Anne Milton - Guildford MP (and Dipstick)

Independent - How the BNP is gaining ground in Barking with a campaign of lies and distortions:

Rose Thomson has lived happily next to the Longbridge Road campus buildings for 30 years. But now she wants to move. She said: "The asylum-seekers are coming. They're taking over. It's not British here any more."

Mrs Thomson, 67, echoed many who live near the complex outside Barking town centre who believe the site, now occupied by the University of East London, will soon be turned into housing for refugees.

It is not true. The campus is earmarked for a regeneration project that includes low-rent housing. But that has not stopped it being circulated on doorsteps on behalf of the British National Party as it tries to polarise opinion and win backing among the 165,000 voters in this docile and traditionally Labour-dominated corner of east London in next month's local elections.

The result is a game of political smoke and mirrors with the far-right party using shady tactics, including the apparent use of unoccupied addresses as candidates' homes, and questionable statistics to boost its support...

Well, how about that, then? It would appear that the BNP uses exactly the same tactics that our dear friend Anne Milton used to earn her 347-strong majority.

I'm tempted to stick to this point, but first I must turn my attention to the news.... erm, because there hasn't been any.

Last week the Queen dropped by to visit Guildford. She distributed the Maundy Money at a service in Guildford Cathedral. Then she went on a walkabout in the High Street. Before stopping for lunch at the Guildhall. Basically, she was in town for a while and she rubbed more than one elbow.

Did Amme get her picture in the local paper as a result of this visit? No.
Did Amme get *mentioned* in the local paper as a result of this visit? No.
Did Amme manage to get snapped with the Queen at all? No.
(Note - Even Dennis Paul failed to get a shot off!)

Ooooh, that's gotta hurt. Especially for a born attention-seeker like Anne Milton.

I must admit that when I first read about the visit I had to do some checking to make sure that she turned up in the first place... and perhaps - just perhaps - her failure to turn up to a string of local events (and/or staying for more than two minutes while feigning graciousness) played a role in this under-reporting. I'm not suggesting that it was malicious, only that reporters may have failed to recognise her, having not seen her around for a while.

No matter... with such a slim majority, a distinctly lacklustre first year and recent boundary changes to the constituency, Milton must know by now that her future does not lie with Guildford (if she ever thought of us as something other than a stepping-stone in the first place).

No, Anne's future lies with a career in the Conservatives and...

Sorry, what's that? She's in the what now...?

Guardian - The little blue book: Shortly after "Dave the Chameleon" makes his first appearance on TV tonight, Dave's shadow chancellor will be launching a thinktank pamphlet. These days, George Osborne doesn't turn up to any old Westminster launch. But then Conservative Revival: Blueprint for a Better Britain isn't any old thinktank rant. David Cameron pouts earnestly from the cover of the 170-page handbook, which, in style and content, is the closest the Cameroons have come to a brand manifesto.... The contributing authors were to have included the MPs Justine Greening and Anne Milton. In the end, Philp looked to a younger generation of Tories: Dominic Schofield, Nicky Morgan, Sarah Richardson, Martin McElwee, Robert Halfon and Damian Collins, all of whom failed to gain seats in 2005.

Aw, no... now the Tories won't let poor Anne join in any reindeer games.

I've got two words for you, folks: Old and Busted.

Yes, Anne Milton has been cast aside for the New Hotness... even though all of these alternative candidates failed to lie their way into a seat as Milton has done.

Taking all of these factors into account, and combining it with Anne Milton's flat-out refusal to live anywhere but Tierra del Fuego, I feel compelled to offer Anne the following career advice:

Join the BNP and run in Reigate. You'll feel right at home.

Labels: publicity, racism

Guildford, we're in for a rough 4 years. Bullshit won the election (by 347 votes); Milton will *not* be allowed to get away with bullshit as our representative.

My first question to Dipstick: *When* exactly will we see you take action against a Guildford casino? As you promised. (I so look forward to your first hug confrontation with Michel Harper.)

PS - Those of us watching the results live have been disturbed by a pattern of strong BNP results. This is almost certainly the result of the Tory/Crosby effect bolstering, spreading and/or legitimising racism. Anne Milton did not - at any stage of her campaign - even try to distance herself from the grubby, racist Tory leaflets deliberately targeted at impoverished areas. You will want to watch this woman very, very closely.

Labels: 2005 election, racism

Independent - Tory candidates in marginal seats stir up storm by playing race card: Conservative candidates in marginal seats across Britain are raising fears about the impact of immigration and asylum on council tax, schools and hospitals to swing the populist vote behind the Tories. A survey by The Independent reveals Tory candidates from the south coast to the Scottish Highlands are playing the immigration card to win over undecided voters dissatisfied with Labour.

So it's not just us, then. This other piece is not only funny, it plugs right into the nothingness of Milton's network...

Independent - Conservatives use 'cheap' migrant leafleters: Eastern European migrants allegedly earning less than the legal minimum wage are delivering Conservative Party leaflets in a key marginal constituency... Geoff Martin, a union organiser in south-west London, said the situation exposed the "rank hypocrisy" of the Conservative Party. "There they are, campaigning against immigration and the only way they can get election literature distributed is through an agency employing eastern Europeans, potentially earning less than the national minimum wage. The fact that they can't deliver their own literature, says a lot for the Conservative Party today. "

Labels: racism

Surrey Advertiser - Row erupts over Tories' 'appalling' poll leaflet (15 April 2005): A Conservative campaign leaflet claiming that asylum seekers get preferential treatment for housing has been branded as disgraceful and appalling.

