Saturday 10 May 2008

Worst Election Leaflet Ever?

Can you believe this was one of the official election leaflets Labour put out in Stoke Abbey Green ward? This is an electoral communication of one Gary Elsby, a regular at Guido's and Bob Piper's blogs, and regarded as something of a joke by the good people of Abbey Green. It's not difficult to see why after you've glanced at this incoherent jumble. Also bear in mind this was a candidate Labour chose to stand in a ward regarded as a national priority by the BNP. Makes you wonder how seriously Labour regard the fascist threat in Stoke when they stand someone of the calibre of "brother" Elsby.

All mistakes and spacing are as they appear.

New Labour for Britain

Political Parties for 2008, Policies and Candidates:

BNP: Racist party offering a 'one trick pony' policy of racism and fail everyday in their quest of hatred. Put a leaflet out across the country with BNP members dressed as Muslims and sticking two fingers up. A bunch of maniacs who are on the Internet gassing themselves with Zyclon B (Auschwitz gas) to prove the holocaust did not happen. Only in the press regarding Shelton and never about the Abbey or Bucknall, and continue to do nothing as our schools and care homes are being shut by the Mayor and his coalition.

Green Party: They want everyone to be vegetarian. Wants to ban angling. Consider NATO to be 'war criminals' and want Richard Branson to close his airline because he pollutes the skies with people holidaying abroad. Wants the speed limit on Motorways reduced to 55 mph. Wants family tax credits withdrawn, job seekers allowance removed and PAYE increased from 22% to 35%. You pollute the air, so get your wallets and purses out. (NB. There is more ice in Antarctica than in the last ten years and the Ozone layer, healed its self).

Conservative: Andrew Wragg's new party. This is his 6th Party in 5 years. I entered him in a National contest to find the most parties in one man. He came second, but I've asked for a re-count as the winner re-joined one party 3 times. My own view is that Andrew Wragg has been in more Parties than George Best! Andrew has no political credibility. Didn't attend the local public meeting on crime. Tories and bnp love those that don't vote around here.

Independent: (Independent of what? winter fuel allowance? family tax credits? free bus travel? minimum wage? New Hospitals and schools? Free eye tests? More police? More nurses?) A wasted vote.

This area has been done over by the BNP & A.Wragg.

They are discounted in the Town Hall and therefore, Abbey Hulton and Bucknall has no voice or proper representation.

What we need is someone who will represent this area in the best possible way. That person is myself because I live in this area with my wife and children. I am appalled at the possibility of Dimensions closing and I hammered all councillors for even thinking of it.
I am totally against the idea that the Mayor and his coalition have for the reorganisation of our Schools. I would never vote for their proposals. They ignore local needs and hide behind statistics that do not exist. My vote would reflect my upbringing in this ward and I challenge everyone, to prove my words wrong! I'm up for this fight so vote me in, sit back and see what happens. First stop, the Mayor and to challenge his views.
A vote for me is a fair vote for this area. If you disagree with my politics, then vote for me, as a local person who will fight everyday to challenge and voice opinions for were I live. Believe me, I will be heard!
Please come out and vote for me, as I almost did it last time, and this area can swing it for me.
People still believe that Labour runs this City. It doesn't! A coalition of Tories, Liberals and Labour does.
I believe they have got it wrong on Dimensions, as there isn't a financial argument for its closure .I would vote to keep it. On Schools, I fear for a two tier education system unfolding and reject the numbers given for closure. I would vote against this plan. There are more Labour members who oppose these plans, than there are other political parties and members, combined. The Sentinel and Radio Stoke don't tell you that! As a Labour candidate, you can rest assured that I have a priority of public service delivery and not a desire to shut a kiddie's paddling pool.
Let's get rid of this coalition of Tories.

There is more Labour support here than for any other party
VOTE GARY ELSBY, LABOUR

43 comments:

Jim Jepps said...

By Christ that is bad! Difficult to know what to say - he's obviously put this out off his own back

Phil said...

It is, Jim. You may remember him sending a bit of a rant to the old SUN website a couple of years back "critiquing" my analysis of Paul Sutton's election challenge in the same ward. Since then he's taken to calling our former short-lived councillor as a member of the 'communist workers' party' and a 'Marxist communist trotskyist' and other such nonsense.

