More prospective parliamentary candidates

To add to the list from a couple of days ago, I had a sniff around the web to see if I could find any more hopefuls.

UKIP? Nope, not yet. Veritas? I can't find their website. (I heard him on the radio getting sworn at in Derby, I guess there just aren't enough tangerine clones to fill all the seats). Monster Raving Loony? Contesting Sedgefield but not Morley. Respect? The nearest one is Bradford North. Monty Python's Silly Party? Kevin Philips-Bong has retired from politics.

Hold on, what's this? Local man takes on the big boys? Our very own Councillor squared Robert Finnigan of Driglington has announced he is standing for Parliament.

I was wondering which one of the six were going to be the one and 'tis Robert himself. He is also chairman of the Morley Community Radio Society and in the highly desirable (but unlikely) event of him being elected, that might be a small blow for Morley FM getting on the air this summer because I reckon young Robert might be rather busy the next month.

Robert works hard, cares about the community and is a powerhouse for getting things done. However he is somewhat of an unreconstructed statist and the loose coalition of independents that became the Morley Borough Independents have fallen slightly into the trap of becoming that which they most despise - a political party that puts itself above the people that form it.

Robert is ex-labour (a long time ago I imagine) and apparently left acrimoniously, the local labour party still try very hard to rubbish him in the press but he is a big boy and can take it.

I did give him a ring to find out how a radio meeting had gone, his agent tells me he doesn't intend to kiss any babies as that is unlikely to be a pleasant experience for them. He also drives a French inverted pram which is giving him trouble, his regular printer's machines have packed in and the Post Office are telling him how to lay out and fold his election literature. He still finds time to fit in Leeds City Council meetings but I imagine it is going to be a chaotic time until May 5th.

I've offered to deliver some leaflets for him (as he was one of the many who helped me last Summer) but haven't made such a promise for my pencil cross as that is between me and the ballot box (& MI5) of course.