Anglia, and accusing him of being a "London Labour politician". The Lib Dem candidate, April Pond, suffers a disadvantage in being in possession of that most unfashionable of political acoutrements, a moat.

Mr Johnson has let slip that he believes the general election is now eight months away, with polling day on May 6. That leaves his leader precious little time to reverse the seemingly inexorable decline in his party's fortunes.

Mr Ostrowski was back at home last night, in bed drinking soup. At 28 years of age, he should make a speedy recovery. The same cannot be said for his leader and party.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any stranger...

THE TIMES

Just when you thought the Norwich North by-election couldn’t get any stranger, it does. Yesterday began with the Labour candidate, Chris Ostrowski, being rushed to hospital with suspected swine flu. This left Lord Mandelson (for it is he) at the railway station with no candidate to meet him. Their visit to a Sure Start children’s centre, where the teddy bears were all lined up in anticipation, was cancelled at the last moment.

Mandy consoled himself by scuttling over to do a little spinning at the BBC before heading back to London, away from the contagion. As I write Chris (no one yesterday could pronounce his last name) is at home, in quarantine. The other candidates, who, worryingly, saw him only the night before at a hustings, have sent their best wishes.

It is as if Labour is jinxed here. The by-election was already dominated by a man who wasn’t running.

Dr Ian “Gibbo” Gibson, the maverick and beloved local MP, quit in disgust after a party kangaroo court decreed that, because of his expenses, he could not stand for Labour in future. No one has heard from him since, though a shadowy group known as “Friends of Gibbo” claims that he backs Chris Thing.

Who knows? So, yesterday I found myself in Norwich with a Labour void, a Lib Dem with the wonderful name of April Pond and the Tory über-smooth wunderkind Chloë Smith. It is widely assumed that Chloë will win the vote tomorrow, overturning Labour’s 5,459 majority. Certainly the Tories have been pouring people in: I even ran into one MP at a service station yesterday on the A11. “Norwich bound!” he trilled at me over the unleaded pump. “We were all told to do four days!”

I was due to see Chloë later but, first, it was off to a printing plant to see the Lib Dem superstar Vince Cable and Ms Pond. Bizarrely, it wasn’t even in the constituency. All became clear when I heard April introduce the owner to Vince: “This is my brother, David.” It turns out that April has seven brothers and sisters.

She also has a moat. Yes, really. The water theme was hard to escape. It was raining on us as I asked April (surely her middle name should be Showers) Pond about her moat, which I have seen on Google Earth. April, 47, a local businesswoman, points out that hers is a good luck story. “I was born in a council house and grew up in one with my seven brothers and sisters. I lived part of my life in a caravan in a field.” A few moments later she added: “My brother started his life in a drawer in a caravan!”

Then it’s off to Aquaterra, an oil and gas engineering company that, as a novelty, was actually in the constituency. Chloë, aged 27, arrives with Ken Clarke, aged 69. They walk around the workshop, minding the generation gap, running out of things to say. Ken looks at a huge ring: “That looks like a very large screw,” he notes sagely.

If Chloë wins, she would be the youngest MP and the only Chloë in the Commons. I find her depressingly machine-like already: smooth, safe, serious. “I am standing as a very clean candidate,” she says, looking squeakily so. “I am a fresh face.”

Well, up to a point. She is a “business consultant” but, for the past year she has been working for the Tories in Westminster. “I’ve never tried to hide that,” she says, her voice as smooth as a pebble in a fast-running stream.

VIDEO: Craig Murray on Afghanistan

Here is a video clip of Craig at a recent hustings being asked about the need for more helicopters for the troops in Afghanistan. The audience certainly seemed to like his response.

With over half the British population wanting to get our troops out of that hell hole. Why is Craig Murray the only person prepared to stand up and say so?