Stoke Labour were really scraping the bottom of the barrel with this one.

Anglonoel said...

Shortest political suicide note in history?

Anonymous said...

I feel greatly reassured that Labour has taken this opportunity to offer itself as a platform for great communicators.

It's good to know the country is in safe hands. Afterall, how dangerous can said hand be when it's busy focusing on maintaining a firm grip on the coloured crayon?

TotallyUn-Pc said...

what a twat! can I say twat? is twat and accepted term?

I may have done some shameful things, like that once with the goat, a chicken breast and a quart of gun oil... but At least I can say I've never voted for them.... for that I can hold up my head!

Anonymous said...

The SRWP.

The party that funded,and worked a candidate who was a STRIKE BREAKING MINER who waved his paypacket at the lads out on strike,as he went to work.

Bentley, Cessford how much shame do you still have.

That candidate was in the Town hall 2008 and cheering all BNP candidates who beat Labour councillor and cndidates.

Any time you want me to link that treacherous fat twat with you lot, just say so.

Take the piss all you want and if you want a history lesson then run the videos of the miner's strike and you'll see me on stage with Scargill and Benn on the London rallies.

I can't tell you how much you lot sicken me.

Gary

Phil said...

Is that the real Gary Elsby or someone clowning around? I find it hard to tell the difference.

Anonymous said...

I am surprised the the Labour Party would allow such a bad document to be distributed during an election campaign. That said we have seen some pretty funny stuff in Canada as well...

steven rix said...

Gordon Brown's popularity is low, and he's not the only one in this historical political debacle. The political opinions of the West have been changing quite alot these past 6 months. We all elected Presidents (or PMs), and they are not popular at all (Brown, Bush, Sarkozy). No matter if we change from one political party to another one, the people (vox populi) are not satisfied with their political architecture. It's a massive exercise of legitimacy's destructuration coming from The People.

steven rix said...

In France we got a referendum about the European Constitution a few years ago, but our votes have never been taken into account.

Frank Partisan said...

It reads like the rightist bloggers who visit my blog.

Phil said...

That's because our friend is a rightist. It's all very well coming on this blog to show off his class struggle creds with reference to events that took place over 20 years ago, but what has he done since, aside from making an ass of himself?

Anonymous said...

You fucking treacherous bastard!

How dare you speak of the Miners struggle in such derogatory ways.

Were you there? What the fuck do you know.

We fucked traitors off and you lot fund them in an election against me.

Idon't think that Bentley and Cessford are such bad people and I know that they want a better world.

It ain't going to happen the SRWP way.

It's my party that has redistributed wealth towards the working man as well as to the non working pensioners.

It's not perfect by any means but it is far better than the Tory way.

They fuck me up and I fuck them up and I fuck anyone up who gets in my way of fucking them up. Get it? Comprende?

By the way that leaflet is only one of twelve I put out. I was the only SOCIALIST (do you remember that word?) within an ace of doing a Nazi. The next time the Nazi leader is up and I intend to do him.

So you have fun in your talking shop and steer clear of this human weapon that the Nazi's run scared of.

Karl-Marx-Straße said...

If that comment (9.09am) is genuine, bloody hell, the bars at your Town Hall must open early.

Otherwise: a dire election leaflet (in another sense) from New Labour over at this Tory blog.

http://tonysharp.blogspot.com/2008/05/tamsin-dunwoody-new-bnp-candidate.html

Phil said...

Elsby my friend, you are a joke and an embarrassment to socialists everywhere, whether in the Labour party or not. Here are just a few things for you to chew on when you've finished with the crayons.

1) Even the mayor can trade on an exemplary record where the miners were concerned. What matters is the role people play *now*. Paul Sutton played a leading role in North Staffs NHS SOS and put an anti-cuts budget to the council chamber. Where was "the socialist" Gary Elsby when this was going on?

2) Do keep up. Paul Sutton hasn't been a member of our organisation for almost two years. But best not let the facts get in the way of a trade mark Elsby rant eh?

