British Comedy Guide

Vote-rigging at Peterborough?

According to press reports, Tariq Mahmood who in 2008 was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for rigging postal votes in Peterborough, was wearing a red rosette at the vote-count in Peterborough and had previously been photographed enjoying the company of both Jeremy Corbyn and the eventual by-election winner, Lisa Forbes.

Mr Mahmood is said to be influential among Peterborough's non-Caucasian community and that community is close to 40,000 strong.

Nice vote if you can get it!

Figures from the Electoral Commission show that over the last few elections in Peterborough, there have been literally hundreds of reports of vote rigging - not least in connection with the election of subsequently disgraced Labour MP Fiona Onasanya, who was pictured grinning widely at 'her' vote count as she stood next to Tariq Mahmood.

Allegations are that the alleged frauds were not confined to bribery and postal vote rigging but that they also included voter-intimidation, verbal abuse and physical violence on a not-inconsiderable scale.

I don't trust boats. They're rigged.

Election-related opinion polls sometimes come in for a lot of stick - especially when the actual result is as much as 3% different from the predicted result.

Interesting, therefore is it not that Labour's share of the Peterborough vote was predicted, on the basis of opinion polls, to be around 20% but the actual share was in excess of 30%?

The result, therefore, was not 3% different from the prediction - it was a whopping 50% different!

The result of such an anomaly is not simply that many people think left-wing extremists are taking over the country, it's also that many people come to believe that an extreme left-wing must, in the names of justice and self-preservation, be balanced by an equally extreme right wing.

In the 1980s, the expression "Rock on, Tommy!" was very popular.

I have a feeling it'll be more popular than ever in the 2020s.

Quote: Rood Eye @ 9th June 2019, 11:35 AM

Mr Mahmood is said to be influential among Peterborough's non-Caucasian community and that community is close to 40,000 strong.

Peterborough has an electorate of 70,000 and is only 17% BAME. That would put the non-white vote at around 12,000. You're probably thinking of the city of Peterborough, not the constituency.

Even if it were higher though, what would it matter? Dog whistling about the subject as if the non-white vote is less legitimate or making up stories about someone rigging the vote just seems like damage control from the supporters of a party who had a (very) good chance here and still couldn't get a seat.

Quote: Rood Eye @ 9th June 2019, 2:17 PM

Believe me, I wouldn't want to cheat Tariq Mahmood and his gang out of a tenner

Why would he risk an audit trail by paying £10 when he could just demand it ? This is assuming "Tiny Temper Tariq" is as scary as you say. Especially when you say, he has a previous conviction for (scary) voter's fraud ? Rood, have you thought this one through ? :P

Quote: jsg @ 9th June 2019, 2:43 PM

as if the non-white vote is less legitimate

I don't think anybody is complaining about the ethnicity of the corrupt voters or the ethnicity of the voters who were dead at the time they allegedly cast their votes.

However, if I hear about any such complaints, I'll let you know.

Quote: Firkin @ 9th June 2019, 2:52 PM

Why would he risk an audit trail by paying £10, when he could just demand it (assuming "Tiny Temper Tariq" is as scary as you say) ? Especially, when you say, he has a previous conviction for (scary) voter's fraud ? Rood, have you thought this one through ? :P

I don't think there's very much risk of an audit trail as I very much doubt that the £10 payments were made by cheque or by bank transfer.

I don't know how many of the bent voters were paid £10 but, as any gangster worth his salt will tell you, if you need somebody's cooperation and can buy it for £10, it makes little sense to waste time and manpower employing strong-arm tactics.

It appears from reports that a great many voters were delivered to polling stations in people carriers and/or other capacious vehicles yet seemed to have no idea what they were supposed to do once they got there. Needless to say, the burly driver of the vehicle was on hand to instruct them with regard to the British electoral system.

Quote: Rood Eye @ 9th June 2019, 3:02 PM

delivered to polling stations in people carriers

Oh no the middle class mafia ! Corbyn's gang land name would be "Mr Squeaky". "Do as you are told, or I'get Dianna Abbot to lean on you !"

Tebbit's still maintains his number one hard man reputation and Thatcher will always be a number two.

Of course the other explanation could be the bus service isn't what it use to be.

I think the bussing of people, paid or otherwise, to the polling stations is probably the least of it.

The most of it (see what I did there?) concerns the surprisingly large number of postal votes.

It's politics - as bent today as it's always been!

I think we have a consolidated conspiracy theory thread for this kind of thing.

Quote: chipolata @ 9th June 2019, 4:31 PM

I think we have a consolidated conspiracy theory thread for this kind of thing.

You are correct, Chip!

It's actually called "The all in one conspiracy theory thread" and, until this very moment, I didn't know it existed.

Mind you, in my defence I must say it's keeping something of a low profile - the last post was in 2014.

Please be assured that all my future conspiracy theories will be posted to that thread.

Please be assured also that such postings will concern only conspiracies among white, heterosexual males. I have now learned that to suggest that people who fall outside that group are in any way capable of wrongdoing will result in various BCG members dressed in football referee kits running towards me shouting loudly, blowing whistles and waving cards of one or sort or another. Laughing out loud

And you commandeered my post to make it all about your googled and regurgitated opinions.

Quote: Rood Eye @ 9th June 2019, 4:38 PM

You are correct, Chip!

It's actually called "The all in one conspiracy theory thread" and, until this very moment, I didn't know it existed.

Mind you, in my defence I must say it's keeping something of a low profile - the last post was in 2014.

Please be assured that all my future conspiracy theories will be posted to that thread.

Please be assured also that such postings will concern only conspiracies among white, heterosexual males. I have now learned that to suggest that people who fall outside that group are in any way capable of wrongdoing will result in various BCG members dressed in football referee kits running towards me shouting loudly, blowing whistles and waving cards of one or sort or another. Laughing out loud

Don't pretend you don't love it! It panders to your innate sense of victimhood. I'd go so far as to say most of your posts are created, somewhat cynically, for exactly this response. ;)

Quote: Stephen Goodlad @ 9th June 2019, 5:19 PM

And you commandeered my post

Not at all, Stephen.

Having seen your post elsewhere on the forum and having decided that the subject was of sufficient importance to merit its own thread, I quoted your post so as to give you credit for having been the first person to mention the subject on BCG.

However, as you believe your post to have been "commandeered", I have done you the further courtesy of removing it.

Quote: chipolata @ 9th June 2019, 5:22 PM

It panders to your innate sense of victimhood.

I dare you to say that to or about a member of any other oppressed group who writes about the woes his/her people have suffered historically and/or suffer at the present time in history.

Go on - I dare you!

Quote: Rood Eye @ 9th June 2019, 5:45 PM

I dare you to say that to or about a member of any other oppressed group who writes about the woes his/her people have suffered historically and/or suffer at the present time in history.

Go on - I dare you!

Are they real woes? Or are they like yours, just pretend woes that aren't really proper woes at all? Because I judge woes on a woe by woe basis.

Quote: chipolata @ 9th June 2019, 6:07 PM

Are they real woes? Or are they like yours, just pretend woes that aren't really proper woes at all?

All oppressed groups believe their woes are real.

Equally, lots of people outside those groups believe those people's woes are not real or, even if they are real, are not "proper" woes worthy of serious consideration.

Just pick an oppressed group in modern day society and make a statement here on BCG that the woes of which they complain are entirely imaginary or, even if they are real, are so trivial as to be unworthy of serious consideration and that they complain solely to pander to their innate sense of victimhood.

Go on - I know you can do it!

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