"Falmer Or We Vote Tory"

[London Irish]

The staff at the ODPM remain the same - they're civil servants.

Not quite true. The departments are made of the traditional civil service and a vast army of paid political advisers that take the real decisions in government. These New Labour mafia are the ones who would have advised Prescott to reject the two inspectors' reports having sifted through all the planning and political implications.

They will all be cleared out if Labour lose the election and in their place will come their Tory counterparts, the young thirtysomething army of advisers you will see hanging around the Tory conference next week.

These people are Countryside Alliance-sympathising middle/upper class hoorays, indeed many of them will probably on our streets tonight backing the fox-hunting demonstrators.

If you think these types are naturally inclined to support urban football fans against semi-rural villagers and townspeople, then I'm not sure you know much about British politics.

Voting Tory is probably the one conceivable way we could now lose Falmer, as every indication is that the current Labour ODPM is on our side, given how they've rigged the criteria for the remainder of the inquiry totally our way.

The demo yesterday was a big success because I think it will have demonstrated to the New Labour mafia that they were right to back us against the two inspectors.

 

[attila]

If the worst comes to the worst (and I'm convinced it won't) we'll have the Seagulls Party to vote for - no-one will need to vote Tory!

 

[Lammy]

If the worst comes to the worst (and I'm convinced it won't) we'll have the Seagulls Party to vote for - no-one will need to vote Tory!

Thank god for that!

Can we have a seagulls party in Lewes anyway as I want to vote Baker out!

 

[Scoffers]

I had a long conversation with David and Jeanne Lepper before the march started.

They are totally behind the campaign and have been since we first arrived at Withdean. Jeanne chaired the Planning Committee which fought off the NIMBYs to get us back in Brighton. She was talking about how unpleasant the residents of Withdean were at the time - in contrast to the Albion supporters who wrote polite letters to her.

They really don't deserve to lose their seats at Westminster and the City Council respectively.

That said, after today, I'm very confident we'll get Falmer. We'd still win a beauty contest against any group of NIMBYs - at Withdean or Falmer.

They may well not deserve to lose their seats, but what a powerful message to the Government that would be. Isn't that why we have a democracy ?

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Norman Baker's written a very sniffy letter to the Argus today, complaining because they recently took the piss out of the fact that he keeps asking stupid and irrelevant questions in parliament.

He really needs to get a sense of humour, he is that far up his own backside.

 

[Blackadder]

Well my MP is Tory. Somehow, I don't think Mr Soames is that interested in Falmer!

I like the idea of a Seagulls candidate in Lewes!

 

[james]

I'll vote for the Seagulls party in Lewes if it gets rid of Norman Baker!!

 

[sully]

Well my MP is Tory. Somehow, I don't think Mr Soames is that interested in Falmer!

I think that's probably understatement of the year.

I also very much doubt he'll be under any pressure to lose his seat even if he came out and said he was against it, which is a shame, as it gives the likes of you and me no political teeth.

 

[Soul Finger]

Great march.

Would rather boil my own balls than vote Tory though.

Seagulls Party is the way forward

 

[Blackadder]

How much is the deposit to stand for parliament?

 

[Mr C]

There'll be snowballs in Hell before I vote Tory

I just had to add my own footnote after each song to the effect that i am gonna vote Tory anyway, so it makes no difference

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

I've previously criticised the idea of a Seagulls party candidate. I'm going to clarify my opinion... a Seagulls Party candidate would be a BRILLIANT idea in Lewes, cos Baker has a very slim majority and the Seagulls might split the Lib Dem vote and get rid of him.

However, it wouldn't be such a good idea in Pavilion, Kemptown or Hove cos these would split the Labour vote and may help to dislodge pro-Falmer MPs Lepper, Caplin and Turner.

Vote Seagulls in Lewes!

 

[Scotty Mac]

I would rather remove my own spleen than ever vote Tory,

 

[London Irish]

How long have they had so far?

As long as Dick Knight and Martin Perry have had.

But you wouldn't be stupid enough to blame them, would you?

But you're quite happy to threaten people who've backed Falmer 100% all the way and have lobbied furiously on our behalf in Westminster

 

[Fran Hagarty]

There'll be snowballs in Hell before I vote Tory

Hear, hear!

 

[Biscuit]

Blimey, Lord B, if we would win a beauty contest against the NIMBIES, what must they look like; the love children of Iain Dowie and Ann Widdicombe?

NIMBIES?

Ive heard of NIMBY'S

What does the I and E stand for?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

As long as Dick Knight and Martin Perry have had.

But you wouldn't be stupid enough to blame them, would you?

But you're quite happy to threaten people who've backed Falmer 100% all the way and have lobbied furiously on our behalf in Westminster

'Threat' is the operative word. David and Jeanne Lepper are good good people who have served the people of my neck of the woods very well for as long as I can remember. Local people, local issues. Getting pedestrian crossings put in. As Lord B rightly says, 'they really don't deserve to lose their seats at Westminster and the City Council respectively.'. But then again, we really don't deserve to lose our football club either. As somebody else said somewhere else on here, we have to exert voter pressure. It's a threat, for sure, but a threat that is fully intended to be passed onwards and upwards to where these things get decided. Which is why last night's chant was as devastating for New Labour as we could make it without resorting to unlawful means. They'd have heard it, and unless they're totally insesitive to the vibe of the thing, they should be more than a bit worried about the THREAT of mass defections to the Tories. Like most on here, I'd rather eat my own head than vote Tory, but THEY don't have to know that. It's a valid means of applying pressure to try and prevent this process being dragged on until the club dies through institutionalised inertia and starvation of funds as surely as the West Pier. And, OK, ODPM and the Labour Party may have no say over how and when the Planning people go about their business. But they sure as hell CAN do their utmost to force Lewes District Council to the Inquiry table in a timely manner, and they CAN prevent the planning report sitting in ODPM's in-tray for another six months that the Albion can ill afford.

BTW Seagulls Party for Lewes to shaft that fucker Norman Baker is a brilliant idea. The THREAT of a spoiled vote in Brighton should suffice.

 

[FG aka FOOTBALL GENIUS]

been saying for ages now VOTE TORY

 

[London Irish]

OK, ODPM and the Labour Party may have no say over how and when the Planning people go about their business. But they sure as hell CAN do their utmost to force Lewes District Council to the Inquiry table in a timely manner

I'm not being funny, but how? The planning inspectorate is a totally seperate body from both the ODPM and the Labour Party. It is the Inspectorate's decision whether they fall for the stalling tactics from Lewes. The ODPM and the LP can't "order" the Inspectorate not to.

How long the ODPM will have the inpector's report before announcing the decision will depend on how much a mess the inspector has made of the report. If it's a case of totally rejecting another inspector's report and rewriting it from scratch to favour us getting the stadium, as was very nearly the case last time, then Johnny Babes can take as much time as he needs

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

Well my MP is Tory. Somehow, I don't think Mr Soames is that interested in Falmer!

I like the idea of a Seagulls candidate in Lewes!

Buzza, read my signature. By the way, have you moved to West Hoathly yet? We need to meet for some and we could give lifts to home games.