Craig has been to Afghanistan. He was Ambassador to the country next door. He knows the Afghan government is composed of war lords and drug dealers. He has seen heroin factories built next door to allied army bases. He knows the real reason the British Army is in Afghanistan is to make it safe to build an oil pipe line to central Asia for the Americans.

VIDEO: Glenn Tingle - UKIP

VIDEO: Chloe Smith - Conservative

VIDEO: Rupert Read - Green Party

VIDEO: April Pond - Liberal Democrats

Big beasts prowl around Norwich

NORWICH EVENING NEWS

The final days of the Norwich North by-election campaign are coming to the boil with a parade of the big beasts and more accusations of dirty tricks.

Chancellor Alistair Darling joined the Labour campaign yesterday for a trip to the Financial Skills Academy first for a private meeting with Norfolk business leaders, followed by a chance to boost the campaign of the party's candidate Chris Ostrowski.

Conservative leader David Cameron made his fifth visit to the city in as many weeks, rallying the party faithful at a stop off at Drayton Village Hall and taking a first hand look at the Carrowbreck project in Hellesdon, a pioneering training scheme helping to steer youngsters away from crime and into skilled work.

Also on the campaign trail were the Greens, who took their eco-friendly 'battlebus' around the city, and UKIP, whose leader Nigel Farage took part in a public meeting last night.

Lord Mandelson and Lib Dem shadow chancellor are due in town today and the former Tory chancellor Ken Clarke is also visiting.

As the final days become increasingly fraught, Labour yesterday issued their own 10-page dossier attacking “Tory smears” during the campaign.

Labour's battle plan has been based around claims that the Tories spending plans would mean cuts in the number of Surestart centres and police officers in the city - which the Conservatives have dismissed as dishonest.

Yesterday the Lib Dems also tried to put Miss Smith, who is favourite to win, on the spot over her work on secondment for the Conservatives - insisting she was in a fact a Westminster insider.

Mr Darling said that voters needed to be aware of the clear differences between the two on the public spending issue.

“Everyone knows that the next few years are going to be tough, and all political parties are going to have to make difficult decisions,” he said. “What's important is that people understand where the parties' priorities lie. There is a clear difference. The Tories are using the current problems as cover for what they are going to cut. That's what people need to think about when they go to the polling booths on Thursday.

“People will want to know whether it's the Tories, Labour or the Liberal Democrats where you stand on the issues that make a difference to people's quality of life.”

Mr Cameron has accused the other parties of “desperate stuff” in their election literature and praised Miss Smith for fighting a positive campaign, suggesting it could prove a model for the next general election.

“For people who want change there is a chance in this by-election - and that's Chloe Smith and the Conservatives,” he said. “We've set out what our policies are.

“People are angry with all political parties and they are quite rightly making the people who want to get elected work hard. I'm not being complacent, we have to get out there and win every vote.”

Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb issued a letter he has sent to Miss Smith questioning her work on secondment for the Conservative Party in Westminster.

Conservative campaign manager Theresa May said the letter was a “stunt” and said the Lib Dems and Labour had only offered negative campaign instead of substantial policies. The Tories confirmed last week that the 27-year-old has been working for frontbench MPs and she was issued a parliamentary pass from shadow work and pensions minister James Clappison, who was forced to pay back some of his expenses in the wake of the recent scandal.

But Mr Lamb defended his letter.

“There is an issue of hypocrisy here,” he said. “She has been working for Bernard Jenkin and James Clappison, both of whom have had their expenses highlighted. I am asking if she believes these MPs should take the same course of action as Ian Gibson (and resign).”

CONSERVATIVE LEAFLET No.13

See full leaflet at NORFOLK BLOGGER: from the heart of Norwich North

Craig Murray Says....

