Tom Wilde

Good luck Aardvark!

Like G. Hall, I agree with all of your posting except the capital punishment bit. I hope you get selected to fight the seat.

Anthony, I think he said Tolstoy's 'famous name' rather than saying that Nikolai Tolstoy himself was famous. Ironically, Nikolai Tolstoy himself in the Pravda interview which Aardvark has linked remarks that:

Aardvark

Andrew Constantine, I am a Unionist and would speak against any arrangement that favours one part of the UK over another. Sometimes that would require speaking for England.

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When in Woking do as the Wokes do.

"I do not wish to form my opinions by thoughtlessly quoting others; I wish others to support their opinions by sensibly quoting me." Paul Wesson (Aardvark) 13th April 2008

Aardvark

Count Nikolai Dimitrevich Tolstoy-Miloslavsky, a Russian citizen, former bankrupt and the person ordered to pay the highest libel damages in UK history is the candidate for Witney at the next General Election. He is 72 years old and in that time has never lived in the constituency and has never raised a finger to assist a single person in the area. His speech to the branch was disingenuous in places.

If you Google Pravda and Nikolai Tolstoy you should find the article where he decries the English middle classes and states a preference for Russia.

I of course have only sat for 4 years on the local district council, 8 years on my town council, 5 years on the local PCT and several years on the Schools Admission Appeals Panel. Tolstoy has never achieved either the same vote as me nor the same percentage vote.

Since I will not vote for someone who was born a British citizen and opted to take citizenship of a foreign country he had not lived in, as Tolstoy did, and since I only vote for people who I believe will serve the interests of the constituency and the people therein I will have to think long and hard about where I cast my vote. Tolstoy has fought Wantage (no branch) 3 times and is carpetbagging Witney (small active branch) because he wants the publicity of fighting Cameron (must have a book out soon).

I'm not happy.

__________________
When in Woking do as the Wokes do.

"I do not wish to form my opinions by thoughtlessly quoting others; I wish others to support their opinions by sensibly quoting me." Paul Wesson (Aardvark) 13th April 2008

gimlet

I have known Paul over 15 years. Support hiim! A good guy!

Richard Allen

Disturbing but frankly not surprising.

BASILDON BOY

Wow - your rant sounds just like all thoses defeated leadership contenders and NEC members who threw their toys out of the pram when they either didn't get elected or didn't get their own way!

Why not have the good grace to wish him well and give 110% to get a good UKIP vote instead of mewling like a spoiled brat.

arden forester

I tend to agree with Aardvark. Tolstoy's had a mixed history when it comes to public service. More public than service, I think.

We need parliamentarians that can stand up for their constituents, not "famous names" that attract all the gadflies and goons!

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www.westminster-whispers.blogspot.com

Aardvark

BB,You're not aware of the local internal politics. I fell out with a local conspiracy theory nut who decided he wouldn't support me in the way that he has done at previous elections. He 'invited' Tolstoy to be candidate without informing the rest of the committee. His theory is that Tolstoy has a 'famous' name that will attract votes - something which he has failed to do in 4 previous elections.

I had the highest UKIP vote in Oxon last time because of the work I have put in over 9 years - I increased the UKIP vote by 60% with a short notice, limited campaign with no funds (check the Internet politics pages if you don't believe me). Google P|Paul Wesson and Oxfordshire or Carterton. Search the archives of Oxford and Oxfordshire news, sport and information updated throughout the day for me and Tolstoy and ask who has put more work into raising their local political profile. I've campaigned to reopen my local railway; Tolstoy has campaigned for the restoration of the Russian Czar.

UKIP will not have a candidate in Wantage at the next General Election. It was suggested that I might like to stand for Wantage (where non-driver Tolstoy lives) instead of Witney where I have lived since early 1995.

Yes it is sour grapes. I have worked hard for 9 years. I have a residual personal vote in Carterton and other towns and villages in the constituency. I cannot persuade a single one of those people to vote for Tolstoy - it's me or nobody in many cases. Tolstoy doesn't know any of the local issues; he hasn't, as I have, flown with or worked with any of the serving or retired RAF personnel that live here in Carterton, garrison town for Brize Norton. Tolstoy won't get any of the RAF votes that I will pick up. Many people have voted for me on that basis in the past and my vote slipped at the last local elections because the Tories, sensibly, put up a better known, locally, retired RAF officer against me (Labour put up a retired RAF Corporal with the same surname to cause confusion and nick my votes).

How would you feel if you had done all of the ground work and somebody came in and stole your thunder?

__________________
When in Woking do as the Wokes do.

"I do not wish to form my opinions by thoughtlessly quoting others; I wish others to support their opinions by sensibly quoting me." Paul Wesson (Aardvark) 13th April 2008

arden forester

Just a thought! If you did a deed poll job you could go from the bottom of the ballot to 100% certainty of being at the top!

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www.westminster-whispers.blogspot.com

chikrodah

UKIP Witney have now got a candidate who'll have no end of mud thrown at him by the local Tories - the Carterton North East byelection was an example of just how malevolent and vindictive the local Blue Crew can be when they feel their vote slipping. They posted derogatory comments in the local online news websites (some of which were removed to avoid complaints of defamation, etc.) They shipped in Tories from Wantage to ensure that all 3000+ households were individually canvassed. This in the Cameron heartland.

Tolstoy has already had comments made about him this year, such as this one, posted on libdemvoice.org:

All 3 main parties will join in the feeding frenzy. Don't forget, it was a Tory that Tolstoy libelled back in 1989. He'll get Mote's fraud thrown at him and associated with his non-payment of libel costs as an example of UKIP wannabes who don't pay their debts. The Witney UKIP election expenses will be examined in detail by all 3 parties; any tiny irregularities will be seized on and used to beat UKIP with. Tolstoy's character will be called into question, his age will count against him and he will need to doorstep every single house in a 500 square mile area to perform any form of damage limitation.

There was little of this in the last GE campaign in Wantage; there would have been little comment raised against Tolstoy in Wantage this year either (all the spare Tories will get shipped over to Witney to make sure Cameron increases his majority). He could have marked time nicely and probably hung on to his 700+ votes.

Unless UKIP is prepared to match the number of Tory, Labour and Liberal footsoldiers on the ground in Witney during the GE campaign, Tolstoy will lose 600 votes compared to last time.