WESSEX
NLP IN WESSEX
1997 Report
(NLP WESSEX LOCAL PAGE)
January 1998
1997 proved to be an exciting year for the Natural Law Party in Wessex - running eight candidates in the general election followed by a brilliant campaign by Rosemary Barry in the Winchester by-election in November.
1997 General Election in Wessex
Winchester by-election
Both during the elections and outside the last twelve months have proved to be a breakthrough year for the local party in terms of press coverage across Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, with almost three hours in total of broadcast coverage on radio and TV - a remarkable achievement for such a new party in an age which usually focuses on 20 second sound bites.
Coverage in the print media has been even more extensive with, at the beginning of 98, the party making the lead front page story of the Dorchester Guardian with its support for Iceland Foods' ban on genetically engineered foods. In addition media coverage in the region has covered defence, Europe, natural medicine, prison reform, transport, environment, architecture, town and country planning, and education. The Dorset Evening Echo 28th July ran its main editorial on the NLP's proposals to neutralise local, national and international stress points, such as Bosnia and Northern Ireland, by establishing large groups practising Transcendental Meditation and Yogic Flying.
Highly successful presentations were made to sixth form students at Bryanston School in Blandford, and the Grammar school in Portsmouth. Such was the reception that when the Grammar School held its own mock election during the general election the Natural Law Party won! The party has been invited to give another presentation at the school in the next few weeks. The NLP also played such a major part in the cross-party national campaign meeting of "Sovereign Britain" in Sherborne in the autumn that it was responsible for two of the three motions adopted at the end of the meeting.
Although the party has yet to start winning substantial numbers of votes in the UK (a number of NLP candidates have been successfully elected to local and regional government in Europe) the effect of the party on the thinking of the other parties is clear. During the general election a candidate from one of the main parties who was successfully elected and has been in politics for more than 20 years, said to his NLP colleague: "Whenever I hear you talk about Natural Law I realise that if I wasn't in all this [career politics] I'd be with you." That MP is now helping the party with its campaign against genetically modified foods.
Finally, an important step in the evolution of the party in Wessex in 1997 has been the establishment of the Natural Law Party Wessex internet site. The internet is becoming an increasingly powerful medium. It is the only one where a new party with limited resources has the same opportunity to put out its message to the public as the longer established parties with larger funding. As more and more people become connected to the internet the use of the Wessex site is becoming the ideal way for local supporters and anyone interested in keeping abreast of the activities and platform of the NLP to keep up to date.
The Wessex site is designed to give users access to information about the party, at international, national, - and most importantly - local levels. By the end of 1997 the site itself extended to over 40 pages, with links to hundreds more across the UK and the globe (now that the party is established in over 60 countries around the world).
A special feature of the site is a regularly updated news section on NLP activities, and a supplementary section covering world events and news of particular significance in a period when society at all levels throughout the world is undergoing huge change.
The site can be found by using the official URL, or by typing "Natural Law Party Wessex" into the Yahoo search engine.
http://www.btinternet.com/~nlpwessex
The regional office of the Wessex Natural Law Party can be contacted by telephone on 01962 852122 or by email at
