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Dominic Carman

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Dominic Carman
Born (1961-08-23) 23 August 1961 (age 63)
Hale, Cheshire, England
NationalityBritish
Alma materDurham University
OccupationJournalist
Political partyLiberal Democrats
Parent(s)George Carman
Cecilia Sparrow

Dominic Carman (born 23 August 1961) is a British journalist, writer and Liberal Democrat political activist.

Family

Dominic Carman was born on 23 August 1961 in Hale, Cheshire. Educated at Manchester Grammar School and Durham University, Carman is the son of barrister George Carman.[1] He wrote a biography of his father, No Ordinary Man: A Life of George Carman, which was published in 2002.[2][3][4]

Politics and anti-BNP campaigner

When he was sixteen, Carman spent three weeks as a member of the National Front in September 1977. Writing about this in The Guardian in 2010, he commented "Becoming a member was done rashly, angrily, without any thought of what it meant, or of the consequences. It was a stupid decision, undertaken with one purpose: to annoy my father." He also said "When I eventually sat down and opened National Front News, my sense of euphoric defiance ended – very abruptly", as it was filled with "hate-filled articles" about Jewish people, Holocaust denial and black and Asian immigration into Britain. "Disgusted and shocked, my stomach churned, my thoughts ran wild. So this is what they believed. Oh God, what had I done? ... I immediately resigned from the NF, less than a month after joining."[5]

In 2005, he took part in ITV's Vote for Me television programme in which the public selected an individual to stand at the next general election, losing in the final to Rodney Hylton-Potts.[6]

Carman researched an unofficial biography of British National Party leader Nick Griffin,[7] but this has not been published. Carman used his research to support his campaign as the Liberal Democrat candidate in Barking at the 2010 General Election, where he stood against Griffin.[8][9][10][11]

He contested the 2011 Barnsley Central by-election for the Liberal Democrats, coming in sixth place and losing his deposit,[12] an unusual occurrence for a candidate of a major political party in the UK.[13] In an article in the Daily Mail, Carman was critical of some of the Barnsley electorate, stating that "diversity and difference are not welcome here"; he defended his comments when interviewed by Andrew Neil on the BBC's The Politics Show.[14]

Further reading

  • Carman, Dominic (2002). No Ordinary Man: A Life of George Carman. London, UK: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. ISBN 0-340-82098-5.
  • Carman, Dominic (2013). Heads Up: The challenges facing England's leading head teachers. London, UK: Thistle Publishing. ISBN 978-1909869301.

Elections contested

UK Parliament Elections

Date of election Constituency Party Votes %
2010 United Kingdom general election Barking Liberal Democrat 3,719 8.2
2011 Barnsley Central by-election Barnsley Central Liberal Democrat 1,012 4.2

References

  1. ^ "George Carman QC dies", The Guardian, 2 January 2001.
  2. ^ "George Carman: The Bar's 'silver fox'". BBC. 2 January 2001. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
  3. ^ Peter Preston "Not so gorgeous George", The Observer, 27 January 2002.
  4. ^ Dominic Carman Dealing with Dad, The Guardian, 16 November 2002
  5. ^ Dominic Carman: What made me join the National Front?, guardian.co.uk; accessed 29 September 2014.
  6. ^ Maurice Chittenden, "'Comedy fascist' is viewers' choice in TV election", timesonline.co.uk, 16 January 2005.
  7. ^ Burns, John F. (24 October 2009). "Rightist on BBC Panel Draws Protests and Viewers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  8. ^ Dominic Carman>Liberal Democrat, Barking Archived 31 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine The Daily Telegraph
  9. ^ Duffett, Helen (12 February 2011). "Dominic Carman selected as Liberal Democrat candidate for Barnsley Central by-election". Liberal Democrat Voice.
  10. ^ "Immigration tops the agenda for Barking constituency". BBC News. 13 April 2010.
  11. ^ Whitehead, Tom (7 April 2010). "General Election 2010: BNP leader Nick Griffin accused of advocating violence". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235.
  12. ^ "Lib Dems slump to sixth as Labour win Barnsley poll". BBC News. 4 March 2011.
  13. ^ Brant, Robin (4 March 2011). "Barnsley Central by-election: Lib Dems 'humiliated'". BBC News Online. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  14. ^ "Lib Dem by-election loser Dominic Carman's attack on Barnsley". BBC. 9 March 2011.
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