"Chloe Smith outed as a party hack"

The Times Reveals Chloe's real job

Throughout this campaign Chloe Smith has been vague about her job and her Westminster connections. On her website she admits to having spent her gap year as an assistant to Gillian Shephard MP. According to her campaign website,"Chloe now works for a leading international firm which advises private businesses, government departments and public bodies". Earlier in the campaign it was established that this 'leading international firm' is in fact Deloitte Touche, the major accountancy firm who did such a good job auditing the accounts of the Royal Bank of Scotland before they went bankrupt. However we in the Craig Murray campaign could not work out what Chloe actually did for Deloitte Touche. Because she was so coy about what she did we assumed that - given her youth - her job was to make the tea.

We were wrong. An article in The Times has finally revealed what Chloe Smiths 'real job' is. She is in fact on secondment from Deloitte Touche to the Conservative Party Implementation Unit. Yes, she is a full time Conservative party hack, parachuted into Norwich North.

Chloe's boss in the Conservative party is James Clappison MP. You have possibly never heard of him, but if I remind you of the MP who claimed £100,000 for living expenses while owning 24 homes, you might remember him. The sins of her boss of course are not Chloe's sins. But it is significant that she has not mentioned who she works for, and has removed links to James Clappison from her website.

What is even more intriguing is why Deloitte Touche should continue to pay Chloe's wages while she is working for the Conservative party. In 2007 according to the Daily Express, the New Labour government spent nearly £2billion on 'consultants'. You can be sure Deloitte Touche got their fair share of that £ billion. Deloitte Touche know the Tories will win the next general election, so planting their own employees inside Parliament would be a good strategy to ensure the money kept rolling in. One hand washes the other.

Rotten to the core

Chloe has deceived the voters of Norwich North. She has been disingenuous if not dishonest. What else has she been less than honest about?

The whole system of politics is rotten to the core. The political parties are thoroughly infiltrated with big business, international finance, and the old boy network. It is time for change.

Craig Murray can start that change in Norwich North!

Last Night's Norwich North BBC Debate

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE THE VIDEO.

A special edition of Look East. Stewart White hosts a live audience debate with the four main candidates bidding to win the Norwich North by-election.

Broadcast on:BBC One, 10:35pm Monday 20th July 2009
Duration: 45 minutes
Available until: 11:19pm Monday 27th July 2009

The Big Green Bus Hits Norwich North!

Thanks to everyone who has donated time or money to our campaign so far - the support has been fantastic and we've now raised nearly £2500, every penny of which is priceless as we Greens struggle to compete financially with the westminster party machines.

We still need as much help as possible though, on the ground (and at the bank!) so if you think you can assist please get in touch using the details below or click the donate button on the left hand side of the blog!

Swine flu hits Labour candidate

Labour's candidate for the parliamentary by-election in Norwich North, Chris Ostrowski, is being treated in hospital for suspected swine flu.

Mr Ostrowski, 28, collapsed at home and was taken to hospital by ambulance, a party spokesman said.

He is due to defend Labour's majority of 5,459 in the constituency in a by-election on Thursday.

The by-election was prompted by the resignation of Ian Gibson, the MP since 1997, over disclosures in the Daily Telegraph about his parliamentary expenses.

The Labour party spokesman said: "We can confirm that Chris Ostrowski is being treated for a suspected case of swine flu."

"He collapsed at home and was taken to hospital by ambulance. Clearly, our priority is to ensure that nobody falls ill from swine flu unnecessarily and we will follow the medical advice and take every precaution necessary."

Mr Ostrowski is expected to lose to Chloe Smith, the Conservative candidate, who has been joined by David Cameron, the party leader, during local campaigns.

William Hill, the bookmakers, is taking bets on who will finish second. It said that Mr Ostrowski was being pushed close by the Liberal Democrat and Green candidates.

On hearing of her rival's illness, Ms Smith said: "I'm extremely sorry to hear that Chris has been taken ill this morning.

"One of my campaign team had a suspected case of swine flu two weeks ago so I know just how horrible it can be.

"I'd like to send Chris my best wishes and I hope he will make a speedy recovery."

A spokesman for the Electoral Commission said that the by-election would not be postponed. "Once the notice has been served and the date has been set, it can't be changed," she said. "There is no requirement for the candidate to actually be at the count."

