Monday 2 August 2010

REFERENDUM PARTY an adventure in politics (1997)



At the General Election in 1997 I stood as the Referendum Party candidate for the constituency of Knowsley South near Liverpool. I came to be candidate after answering an ad in a national newspaper appealing for candidates to come forward. The Referendum Party was the pet and brain child of the splendid and noble Sir James Goldsmith. Sir James funded the campaigns of all the candidates to a generous degree. I arrived on the scene at late notice, so it was a big learning curve for me. I didnt know the area at all. knowsley South contains Huyton which is Harold Wilson's old seat. The incumbent MP was Eddie O'Hara who sat on a comfortable majority of 30,000 odd votes. On the day, the good people of Knowsley trusted me with 974 votes of which I am proud. That date, the 2nd of May 1997, saw the advent of the disasterous premierships of Tony Blair followed by Gordon Brown.

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