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<br>
FYI, the PPUK leader is standing in next month's parliamentary<br>
by-election.<br>
<br>
Wish us luck!<br>
<br>
- -------- Original Message --------<br>
Subject: Pirate Party UK statement: Pirate Party UK enters
Oldham<br>
East and Saddleworth by-election<br>
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:34:06 +0000<br>
From: PPUK Press Office <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:press@pirateparty.org.uk"><press@pirateparty.org.uk></a><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
This is a press release from the Pirate Party UK.<br>
<br>
It is available online here: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://ppuk.it/press">http://ppuk.it/press</a>.<br>
It can be downloaded in PDF format here: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://ppuk.it/6s">http://ppuk.it/6s</a>.<br>
<br>
****** Pirate Party UK enters Oldham East and Saddleworth
by-election<br>
******<br>
<br>
The Pirate Party UK today announces their intent to stand a
candidate<br>
in the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election. Loz Kaye, the
Pirate<br>
Party UK leader, will campaign on a platform promoting freedom of<br>
speech and government transparency.<br>
<br>
"People are fed up of politicians that promise one thing, then
do<br>
another. It is vital that we can hold our representatives to
account,<br>
and I support the rights of whistleblowers to keep citizens
informed.<br>
We are the only party which has had the courage to openly support<br>
Wikileaks, and we will continue to fight for the freedom of speech
and<br>
of the press that are required in a functioning representative<br>
democracy."<br>
<br>
Laurence "Loz" Kaye (40) is a professional composer and musical<br>
director, currently teaching at the Liverpool Institute of
Performing<br>
Arts. He has been highly critical of the 'chilling effect' that<br>
existing copyright law has on composers' ability both to write
music<br>
that truly reflects modern society and to get their music widely
heard<br>
and appreciated.<br>
<br>
"Freedom of information on the Internet should be a
fundamental<br>
right in the 21st century. Sadly, the media industries continue to<br>
push for ever more restrictive laws to combat so-called 'piracy',<br>
ignoring the impact on the important freedoms that make our
society<br>
work. Remember how the Labour government claimed that
anti-terrorism<br>
investigation powers were to be only used against terrorists, but
then<br>
used them to spy on people who put the wrong things in their bins?<br>
These powers to monitor and censor information on the Internet can
too<br>
easily be mis-used in even worse ways."<br>
<br>
The Pirate Party UK, which has recently announced its support for
the<br>
'Yes to AV' voting reform campaign, is critical of the short
timetable<br>
set for the election. "This schedule seems designed to minimize
voter<br>
engagement," says Peter Brett, the Pirate Party's Campaigns
Officer.<br>
"With the shortest possible campaigning period, along with the
large<br>
overlap with the Christmas and New Year holiday periods, this<br>
timetable will prevent many voters from hearing from candidates
and<br>
will make it hard for candidates to put forward their case for<br>
election. Have the Lib Dems purposefully arranged for the local<br>
student population to be out of the area?"<br>
<br>
"We have all seen how little the coalition's much-touted 'big
society'<br>
agenda and 'commitment to electoral reform means in practice,'"
states<br>
Loz Kaye. "If they cannot even ensure that a by-election is
carried<br>
out in a fair and balanced way, their other electoral promises in
this<br>
area seem even more suspect."<br>
<br>
Meanwhile, the Pirate Party will be continuing to press for
government<br>
transparency and accountability, and is one of the few parties
afraid<br>
of neither.<br>
<br>
<br>
****************************<br>
<br>
For more information on the Pirate Party, please visit our website<br>
(<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.pirateparty.org.uk">http://www.pirateparty.org.uk</a>). If you wish to receive press
statements<br>
from the Party at an alternate address, or no longer wish to
receive<br>
them, please email the Press Office.<br>
<br>
Press Office<br>
Pirate Party UK<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/press">http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/press</a><br>
<br>
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