(I'd like to give a quick hat-tip to lambethlad before saying...)

You read it here first, folks:

Meet Dennis Paul (22nd March 2005)
It gets uglier every day (14th April 2005)

Now, let's see if we can't further inform the friendly folks at the Surrey Ad ...

To: Editor, Surrey Advertiser
From: Tim Ireland

When confronted over Dennis Paul's wretched little document, Anne Milton claimed that; "We had no intention of offending anyone by our leaflet and indeed the only complaint we have had about it has come from the Liberal Democrats."

If a document is designed to misinform and no-one complains about it, all this proves is that the document is doing precisely what it was designed to do. This is no defence.

It's also a barefaced lie. I'm not a Liberal Democrat, and I complained about it.

I published it in full on my website on the 22nd of March and expressed my concerns in detail. I have since emailed Anne Milton about the website and talked to her personally by phone. There is no way that she could be unaware of my complaint.

It also needs to be noted that if Anne Milton does wish to distance herself from Dennis Paul, she will need to produce a new pamphlet to replace the one released this month. The cheery young lass on the back page proclaiming Anne to be "bright, spirited and intelligent" is Dennis Paul's wife, Dora.

Still, there's more where she came from. Dora is only one of many Tory ringers brought in to convince us that Anne Milton is the 'Talk Of The Town'.

Tim Ireland

Labels: racism

A reader just sent me scan of a recent pamphlet/newsletter from Dennis Paul. You can click here to see a JPG, but I've also included the full text below to make your life easier.

Dennis Paul is a local prospective Conservative County Council candidate. He features in Anne Milton's latest pamphlet and appears here with Anne as part of their campaign to reduce noise levels from the A3. You can see a larger version of this photo and others at Dennis Paul's website.

(Please note that I have yet to get in touch with Dennis Paul to authenticate this document. The only reason I suspect it may not be genuine is because it reads like something the BNP would release.)

Transcript follows:

Conservative - Park Barn Edition - February 2005

Asylum Numbers Fuels (sic) Fears About Housing Availability

Local applicants for Council housing have raised concerns with prospective candidate Dennis Paul about uncontrolled immigration.

As one resident in Park Barn we spoke to put it, "I've been on the waiting list for housing for 3 years now. I have 2 small kids and getting a suitable place these days with house prices the way they are at the moment is impossible. It's unfair that locals like me have to wait, while an asylum seeker get's (sic) put up in a nice home within weeks".

Another enraged resident claimed, "I've paid taxes all my life... for what? They are getting state help without paying anything back whatsoever. I've heard the Government is planning to bring in loans too, but whose (sic) going to pay for those who default, and for the administration that goes with it - us, the taxpayer".

(Did You Know? - Between 1997-2003 asylum applications rose by an astonishing 48 per cent. Despite the end of the Cold War and wars in the Balkans, the number of people claiming asylum under the last Conservative Government fell by 43 per cent between 1991-1996.)

Conservatives will offer refuge to people genuinely fleeing persecution and torture, but like you, we see the Government has:

- failed to effectively deal with the thousands of asylum applications;

- failed to process applications quickly;

- failed to ensure that those who disappear or are found bogus, are found an required to leave.

Conservatives would tackle this problem more effectively with better control of immigrations, which would help alleviate concerns about housing availability.

Join Me Online At My Campaign Website www.dennispaul.org

/transcript


1. His use of statistics is selective at best. Especially as this was published in February 2005, and he fails to acknowledge the recent decrease in figures...

BBC - Tue 22 Feb 2005 - Asylum figures continue to fall

2. CRSA - Asylum Seeker Myths - They are being given a high standard of housing while locals are homeless and living in run-down homes: Council taxpayers' money is not used to house asylum seekers therefore local people are not being disadvantaged. We are meeting our obligations under international law to treat asylum seekers fairly and decently.

This is a myth that Dennis Paul is perpetuating by printing something that suggests there is a direct connection between a Park Barn resident's housing problem and the housing of asylum seekers. Why, it's almost as if they gave a this person's house to an asylum seeker. Sure, it happens all the time. Why, I once heard that...

3. Let's stick with that for a moment here. The headline states that "asylum numbers fuel fears about housing availability"... but in this very pamphlet, Dennis Paul uses those same fears to make his case and his own carefully massaged figures to increase the fear!

There is no real problem here that I can see... only the perception of one. Which doesn't really become a big problem unless someone irresponsibly perpetuates myths and stirs up fear (say, for political gain).

In short, Dennis Paul claims he wishes to act mainly to "alleviate concerns".... but these concerns he wishes to alleviate are the same concerns that he works so hard to exacerbate!

In fact, it seems to me that the only problem present in this document would be improved greatly by Dennis Paul's absence.

That's one heck of an ally you've go there, Anne. I can't wait to find out more about your other Tory chums.

Labels: dennis paul, racism