3) How are you going to 'do' Alby Walker? By disappearing for the next two years and resurfacing just prior to the election with another dozen badly-written and amateurish leaflets?

Anonymous said...

What will I be doing? Are you for real?

Look at the voting statistics for Labour all around the Country. Look at the stats in S-o-T and you'll see that it is GARY ELSBY that bucks the trend.

Wank leaflets or honest truth built on reputation.

I don't require your verdict. My vote has gone up two years on the trot. I have been campaigning for two years. Nine Months each campaign. I make you fuckers look stupid. Your candidate came nowhere.

LET ME WRITE YOUR LEAFLETS AND YOU TOO WILL BUCK THE TREND!

Doesn't add up does it. Labour commits suicide locally but Gary Elsby's vote went up.

Figure it out for yourselves.

A big mistake to rip me off.

PS. Take an interest in the Shelton ward which fell to the Liberals. Something is very wrong.

Ed said...

"They fuck me up and I fuck them up and I fuck anyone up who gets in my way of fucking them up. Get it? Comprende?"

Spoken like a true socialist (and definitely not like a violently aggressive, testosterone fuelled wide-boy or anything).

I wonder if he tones down this Joe Pesce from Goodfellas persona when he speaks to OAPS at hustings meetings.

Anonymous said...

"Look at the stats in S-o-T and you'll see that it is GARY ELSBY that bucks the trend."

Not really, lots of other people lost elections too.

"They fuck me up and I fuck them up and I fuck anyone up who gets in my way of fucking them up. Get it? Comprende?"

Your eloquence continues to be an inspiration to us all. Fuck the fuckers right up the fucking fuck-hole, amirite?

Anonymous said...

Just hold on a minute.

If the Labour vote crumbled everywhere (apart from the high Asian areas who remain loyal to Labour), then why did my vote go up?

You have chosen to print one side of A4 out of 12 and you declare me a failure and put me into the category of 'worst leaflet ever'.

Totally out of context and explains nothing of events on the ground.

Labour is in meltdown in Stoke-on-Trent and traditional Labour strongholds voted either Nazi or Independent (Nazi).

My ward is by 2008 standards a Tory/Nazi stronghold BUT I increased the Labour (proper socialist) vote and I took 28% of the vote.

You seem to have a lack of thought as to how I managed to persuade a huge section of this Ward to ignore events Nationally and locally. Maybe when you do look at the stats properly, you may apologise.

I have had to fight all the traditional fights (and won them)but I failed to overturn Racism.

The SP did me a bad turn by supporting Sutton who was kicked out of the LP (I wrote up the evidence) because he acted against the LP. He lost a straight selection fight by one vote after a second round of voting (a draw in the first). He took the hump and began pounding Labour publicy in revenge.

You lot swallowed his line that he was kicked out because he spoke out against care home closures etc.

Read my leaflets again and you'll see that I say the same things. Nobody's kicking me out.
So next time, if this area is lucky enough to let me stand YOU come out and help me win.

Stoke LP is at a crossroads. We have 16 councillors (17 votes with the Mayor).Do we form a coalition with the Tories or do we sit back and go into opposition?

Re read my wank leaflet and see where I stand.

PS. I was a member of the SWRP before Andy Bentley:-)

Anonymous said...

Can I ask what the SWRP is? I thought it was the Scottish Workers Revolutionary Party, as formed by John McLean c1920.

Anonymous said...

"Maybe when you do look at the stats properly, you may apologise"

But the stats do nothing to alter the fact that the content of the leaflet displayed on this blog is inane, childish and frankly ridiculous. Statements such as "A bunch of maniacs who are on the Internet gassing themselves with Zyclon B (Auschwitz gas) to prove the holocaust did not happen" do nothing but suggest to the reader that the author of the leaflet lacks the ability to construct any sort of coherent statement and is instead relying on frankly bizarre ad hom attacks.

We get it, the BNP are nazis. How is that statement expected to convince anyone to support a party which is systematically victimising the working class? Most people, even most BNP voters, are aware of the negative racist aspects of the party, and are either embracing that or (in the great majority of cases) voting for them in spite of it as they are frequently seen as the only available alternative.