She said that the only grounds for the abandonment of an election would be the death of a candidate before the declaration of the result.

Mr Gibson announced that he was quitting parliament immediately after the Labour party's "star chamber" banned him from standing at the next general election.

He had allowed his daughter to live rent-free in a London flat which was funded by his second home allowances, before selling it to her at well below market rate.

Telegraph

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Norfolk clergy shun BNP candidate

Leading Norfolk clergymen are calling on voters in Norwich North to shun the BNP at Thursday's by-election.

In a statement, the six top churchmen repeated concerns they expressed before last month's European and county council elections - and distanced themselves from BNP candidate Robert West.

"It is important for us to do so since the British National Party candidate styles himself as 'Revd' and is often to be seen dressed as a clergyman," they said.

"He belongs to no known denomination and voters should not be misled by his adoption of clerical dress. The policies he promotes are not shared by any of the Churches we serve and are contrary to the teaching of the New Testament.

"There we read that in Christ 'there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female' (Galatians 3.28).

Christians in Norfolk and Norwich have had a long tradition of welcoming the stranger. We pray that this generous instinct may continue to be celebrated here."

The statement is signed by the Rt Rev Graham James, Bishop of Norwich (Church of England); the Rt Rev Michael Evans, Bishop of East Anglia (Roman Catholic); the Rev Graham Thompson, East Anglia District (Methodist Church); the Rev Richard Lewis, regional minister, Norfolk (Baptist Union); the Rev Paul Whittle, moderator, Eastern Province (United Reformed Church); and John Myhill (Society of Friends).

Norfolk Eastern Daily Press

VIDEO: Accusations of negative strategies

CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE THE VIDEO.

Conservative and Labour campaigners in the Norwich North by-election have accused opponents of using negative election strategies to detract attention from their faults.

The by-election, triggered by the deselection and subsequent resignation of the Labour MP Dr Ian Gibson, will take place on 23 July 2009.

VIDEO: UKIP leader on the Norwich trail

Nigel Farage is the latest party leader to roll into Norwich North ahead of the by-election.

He arrived in the constituency to support the UK Independence Party candidate Glenn Tingle.


CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE THE VIDEO.

VIDEO: Norwich candidates battle it out

Candidates in the constituency of Norwich North by-election are fighting hard to replace Ian Gibson who resigned earlier this year. Nick Robinson reports.


CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE THE VIDEO.

Craig Murray Protests at BBC Norwich

Today Craig Murray and some of his supporters protested inside the BBC Television studios in Norwich against the BBC decision to exclude him from the televised hustings debate this evening.

Says Craig Murray "The BBC is doing everything possible to constrain debate, and in particular to give no time to arguments against banking bailouts or aganst the Afghan War, and to corral political opinion back into the safe custody of the major political parties. Even though our campaign is the only interesting thing in Norwich, and even the Sunday Express reports that I am 'head and shoulders above' the other candidates in debate, the BBC is excluding me from their live televised "Candidates' Hustings" on Monday at 22.15.

They are also excluding UKIP. While I disagree with them fundamentally, UKIP also plainly have a right to be heard. The BBC is trying to define the field of politicial debate and choice."

Craig Murray is arguing that the political parties produce careerist MP's who just follow the party line and are in it for the money. By banning Craig Murray from the debate, the BBC are seeking to keep these views from reaching the public.

Murray argues that Electoral Commission rules state that any hustings meeting from which a candidate is excluded should be paid for by the participating candidates which would inevitably take them over the election spending limits. This evenings broadcast is clearly a 'hustings' as defined by electoral legislation.

Labour 1st Freepost in Norwich North

SEE THE FULL LEAFLET AT NORFOLK BLOGGER:
DIRECT FROM THE HEART OF NORWICH NORTH

LIB DEM LEAFLETS No.13 & No.14

Full leaflets at NORFOLK BLOGGER from the heart of Norwich North

BILL HOLDEN - ON FUTURE RADIO

Bill Holden (Independent) talks to Jasmine about his policies and why to vote for him at the upcoming by-election.


CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO GO TO THE PODCAST PAGE

RUPERT READ - ON FUTURE RADIO

Rupert Read (Green Party) talks to Jasmine about his parties policies and why to vote for him at the upcoming by-election.


CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO GO TO THE PODCAST PAGE

CONSERVATIVE LEAFLET No. 12

See full leaflet at NORFOLK BLOGGER from the heart of Norwich North

Craig Murray Says....

Threatening The Powerful

About 20,000 of our 80,000 DVDs have now been delivered, with startling results. People have started phoning up for posters, and coming out of their homes to shake our hands as we go past.

I have knocked on hundreds of doors personally, possibly thousands, in the last three weeks. I can report that I have detected absolutely no public enthusiasm for the Conservative Party. The media's presumption that this is a shoo-in for Chloe Smith seems based on nothing. In fact, many more people have told me that they are voting UKIP, than have said they are voting for any other party. The large majority say they will either not vote, or will vote for an independent.

The media's determination to hype the Greens is even weirder. At its most frenetic, the Green campaign has been invisible verging on lacklustre. They seem to think it will help them to be shrilly rude about me, while Rupert their candidate wears ties and tries to look official.

The BBC is doing everything possible to constrainn debate, and in particular to give no time to arguments against banking bailouts or aganst the Afghan War, and to corral political opinion back into the safe custody of the major political parties. Even though our campaign is the only interesting thing in Norwich, and even the Sunday Express reports today that I am "Head and shoulders above" the other candidates in debate, the BBC is excluding me from their live televised "Candidates' Hustings" on Monday at 22.15.

They are also excluding UKIP. While I disagree with them fundamentally, they also plainly have a right to be heard. The BBC is trying to define the field of politicial debate and choice.

Guidance from the Electoral Commission clearly states that, where there is a candidates' hustings from which any candidate is excluded, the candidates who take part must divide the cost of the hustings between them and declare it against their election expenses limit.

A BBC broadcast candidates' debate, where the candidates' speak for election and answer questions to voters, plainly is not BBC news and editorial content, but a hustings. That hustings reaches the voters through a broadcast, and the cost of the event is both the cost of organisation and the cost of broadcast to the voters. So the entire cost of the BBC broadcast must be divided between the candidates and declared against their election limit.

I am sure the Tories and Lib Dems at least are already over their election limit (to be disguised by false accounting on the cost of centrally printed leaflets). Each has already delivered a dozen different leaflets per voter, several of them in fake newspaper or magazine format. If the BBC hustings cost is divided between those candidates invited to take part - Con, NuLab, Lib Dem and Grren - they wil be tipped well over the limit.

I regret having to take a legalistic approach, but the BBC's determination to exclude me from the election has to be countered.

Meantime, just as the momentum is really switching our way, we need both people here to help leaflet and canvass, and we need donations to cover the remaining materials and expenses of the campaign. Please, please come. or if you can't please give something to help the work of those who are here.

WHAT, NO BROWN?

LABOUR are so embarrassed by Gordon Brown that not one picture of him appears in campaign leaflets for next week’s Norwich North by-election.

So concerned are Labour chiefs he is an electoral liability, the airbrushed Prime Minister has also failed to make any appearances on the campaign trail.

David Cameron and Nick Clegg, meanwhile, have each visited the city four times, as Tories and Lib Dems threaten to overturn a 5,500 majority and push Labour into third place.

Even the Green party is becoming a threat.

The by-election was called after the resignation of Dr Ian Gibson, who quit in disgust last month at being reprimanded by Labour bosses for suggesting he had misused his second home allowances.

It was the final act of revenge for the perennial rebel, with the Tories’ 27-year-old Chloe Smith expected to trounce Labour’s uninspiring Chris Ostrowski and become the country’s first post-sleaze MP on Thursday.

