I will be forever in Ed's debt. When I pitched up in Blackburn, cold and friendless, to make a stand against Jack Straw, he read about me in the local paper, turned up and became my campaign manager. He had enormous dynamism and fantastic managerial skills. If we managed as independents to prise out 2,000 votes from this most corrupt of NuLab rotten boroughs, which has officially the third lowest educational achievement in England, it was entirely due to Ed's ingenuity.

We were both stunned by the obstacles put in our way. I was not aloowed to take part in candidates' hustings hosted by the Churches. I was banned from a Radio 4 Blackburn candidates' debate. I was not given the legally obliged access to public owned meeting rooms. The local Post Office didn't start delivering my electoral addresses until the day before polling. I could go on. Ed fought and fought with relentless energy, and never let it depress him.

The full name of his blog - Postman Patel and His Dog Jack - was a reference to Lord Patel, Jack Straw's other corrupt Blackburn peer besides Lord Taylor of Blackburn. Lord Patel was dubbed "Postman Patel" by Ed because of his tight gripped control over Blackburn's Muslim Community, used to farm postal ballots for New Labour. Blackburn had the highest incidence of postal voting in the UK - three times the UK average. That is why Lord Patel is a Lord.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Patel

The reward system for corrupt cronies is of course why Gordon Brown is so adamantly against a democratic House of Lords. The suspension of Lord Taylor for corruption was not an aberration. Corruption is the purpose of the unelected chamber, as far as New Labour are concerned.

So that is why Ed was Postman Patel - and his dog Jack should be obvious to you now too (though he seems to have dropped off the blog heading latterly).

So please, go to Ed's blog and just savour for a while a unique and courageous voice. Much missed, I hope by all the blogosphere, of whatever political view.