Perhaps the rest of your 12 leaflets are far more coherent than the one presented here, but if that is the case it begs the question; why use this one at all?

Anonymous said...

Why use that tactic?
Go to the BNP websites and prove to this blog that they are so racist, that queues should form to oppose them.

A 30% turnout is quite good and the BNP win with it.

70% need a little help to formulate an opinion. As I said, I bucked the trend and increased my (the Labour)vote.

Informing the stay at home Labour vote that everything is rosy, is not considered, by me at least, to be a winning formula.

The BNP stood in 10/20 wards in this City and I was a candidate in one of those 10.

I would have won if not for the BNP.

Candidates fighting the BNP need an edge and I found one. It's no use calling them racists. It's no big deal anymore.

Successful Labour candidates in this City have a high Asian turnout and my ward has no Asain votes at all. So now do you see how good my fight was?

I managed to increase the Labour vote by 27% over two years in a white anti Labour ward that is bombarded with gordon Brown's failures and our Mayor who is shutting all schools and kiddies padlling pools five minutes before the election.

And yet you rip my campaign off!

The next time an election is called, the BNP leader will stand in my ward. I will beat him and it will make BIG news.

Anyway, if you have my leaflet, then why didn't you print it as is and point readers to BNP members gassing themselves?
I did and it went out to 6000 homes.

I put out 24,000 leaflets. I mean business with the Nazi's.

I'm working on this strategy now.
So if you want to back a proper winning Socialist, you will back me.

Gary

Anonymous said...

"It's no use calling them racists."

Then why did you dedicate a leaflet to doing just that, as shown by your 'Auschwitz Gas'comments.

"I would have won if not for the BNP"

How is that in any way a redeeming fact? When your victory is disrupted by a national political party which possesses the combined IQ of a brick you can hardly portray yourself as a victim of circumstance.

"I put out 24,000 leaflets. I mean business with the Nazi's."

Oh shit. I bet that sort of sheer volume has the fascist opposition quaking in their boots. Afterall, nothing scares a hardbitten racist like an enormous pile of paper. Man the lifeboats!

"Anyway, if you have my leaflet, then why didn't you print it"

Because it, much like your good self, is irredeemably retarded.

"The next time an election is called, the BNP leader will stand in my ward. I will beat him and it will make BIG news."

I wish you luck, and sincerely hope the crayola turns out to be mightier than the sword.

"So if you want to back a proper winning Socialist, you will back me"

There are two fundamental flaws in this statement arn't there? The first is that you're not actually a socialist. The second is that you're not actually winning.

Anonymous said...

Oh, Brother g.What a knob.

You can't see that a rise of 27% for Labour (me) is not progress and you continue to fail to notice a total of 28% of the whole vote was to me.

Your candidate polled 0.23%.

Please....please...you can whip me, you cn beat me and you can starve me.....but please don't preach your shite my way.
Your brand of socialism is fucking useless.
Loser(s).

Gary

Citizen Steve said...

Elsby - I would have won if it wasn't for the BNP!

No, you would have won were it not for your parties consistent shitting on the working class that allows space for the BNP to flourish.

What brand of socialism is it exactly that you subscribe to? I'd be interested to know as so far everything you have said here, the party you belong to and your leaflet leads me to think you are not a socialist.

And try to respond with a political analysis and not like an extra on The Soprano's!

Good to see you can extend socialist solidarity too, you must be so proud.

Anonymous said...

"Your candidate polled 0.23%."

The only candidate we stood in Stoke was in Burslem South, where we polled 5.2%

"Your brand of socialism is fucking useless"

As opposed to the non-existent socialism demonstrated by New Labour you mean? What brand of socialism do you subscribe to exactly?

"Oh, Brother g.What a knob."

I'll take the fact that you've had to resort to petty ad hominem attacks as a small victory on my part shall I? And for the sake of not lowering myself to your level, I will leave the fact that you're a cunt completely out of the debate.

Anonymous said...

"You can't see that a rise of 27% for Labour (me) is not progress"

I fail to see how anyone voting for you could be considered progress.

Anonymous said...

My apologies to the Burslem South candidate, she did in fact score 5.2% of the vote. It was the Soc Alt who scored 0.23% throughout the City.

