A message to the people of Clacton

[MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack]

You will win the undying respect and gratitude of the whole nation if you use your votes to kick Farage out and elect Count Binface as your local MP.

And I don't think you will regret it. Underneath the silliness, there is an intelligent man with a genuine commitment to democracy. He might be a joker, but I believe he would serve you well if elected. And definitely better than Farage.

LOL, or you think like the women from there 😂

meant: or think like the women who live there

Just out of interest, do you think places like Clacton would be safer for kids if Labour or the Greens were in power?

And I have not said anything to disagree with that point

he campaigned to leave the EU that was his goal the I believe irrelevant he wanted the UK out and that’s what happened

Ukip-controlled group 'misspent' €500,000 on Brexit campaign

Allegedly. There was an update to that report;

Nigel Farage has been handed a victory by the European court of justice, after judges found a political group he fronted had been unfairly treated over a demand to repay EU funds.

The court judged that the bureau of the European parliament failed to guarantee impartiality, because a vice-president of the parliament at the time claimed publicly there had been “fraudulent use of funds” before any official decision had been taken.

The court also rejected the parliament’s claim that the Ukip-dominated Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe (ADDE) had broken EU spending rules by spending public funds on an opinion poll before the 2016 Brexit referendum.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/07/farage-fronted-group-of-meps-unfairly-treated-over-funds-rules-ecj-repay-anti-eu-parties

you should absolutely tell the people of clacton how to vote...

And how many of his supporters are bothered by this. What will matter is will enough people will vote to keep him out

it is only a few months on from the very successful local elections

has the £5 million gift made enough people view him differently I am not so sure I think the impact of the relentless questioning that irritates him immensely will be his downfall

What does it matter what I think I have not voted for him

and again telling people that have been fooled or taken in by a con man has got us where exactly…..

all that happens is people pat themselves on the back for being so politically astute and Farage rubs his hands together with glee knowing just how this has plays out

According to the Clacton and Frinton Gazette he visited four days later;

https://www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk/news/24515844.nigel-farage-visits-scene-jaywick-fire-beach-way/

A few weeks later he filmed a video in conjunction with Essex County Fire and Rescue Service promoting free smoke alarms.

Last year he visited the scene of a fire affecting three businesses in Clacton town centre;
https://www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk/news/25401070.reform-uk-leader-nigel-farage-visits-scene-clacton-fire/

He supported the relaunch of one of the businesses a few months later. The business owner was clearly very appreciative;

“I don’t think you could ask for anything else, a lot of people like Nigel, and I’m an avid supporter, it’s what the town needs, to have someone like that who cares about the people."
“If the King himself opened up [the store] that would only just about beat it, we are so happy.

https://www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk/news/25659333.reform-uk-leader-nigel-farage-supports-sofa-shop-fire/

He hasn't held so much as one surgery where his constituents could talk to him

Tendring's business community took centre stage at a business surgery hosted by the Gazette.

Clacton MP Nigel Farage took questions from business leaders at the event at the Columbine Centre in Walton, which attracted a diverse range of companies from Clacton, Harwich, Jaywick and surrounding areas.

https://www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk/news/25777742.clactons-nigel-farage-hosts-business-surgery-gazette/

I think perhaps we are talking about different things here.

You seem to be talking about Farage's influence. Nobody is disputing that.

I am talking about whether he actually listens to people and cares about what they say. Not whether he makes them feel listened to. It isn't the same thing.

I don't know who you think is patting themselves on the back for being politically astute. It is hardly rocket science to see that, for all Farage's popularity, his "achievements" have enriched him and a few of his cronies while doing nothing at all to improve the lives of ordinary people.

You seem to think that pointing this out is likely to make people even more committed to voting for Farage. I'm not convinced that people are that stupid.

Taking questions from "business leaders" is not the same as doing surgeries for ordinary constituents with problems. Presumably you are aware that this is usually a big part of being an MP?

Presumably he pays staff to handle the majority of his casework, just like Keir Starmer. How do you know he doesn't talk to constituents by telephone/on zoom?

Easy enough - the UK has a tradition of allowing joke candidates because that’s the core of democracy - that anyone can stand and be potentially the PM with enough support. He represents satire, frustration with politics, and the very British habit of laughing even during elections.

Perhaps he does talk to some constituents by telephone or zoom. Perhaps he doesn't. Either way, that isn't a solution for the digitally excluded, though, who typically represent a significant proportion of those who might need help from their MPs.

And yes, he might well have staff that assist with casework. But the people of Clacton elected him and not his caseworkers.

The comparison with Starmer is obviously unreasonable - he is the PM. A more relevant comparison would be the other party leaders. Kemi Badenoch, for example, or Ed Davey. And Farage's efforts don't stack up well.

If he was doing that, people would have surely said, rather than complaining their emails went ignored?
Generally if you contact your MP your first response is from their caseworker 'on behalf of..' people are often fine with that provided they are acknowledged and helped.
Farage is clearly not even bothering to ensure he has decent caseworkers in place in Clacton if people are being ignored.

Farage needs to hope any ignored constituents have short memories.

And that's the thing, isn't it? This by election comes after 2 years of his constituents having experienced what he's like as an MP.

Does he still have the same appeal to those who voted for him last time? The turn out was below 60% and he got 46% of that vote. That doesn't illustrate that he was amazingly popular to me. And whichever way you look at it, he didn't get the majority share of the vote.

I don't think that it's beyond comprehension that some of those who voted for him last time wouldn't this time, and his share of the votes drops. Low turn out and decreasing popularity could spell trouble for Farage. Which is such a shame! 🤣

But the alternative figures are those dressed as a bin, and now, a fox (apparently) - to give a voice to wildlife (not the electorate then) - and others who are not from any of the mainstream parties. No, I have not confused a man dressed as a fox with a man that has Fox as a surname but the less typed about him, the better.

The mainstream parties think they have turned their backs on Farage, but they have forced only comedy choices on those 'terrible' people they think 'don't know better', or 'can't see through Nige', or 'do nothing instead of exercising their voting rights', and have turned their backs on them.

How likely do you think it is that Binface can deliver on the manifesto he stands with? How long have people given the major parties before disillusionment recently? Might that give Reform - or Restore? - a red carpet to storm back there in in a year, tops? Or 'Republic of Tendring', where the really...interesting...candidates have free rein?

I understand the point of Kemi and others but I also feel there’s a democratic deficit for voters in Clacton at the by-election.

If someone very much wants to vote for their party they can’t.

Good point.

How likely do you think it is that Binface can deliver on the manifesto he stands with?

Farage isn’t delivering the manifesto he stood with because he isn’t in government. What’s the difference?

But they will be able to at the next and more genuine by-election, as Kemi rightly says. Unless Farage loses, of course.

The comparison with Starmer is obviously unreasonable - he is the PM.

These complaints in the Camden New Journal pre-date Starmer's time as PM. It doesn't sound as though Starmer was holding any constituency surgeries - he compared himself to a “mobile clinic” instead. Usual obfuscation and word salad from Starmer:

https://www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/sir-keir-im-still-your-local-mp

I’VE written about 50 emails to Sir Keir Starmer over the last two years asking for help concerning night-time noise, caused by UCL students on my estate.
I have not received one response from him. I sent a question to his LBC show and again did not receive a reply.

https://www.camdennewjournal.co.uk/article/ive-had-no-response-from-sir-keir-starmer-mp

There is getting to Government, and there is staying there, as the last few years have shown very well. When those 'given a chance' were elected, for what reasons did their voting base end up swinging very far from what they had been previously? How extreme were some of these swings from election to election?