Johnny Hates Jazz

Matt O'Connor on BBC Radio London - Tues 12 Feb

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English Democrats SAY NO To European Union

English not British not European
- It's time to decide at the 2009 European Elections

cassie

Are you seriously expecting people to listen to BBC Radio London all day on the off chance of hearing this guy? What is he planning to say which is sooo important?





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Johnny Hates Jazz

Matt O'Connor interview appears on-line

BBC - London - Features - 'Expect the unexpected'

__________________
English Democrats SAY NO To European Union

English not British not European
- It's time to decide at the 2009 European Elections

Johnny Hates Jazz

BBC - London - Features - 'Expect the unexpected'

Features
You are in: London > Features > London Elections 2008 > Features > 'Expect the unexpected'


Matt O'Connor

'Expect the unexpected'
Matt O'Connor, of the English Democrats, is no ordinary mayoral candidate. If he wins, he promises to erect a statue of Batman outside Buckingham Palace. He is probably joking, but then what would you expect from the founder of Fathers 4 Justice?

"We were talking about the role, the importance and significance of fathers in the lives of our children. I think we were pioneers in getting that message across in a high profile way. And yes, we had to take risks. We didn't have a big budget. We had to be crazy and inventive."

"I've always tried to use ridicule, humour and satire to take on the government. I am fairly fearless in my approach. I will do what I believe."

Matt O'Connor is talking about Fathers 4 Justice, but he could just as easily be talking about his plans for the mayoral campaign. However, it would be a mistake to underestimate him or write him off as a novelty candidate.


Fathers 4 Justice outside Buckingham Palace

In conversation at a Piccadilly Circus café, Mr O'Connor is far from the brash and obnoxious character that is sometimes portrayed in the press. Instead, he is friendly, chatty and intelligent. While he could never be described as shy and retiring, there is a serious political passion that burns deep within him that was perhaps lost underneath all the superhero outfits.

The young radical
And it is a passion that has been there since his early childhood. Born in Manchester in 1967, both his parents were strong Labour supporters and as a youngster Matt O'Connor regularly went out canvassing. When Cherie Blair unsuccessfully contested the Tory seat in North Thanet, Kent, at the 1983 general election, O'Connor was out stomping the streets on her behalf.

Matt O'Connor says that he has previously been a member of the Fabian Society, CND, Amnesty International, he supported the miners' strike and took part in anti-apartheid protests. It's this experience of direct action that was used to great effect when he launched Fathers 4 Justice in 2002. For a while, it seemed that superheroes were scaling famous London landmarks on a weekly basis.

But what happened to his radical roots?

"I got materialistic and that all went out of the window. In the early 1990s I was trying to build up a business in design, marketing and PR. That's all I was bothered about."

"I had no intentions to get back into politics or campaigning. Believe you me, it was the last thing on my list of things that I wanted to do."

The English Democrats
While the story behind Fathers 4 Justice is a well-trodden tale (he has written one book and is planning another), much less is known about the party that Matt O'Connor will be standing for, the English Democrats.

The party aims to restore, what they see, as the imbalance between England and the rest of the United Kingdom, particularly since devolution was introduced by the Blair government. As well as the issue of English taxpayers' money being shared out across the Union, the English Democrats also raises the issue of the West Lothian question: Why Scottish MPs can vote on matters that affect England and Wales.

And not being afraid of patriotism and of being English is another key issue for the English Democrats and for Matt O'Connor.

"We gave the world the English language, Winston Churchill, football, fish and chips, democracy and the Magna Carta. We gave all these great gifts to the world, yet we don't recognise that," says O'Connor.

"I thought where this vacuum exists – nature abhors a vacuum but bigotry loves one - that's where you get the Men of Hate who come in and say 'England this and Britain that' and start discriminating against people on the basis of race, colour and creed. And that's a really dangerous slope."

The original candidate
Initially it had been announced that the media pundit, Garry Bushell, would be the English Democrats mayoral candidate, but he pulled out due to work commitments. Matt O'Connor had actually been in the process of setting up his own political party, the People's Alliance, when he was approached.

"We were engaged in a conversation and it sort of came up," he says. "As far as I was concerned they had already done a lot of the leg work in terms of what I was going to be doing anyway."

Matt O'Connor makes four pledges for London:

• Defending individual liberty: "You might be happy with all the number of CCTV cameras round here, but I'm not."

• Protecting Londoners from crime: "Ken Livingstone has failed in his duty of care for Londoners."

• Strengthening families: "I want to tackle the causes of family breakdown by putting fathers back into families."

• Repairing communities: "Integrated communities rather than segregated communities."

"The last thing I'm going to do is stand and just bang on about the English Parliament," says the English Democrat candidate. "One-trick politics is no good to man or beast."

A credible candidate
While O'Connor is candid about his chances of winning the election – 'I'm along for the ride, as well as trying to make a difference' – he looks positively insulted when it is suggested that his Fathers 4 Justice shenanigans could result in people taking him less seriously.

"Credibility? Boris Johnson is running. If he stands next me, I'll look like a more serious candidate."

However, he does acknowledge that it is an uphill battle and it is one where he will have to make do without his superhero costumes, having promised to keep them under lock and key.

David and Goliath
"Obviously, this is David and Goliath. It's like we are up against Mr Tesco, Mr Sainsbury and Mr Asda and I'm your local delicatessen. We've got to look at strategy and how we deploy our resources. We've got a very inflammatory and provocative campaign."

"I'm hoping that with a little big of creativity and innovation, we can make a bit of a splash "

Matt O'Connor
"I'm hoping that with a little big of creativity and innovation, we can make a bit of a splash and have a bit of fun at the same time and give Londoners a bit of a choice and get them thinking."

"Politics can be fun, it can be involving. I think if we can get some radicalism going to get people involved in campaigning and to be more politically active that would be a significant thing."

Intriguingly, O'Connor declares that he has a 'Plan A and a Plan B' up his sleeve.

Letter to the Mayor
Last week, Matt O'Connor sent a letter to Ken Livingstone.

"I said, thanks for keeping the seat warm, wash the glass out when you leave and I've decided that when I move in, I'll have a plaque to mark his achievements and that plaque will be above a urinal, so each time I went, it'll remind me that he was taking the ****."

Mr Livingstone has yet to send a reply, although O'Connor doesn't seem too disappointed. He is relishing the fun ahead and the chance to serve the city he loves.

"I've looked at this city from penthouse suites and top hotels. And I've also looked at this city when I was one or two steps away from the metaphorical gutter."

"What I love about London is the spirit, the people. Maybe we're not as warm as the northerners, as people might perceive it, but I love the cosmopolitan vibe, I love the cultural melting pot that is London."

Matt O'Connor: Vote English >
The English Democrats >
Fathers 4 Justice >

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__________________
English Democrats SAY NO To European Union

English not British not European
- It's time to decide at the 2009 European Elections

cassie