Council candidate Graeme Lambert got 3.62% of the vote in Moorside, which the Party welcomed as a great result and a new record.

“Thank you to all those who supported me, either by talking to me and my team, offering advice or highlighting what you feel is important. I’ve enjoyed the last few weeks; it’s been hard work, but it has also been a fantastic experience meeting so many of the great people who live in Moorside,” Graeme said in a response.

“I look forward to working with you, helping resolve the problems we all face and ensuring the council acts on those issues. I hope to spend a lot of the next year doing what I can to support you and holding Bury Council accountable for what they do in our name,” he added.

Pirate Party UK Leader Loz Kaye congratulated Graeme with the result.

“Graeme’s result shows that we are competing at elections to all levels of Government; that people believe our policies are relevant; and that voters are willing to put a tick in the box next to a Pirate Party candidate,” he said.

“We truly are a party of the 21st century, and we are the only party tackling many of the vastly important issues like privacy and civil liberties in an increasingly digital age.”

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

It eventually passed with most MP’s not voting, despite a 3-line whip on the topic for the then-ruling Labour Party MPs.

The Bill passed to become the Digital Economy Act with a narrower margin than many expected given the voting instructions from the party – some had stood up for their conscience and for the facts, risking sanctions from their party.

The Act has been broken down by the Pirate Party into five sections:

1. Introduction and the Initial Obligations Code
2. Technical measures to limit Internet access
3. Subscriber appeals
4. Web-blocking
5. Other Provisions and Summary

This sort of technical guide would have been even better if made available before the vote. Passed around the Commons bar, it could have helped people who were clearly uncertain of technology or the Bill’s actual contents to make better sense of it.

For the regular everyday citizens who are now subject to this law, it’s also beneficial. A major problem with recent legislation worldwide is that it’s often impenetrable to anyone without legal training. The ability to access laws and understand them is key to those working with, and striving to improve them.

Meanwhile the Act is still not completed and final. Several UK Government departments, including OFCOM, have been delegated powers and abilities under the Act. There have been consultations (and there may be more) to address parts, and the outcomes of those will make a difference. Many people though, are probably expecting the worst.

On this topic, governments around the world have been increasingly disinterested in listening to the concerns of the citizens affected by the Act, while making policy based on the wishes of a few dozen large companies, and their anecdotal ‘evidence‘.

Of course, those that the Act was created to target will probably be the only ones not troubled by it, and that also says volumes about the quality of the law, and the futility of such laws worldwide. Not that such facts will stop things.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

This achievement motivated supporters of the Party’s ideals in other countries to become active as well. Last month the Swiss Pirate Party was founded and the Canadians are mobilizing too. In the UK the local Pirate Party hasn’t been sitting still either, quite the opposite.

Today the Pirate Party UK announced that they are officially registered at the Electoral Commission. The paperwork is done and all the bureaucracy has been dealt with, so now the party’s biggest challenge is to increase its membership.

“Now the party can really start. It’s time for us to tell the world that we exist, to recruit members, raise funds and gear up to fight the General Election,” Pirate Party Chairman, Andrew Robinson told TorrentFreak. “The officers and web team have built the framework that the party needs to get going, now it’s time for the public to make things happen,” he added.

Increasingly the UK copyright lobby is pushing politicians, ISPs and law enforcement to take action against those accused of copyright infringement. If anywhere, a Party devoted to protecting online privacy and weeding out copyright abuse is much needed in Britain. However, they can’t do much without the help of actively involved members.

“Join the party, tell the media about the party, tell your friends about the party, take part in policy and news debates on the forum, join our Facebook group, donate or set up a regular payment to provide financial support, set up a branch in your constituency, school or workplace,” Robinson suggests, emphasizing that the success of Britain’s newest party depends on its members.

All over the world the Pirate Party movement is growing, with new parties being founded every month. For those who want to get involved locally, a full list of all the parties can be found at Pirate Party International.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.