However, a by-election in the home of Colman’s mustard that was meant to be a fresh start for politics is starting to leave a nasty taste in the mouth.

If politics cannot change in genteel Norwich, there is no hope anywhere, one cabbie quipped last week.

There is a joke among Sunday league footballers that Capital Canaries, the club for Norwich City’s London-based fans, are so nice that they refuse to tackle their opponents.

Alan Partridge notwithstanding, it is a reputation well earned, for the city that spawned Nelson, Delia Smith and Sale of the Century, is one of Britain’s most civilised destinations. However, squabbling politicians are souring things.

The Lib Dems have been accused of dirty tricks after branding the Green candidate, philosophy lecturer Rupert Read, an “extremist” and a “nutter” for saying Britain had the July 7 terror attacks “coming to us”.

While the improbably named Lib Dem candidate, April Pond, has been irritated after revelations she lives in a house with a large moat. Unsurprisingly, voters have been turned off.

At a hustings organised by Age Concern last Thursday, fewer than 20 turned up.

Of those who did, the thumbs up went not to Tory Ms Smith, but to Norfolk-born Craig Murray, the former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, who is standing as an independent anti-sleaze candidate.

To many, he stood head and shoulders above the others, answering questions thoughtfully instead of trotting out party-approved mantras.

But despite spending £35,000 delivering a promotional DVD, he has struggled to attract media attention.

He has not even invited to tomorrow’s BBC hustings event, which has room only for the three main parties and the Greens.

“It’s a travesty of democracy,” he said. “This is an election caused by a breakdown in the system and a lack of faith in MPs and the more people hear me, the more impressed they are.”

The cynicism of mainstream politicians was summed up last Thursday by Jan Edwards, a maternity unit manager at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

As she showed Nick Clegg around her ward, she told the Sunday Express: “I’m not sure you can trust any of them. They make lots of promises, but never keep them.”

Labour said Gordon Brown had “no plans” to visit Norwich North.

A spokesman added that despite his appearance on the Glenrothes campaign trail last year, it was the “convention” that prime ministers do not campaign in by-elections.

express.co.uk

Norwich North: not your ordinary by-election

Sitting under the shade of a tree sharing an ice-cream cone with his son, Tony Barnett knows who he wants to win the Norwich North by-election: Ian Gibson. He isn't the only one. Nearly everyone you speak to in Norwich wants to vote for Mr Gibson. The problem is, there are 12 candidates standing in Thursday's poll, and Mr Gibson isn't one of them.


The popular, independent-minded MP was summarily ordered by the Labour Party to stand down, without a chance to appeal, over what many of his constituents believe was a borderline issue arising from his expenses claim. Without Mr Gibson, Norwich North has turned into a very strange by-election campaign.

Surely in the closing months of the third term of an unpopular Labour Government, Norwich North, where Labour has a majority of 5,459, will fall to a Tory landslide, just as last year saw a huge 17.6 per cent swing to the opposition in Crewe and Nantwich?

Mr Barnett, who knows the outgoing MP, says the absence of Mr Gibson means it is "very difficult to predict" what is going to happen.

Avril Wellbank, a primary school teacher, has decided whom to vote for on Thursday: "It's a shame that Ian Gibson has decided not to stand as an independent. But I will vote Liberal and suspect many people will too."

In Crewe last year, thousands of traditional, old Labour voters switched straight to the Tories. And they said so on the doorstep. Voters in Norwich seem different, more independent-minded. Opinion polls and common sense point to a Conservative victory. It is just that not many are saying publicly they will vote for the young, presentable Tory candidate, Chloe Smith.