Personally, Brother g, I think a party that scores 0.23% makes a cunt of you, does it not?

Phil said...

Only a fool would take the score of one ward and describe it as a city-wide vote. Ah.

Anonymous said...

On first impression it seemed a random choice that Socialist Alternative should contest Burslem South rather than any of the other 19 wards in Stoke-on-Trent, but then it slowly dawned. It's quite likely a deal had been made with Peter Kent-Baguley, the Stalinist leader of the far left anti-muslim party 'The Potteries Alliance, in a crude attempt to try to damage the Labour vote and benefit his candidate. It didn't work though and the Socialist candidate received a derisory vote.

Anonymous said...

"Personally, Brother g, I think a party that scores 0.23% makes a cunt of you, does it not?"

Not really, since as has been explicitly stated, we only stood one candidate in the whole of Stoke on Trent, in Burslem South, where we achieved a modest but heartening vote.

I can't quite tell whether your 0.23% comes from our city wide vote, in which case the fact that we stood in only one ward would naturally have a negative impact, or from some other unaffiliated socialist organisation which has somehow flown under the radar of EVERYONE IN STOKE, in which case it's nothing to do with us. If it is your intention to use statistics against me, I would reccomend sticking to those which make sense.

I'm not entirely sure if 'uncle bob' is being serious or not. If so, then the reason we stood in Burslem South was primarily due to the progress we have made while campaigning for victimised Burslem postal workers in the area (an issue which Labour did very little about I hasten to add), as well as our stance against the council-led flattening of homes in the name of 'regeneration'.

Phil said...

Just like someone else I've come across named Bob, Uncle Bob's musings about the Burslem South election is ill-informed sectarian speculation presented as fact. Brother G has dealt with the main points concerning why we stood where we stood, but I'd like to add a couple of observations replying to these clumsy conspiranoid smears.

First, Uncle Bob's argument makes no logical sense. If the Potteries Alliance are a far left grouping, wouldn't it stand to reason that the Socialist Party, as another far left grouping, would at least take as many votes from them as it would from Labour?

Second, if the Potteries Alliance are anti-Muslim, it would be a bit daft of them to stand a candidate in a ward that is approximately one third Muslim. There was no evidence of Islamophobia in any of their leaflets put out across the city (well, at least those I've seen). Also, if they are prejudiced then why did a local Muslim community leader act as Ted Owen's election agent?

Anonymous said...

Brother g and phil bc appear to know nothing of politics. Allow me to lecture them.

Only an idiot would stand a candidate in Burslem South on the presumption that Burslem South have any sympathy for sacked postal workers.

I know that Andy Bentley has done overtime within that sector but it was easily defeated. A moronic addition to the NHS agenda of 2007

I turne dup to that meeting (remember girls?) and totally wasted Bentley as he pointed out in my direction: 'that's him! Thats Gary Elsby!' 'he's that Labour candidate'.

Fucking idiot.

I has Bentley removed from funding expeditions outside the NHS last year.

The SP apears to be a bit odf a reactionary cause and not a ground building socialist programme.

A bit of all talk and looking for a headline.

Any suggestion that Peter Kent Bagguley is anti Muslim is wrong. What happened there was that Mick Salhi, (former Labour leader) raised an issue against the sale of land to the Muslim community. For a brief period he was in the PA because he was kicked out of Labour (for forming the PA) whilst suspended from Labour(breaking the whip).Rumour has it the a former MILITANT Mayor (nameless) got them kicked out.(Salih, Bagguley,Booth).

Moral of the story: never trust ex militants or current ones.

Anonymous said...

Uncle Bob, far be it my role to defend another party, but Peter Kent Bagguley is nothing other than a socialist with a good heart.

He raises the issue of the land sale because of its value and nothing more. That value has cost Labour dearly over the last two years because of its giveaway price against market prices.

Your assertion of anti Muslim is wrong.

Anonymous said...

"Only an idiot would stand a candidate in Burslem South on the presumption that Burslem South have any sympathy for sacked postal workers"

Of course, what sort of moron would suggest that the working class population of Stoke is capable of empathy?

