In this country you are theoretically innocent until proven
guilty so there isn’t any technical reason why Craig can’t stand in the
election and as the nomination deadline for putting up a candidate has passed,
the Conservatives can’t just put up someone else, so his name will appear on
the ballot paper.
Whether people will vote for someone facing criminal charges
for election fraud is another matter altogether, and I suppose if he gets found
guilty he would have to stand down anyway.
If you are a betting type it may be worth having a little
flutter on Labour or UKIP in case the odds change, see https://www.oddschecker.com/politics/british-politics/south-thanet/winning-party
MPs in the clink isn’t entirely new here in South Thanet, I
bet Nigel Farage wishes he had stood here this time.
I may having another go at getting him to reply to me,
perhaps now this issue has passed through this particular hoop he may have time
to reply to constituents, perhaps he was worried that his view on Manston may have
impacted on the way people vote and he may not be so worried now.
Staying wiht the same theme of the last two posts, pictures from St George's Church Tower.
My own view here is that while I don’t particularly mind my
MP fighting to cut out the cancer of bent and twisted journalism in our country
with the simple sword of truth, as long as it doesn’t interfere with basic
stuff like replying to constituents, it really does annoy me when my MP ignores
his constituents, see http://thanetonline.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/thanet-south-labour-and-conservative.html
I think most local people would agree that Jonathan Aitkin
was an excellent local mp who didn’t let his Jonathan of Arabia hobby interfere
with being a good constituency MP.
As far as the law goes, well we have had a bit of an odd
time with it in Ramsgate recently, we have just lost one of the best and lowest
trouble pubs in the town because the police asked the council to withdraw its
licence.
Now the cps announcing they are going to prosecute one of our
election candidates just before the election, when it is too late for the
candidate to pull out and the announcement is bound to affect the election
result.
Here is the link to this evening's out and about in Ramsgate photos
With summer reading coming on, here is the link to the paperback fiction in the bookshop, it should mostly be cheaper than you can buy it or download it online
The timing is certainly not ideal and a strange one when you looks at the PINS decession to delay the announcement over the change of use on the SHP planning application till after the election
ReplyDeleteCPS only had the papers on McKinley shortly before the election was called thay only had a short time to act on them no conspiracy here!
ReplyDeleteThe CPS had the papers on McKinley shortly before the election was called & only had a short time to act on them, no conspiracy here!
ReplyDeleteI think it could have been easier all round if they had waited until after the election. What happens if he loses by a small amount and is acquitted, seems to me to be at least as bad as if he wins and is found guilty.
ReplyDeleteCPS Statement: CPS statement:
ReplyDelete“On 18 April we received a file of evidence from Kent Police concerning allegations relating to Conservative Party expenditure during the 2015 General Election campaign. We then asked for additional enquiries to be made in advance of the 11 June statutory time limit by when any charges needed to be authorised.
“Those enquiries have now been completed and we have considered the evidence in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.
“We have concluded there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to authorise charges against three people.
“Craig Mackinlay, 50, Nathan Gray, 28, and Marion Little, 62, have each been charged with offences under the Representation of the People Act 1983 and are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 4 July 2017.
“Criminal proceedings have now commenced and it is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”
CCHQ statement:
“The legal authorities have previously cleared Conservative candidates who faced numerous politically motivated and unfounded complaints over the Party’s national Battlebus campaigning.
“We continue to believe that this remaining allegation is unfounded. Our candidate has made clear that there was no intention by him or his campaigners to engage in any inappropriate activity. We believe that they have done nothing wrong, and we are confident that this will be proven as the matter progresses.
“The individuals remain innocent unless otherwise proven guilty in a court of law. The press, parties and those on social media should be aware of the provisions of the Contempt of Court Act and the strict liability rules against publishing anything which would prejudice the course of justice.
“There is a broad consensus that election law is fragmented, confused and unclear, with two different sets of legislation, and poor guidance from the Electoral Commission. Conservatives are committed to strengthening electoral law to tackle the real and proven cases of corruption that were exposed in Tower Hamlets in 2015.”