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Just 7,500 smoking voters can wipe out Labour's Commons majority
Charles Clarke releases 'doomsday list' of Labour MPs at risk
Peter Thurgood 25th March 2008
A former cabinet minister has circulated a "doomsday list" of Labour MPs at risk of losing their seats if fewer than 7,500 voters switch sides.
Charles Clarke, the former home secretary, warns that because of boundary changes the party needs to lose only 24 seats, predominantly in London and the southeast, to be stripped of its overall majority.
This will happen if just 7,417 people in the 24 seats who voted Labour at the last election vote next time for the party that came second.
Clarke points out that a disproportionate number of these marginals are in north Kent and Essex, prompting MPs to dub the next election the Battle for Bluewater after the giant shopping centre near Dartford.
In most of the seats, the Tory party is the main challenger.
See full article here: Http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/doomsdaymemo.pdf
The Government say that there are approximately 15 million smokers in the UK. I think this is a very low estimate, which in reality is something more like 20 to 25 million.
Nevertheless, whatever the figure, it is still a substantial number of people, all of whom have the right to vote.
Imagine what would happen if all those smokers stood together as a political force, and demanded rights for smokers. Even the lowest figure, of just 15 million, could decide the outcome of the next General Election.
As we all know, smokers have had all their human rights taken away from them, and have been victimised by this Government. In their manifesto, New Labour declared that they were considering a ban on smoking in bars or pubs where food was sold, but they were adamant that a total ban in all indoor public places, was out of the question.
New Labour's record on broken promises is however, only too well known, and as we all now know, this promise was not only broken, but enhanced upon, until there is hardly any place left for a person to smoke. The law, as it stands, states that indoor public places are out of bounds to smokers, but how they define "public" is another thing. How on earth can a "private" club, be classed as public?
When the vote was taken in Parliament, the figures were as follows:
Voting figures for a total ban was as follows:
220 English Labour MPs
45 English Conservative MPs
32 Liberal MPs
1 Independent MP
TOTAL 298 English MPs
Scottish MPs 42
Welsh MPs 33
N.Ireland 11
MPs that voted against a total ban:
44 English Labour MPs
125 English Conservative MPs
6 English Liberal MPs
TOTAL 175 English MPs
Scottish MPs 7
Welsh 1
From a total of 644 MPs, there were 76 abstentions.
The figures show very clearly, that Labour MPs made up the very large majority voting for a total ban, while the Conservatives as a whole, voted against this.
On Thursday 1st May 2008, we will be given the chance to vote in the Local Elections, as well as the London Mayoral election.
This will be the "smokers" chance to show this Government, our local Council, and our London Mayor, exactly what we think of them.
We need to make our voice heard now, louder and clearer than ever. The party who offers to amend the smoking ban, and allow both smoking and non smoking establishments to prosper, side by side, will get our vote.
There are just five weeks to go until polling day. All smokers and smoking rights campaign groups, need to start their own individual campaigns immediately. We need to write to our local MPs, to text them, to email them, to petition them, to speak to them personally, if possible.
The message must be got across. NO SMOKE - NO VOTE, NO SMOKE - NO VOTE, NO SMOKE - NO VOTE, NO SMOKE - NO VOTE.