Spotlight on Blackburn, where the blogger and former UK Ambassador Craig Murray is on the ballot paper for George Galloway’s Workers’ Party. I’ve never been to Blackburn and know next to nothing about it—but in the local elections the issue of Gaza galvanised some in the Asian community to break from Labour, and it seems they initially backed Murray as their parliamentary candidate. He thought he had a good chance of winning. But now it seems he is retiring from the race (although his name will remain on the ballot paper). This appears to have happened after an independent Asian candidate challenged Murray for the Asian vote. It was decided that Murray should stand back after he lost on a toss of the coin as to who should champion the cause. There are two other independent candidates.
Blackburn has always been Labour, at least since 1955 when the seat was created. At the last election Labour’s candidate won with over 60% of the vote, and the Conservatives have always come second. So when it comes to predictions, my bet is that Labour will march home again, the Tories may lose their second place (a Reform candidate is standing) and the independents will mop up behind. The Gaza issue will undoubtedly play a role, but it is a single issue, and it may not be a determining factor for the 48% of Blackburn’s population that describe themselves as ‘ethnic white.’ I suspect the high levels of deprivation in Blackburn will play a more significant role. Craig Murray has stood here before, in 2005 against Jack Straw. He came fifth with 5% of the vote. It seems the Iraq war was not a determining issue for voters then. It seems that Craig is now a bit of a non-person for the Workers Party. Their candidates’ webpage still lists his name, but the his website link goes nowhere (below). Has Gorgeous George got that same ruthless streak as Our Great Leader?
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