"Rumour has it the a former MILITANT Mayor (nameless) got them kicked out"

This wouldn't surprise me in the slightest, but you demonstrate a great degree of ignorance by trying to lump us in with Meredith when we have frequently spoken out against his actions as Mayor and displayed outrage at the abandonment of his formerly held left-wing views.

"I turne dup to that meeting (remember girls?) and totally wasted Bentley"

I find this difficult to believe, since you cannot even 'waste' a student on an internet message board. Your comments range from the misinformed to the bizarre, and neither you nor anyone else here has any worldly idea what you are talking about. You are a failure as a politician and as a human being.

Phil said...

Firstly, I have deleted Uncle Bob's comment for engaging in possible libel. I reproduce the rest, with my reply below.

"The Potteries Alliance Party have repeatedly shown their anti-Muslim credentials by their leader's consistent opposition to the new Mosque development in Stoke-on-Trent. The only other party to have acted like this has been the BNP."

Bizarrely I find myself in agreement with Gary Elsby! The nature of donating council land for the mosque is a contentious issue in Stoke, and it's not just the usual bigots who've been raising objections. I'm sure Potteries Alliance people would have been criticising the council if it had been given over to any religious or non-religious organisation.

As for Burslem South, Gary, having canvassed a portion of the ward I was surprised to find the support for Burslem postal workers were much higher than I suspected. And even then some people who didn't support the strike said they would vote for us on the strength that our candidate was at least prepared to stand up and be counted.

But while I was knocking on doors I did come across an Abbey Green resident, who was visiting his mum. He told me he would be voting for the BNP down there, not because he's racist, but out of protest. Completely unprompted he started having a go about the Labour candidate and his rather peculiar ad hominem attacks on other candidates standing in the ward. Straight away I knew only one person possessing such a unique ability to alienate people in Abbey Green, and that would be the legend that is Gary Elsby.

Thanks for letting us know about your record regarding the struggle against job losses at the hospital. While the SP can be proud of playing a key organising role in a demonstration that attracted 2,500 nurses, doctors, hospital workers, patients and others two years ago, you're proud of the role you played in preventing a petition against the cuts from taking place outside outpatients. That speaks more about your politics than anything else you've said so far on this thread.

PS - "Never trust ex militants or current ones". Not a good idea to cast aspersions on your own honesty, Gary.

PPS - It would be very nice if you lay off the sexist remarks. You are supposed to be a socialist, remember?

Anonymous said...

I'm very sorry Phil BC that you felt the need to delete my previous post, I was merely expressing what I understand is commonly thought in the community.

As for your comment: "I'm sure Potteries Alliance people would have been criticising the council if it had been given over to any religious or non-religious organisation." Well, one other example which comes to mind is the land where Cobridge Community Centre is built which was also donated by the council. If the Potteries Alliance were to act consistenly then surely they would also be calling on the council to recover something for this.

Phil said...

Good point, Bob. As I'm neither a member or supporter of the PA that's a contradiction for them to resolve. However, though Gary might correct me, I thought it was accepted practice for the council to facilitate the setting up of community centres in this way - hence no outcry.

Anonymous said...

As far as I know Phil BC the donation of land by the council for Cobridge Community Centre was very much a rarity, as is the situation with the Mosque/community centre in Hanley. Why single one out for criticism and not the other? I stand by my view that the Potteries Alliance is an opportunistic anti-Muslim party with an authoritarian leader. They are unworthy of co-operation from socialists and certainly not deserving of electoral pacts or understandings.

Anonymous said...

Socialists and racism.

http://www.bnp.org.uk/?p=191

They are creating a new race of People.


http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/865

Phil said...

And the BNP wonders why the rest of the world thinks they're as thick as shit.

Anonymous said...

Thought you would be interested to know Phil that at the annual meeting of Stoke-on-Trent City Council last week the leader of the Potteries Alliance, alongside a majority of Independent councillors, voted to appoint a BNP councillor to Staffordshire Police Authority. Fortunately the move was defeated by Labour, Conservatives and the Lib-Dems. This further proves my point I think.

Phil said...

I think you're probably right Bob, on reflection. Just as well we never came to any kind of arrangement or relationship with the Potteries Alliance.