Blackburn

: This article is about Blackburn in Lancashire, England. For other uses of the name, see Blackburn (disambiguation).

Politics

For general election results, see Blackburn (UK Parliament constituency).

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Blackburn is administered by Blackburn with Darwen Unitary Authority, which has been controlled by the Labour Party since 1945. Blackburn sends one MP to Westminster, the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw. Previous MPs for Blackburn include former Labour cabinet minister Barbara Castle, who represented the town in Westminster from 1945 to 1979.

Related Topics:
Blackburn with Darwen - Unitary Authority - Labour Party - 1945 - MP - Westminster - Foreign Secretary - Jack Straw - Barbara Castle - 1979

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In 2005, allegations of vote-rigging and corruption began to grow around the Labour controlled council. A local councillor, Muhammed Hussain, was jailed for rigging an election by stealing postal vote ballots. Straw was challenged in the 2005 general election by his former employee and British ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray. Murray stood for election in the seat of Blackburn on a platform of opposition to the war in Iraq and electoral corruption. The anti-war vote was split, however, and Jack Straw was returned with a comfortable majority of over 8,000.

Related Topics:
Postal vote ballots - 2005 general election - Uzbekistan - Craig Murray - Seat of Blackburn - War in Iraq

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