The strangeness of the campaign is underlined by the blurring of party loyalties: the outgoing Labour MP has "privately endorsed" the Labour candidate, Chris Ostrowski, but will not back him publicly. Mr Ostrowski, 28, failed to tell party officials that he was a member of the Conservative Party in his student days. Rupert Read, the Green Party candidate, was at university with Boris Johnson. The Liberal Democrat, April Pond, lives in a country farmhouse with a very Tory-sounding moat in the grounds. Ms Smith, 27, has portrayed herself as the natural heir to Mr Gibson – an independent constituency MP who will speak up against the party leadership.

At the Hubbard Architectural Metalwork factory, Ms Smith and George Osborne, the shadow Chancellor, are being given a guided tour. Keeping a discreet distance is Edward Timpson, the Tory who scored the spectacular victory in Crewe. Is he here to bring a bit of by-election magic to the Conservative campaign? Mr Timpson apologises pleasantly, but he cannot give interviews – suggesting nervousness by party chiefs anxious not to draw comparisons with Crewe.

This restraint is odd, because Labour's campaign has appeared deliberately lacklustre. There is a suspicion that Labour has written off the by-election but will throw its weight behind the seat for the general election. But Tory memories are still raw of the humiliation in Ealing Southall two years ago this week, when their "Cameron's Conservatives" campaign backfired and Labour held on.

Mr Osborne declines the invitation to predict an "easy win" and says the Tories are "fighting this hard". Yet this pretence doesn't last long. In fact, David Cameron, who will tomorrow make his fifth visit of the campaign, has reportedly arranged a visit to the constituency on Friday morning, when the result will be declared.

Mr Osborne says: "If you look at the leaflets being put out here by the Labour Party, they are a reflection of the line that Gordon Brown has tried to run over the last month, which is that there is a choice between Tory cuts and Labour spending. Sometimes by-elections do flush out attempts by parties to peddle a dishonest line. You saw in Crewe the attempt by the Labour Party to run a whole campaign about the personal backgrounds of our candidate and myself and David Cameron, and that backfired. I think you may see this Labour campaign in Norwich North come to a similar fate."

On Thursday, he will probably be proved right. But the voters of Norwich North are unlikely to have the MP they really want.

independent.co.uk

Labour risks humiliation as MPs boycott by-election

The Prime Minister could face humiliation this week as Labour MPs boycott a by-election campaign in protest at his handling of the Westminster expenses row.

Thursday’s Norwich North poll has been caused by the resignation of MP Ian Gibson, who rebel Labour MPs claim was forced out because of his reputation as an outspoken maverick.

Former Minister Janet Anderson, who is taking part in the boycott, said: ‘There is anger in the party at the way Ian Gibson has been treated.’

Bolton Labour MP Brian Iddon said: ‘Ian Gibson has been treated very badly. This is an unnecessary by-election.’

Mr Gibson resigned after it emerged that he let his daughter and her partner live with him in his taxpayer-funded second home in London – and then sold the property to the couple at below market value.

Many Labour MPs contrast his ‘harsh’ treatment with that of former Cabinet Minister Hazel Blears, who admitted not paying capital gains tax on second homes but did not resign.

While David Cameron has visited Norwich four times to support the 27-year-old Tory candidate Chloe Smith, Mr Brown has not been once to support Labour’s man Chris Ostrowski, 28, a product manager.

And the Tories claim Labour has ‘airbrushed’ Mr Brown out of the campaign, with not one photograph of him in all its by-election leaflets.

Theresa May, who is running the Tory campaign, said: ‘Labour’s campaign managers know what their politicians won’t admit in public: the British people want to get rid of Gordon Brown.’

Last night Labour insisted its MPs were campaigning in Norwich.

dailymail.co.uk

Poll 'ban' on Brown

Labour has banished Gordon Brown from Thursday's key by-election in case he puts off voters.

In six leaflets put out by the party in Norwich North Mr Brown's picture does not appear. He is mentioned just twice in 37 articles and has not campaigned there.

Tory by-election chief Theresa May said: "Labour campaign managers know the British people want to get rid of Gordon Brown."

PEOPLE.co.uk

An Evening With Craig Murray