Pink Floyd founder joins Blackburn Workers Party campaign for 'truth and love'

Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters flew into Blackburn today to back Workers Party of Britain election candidate Craig Murray and tell voters this is a contest between 'socialism against barbarism'.

Before joining the former British ambassador to Uzbekistan's final rally, he said his friend's campaign was about 'truth and love'.

Mr Waters arrived by helicopter at the Stanley House Hotel in Mellor before joining Mr Murray for a walkabout in Blackburn town centre including a half-pint in The Drummer's Arms before the public meeting at Staveley House in Pickup Street.

The founder, bassist and main writer of Pink Floyd, whose album Dark Side of the Moon is the fourth largest selling of all time worldwide, spoke exclusively to the Lancashire Telegraph as a crowd gathered for the rally.

Roger Waters leaves his helicopter (Pictures Shuiab Khan)

Mr Waters said: "Craig Murray is running on a ticket of truth and love.

"All the independent candidates who are standing against Labour and the Tories are standing on a platform that is the rejection of barbarism.

"They are standing for socialism against barbarism.

"The world by and large has become an extremely barbarous place, certainly within the remit of the US empire and its vassal states which include, as we know, the United Kingdom.

"I hope my presence here will make a difference.

Roger Waters and Craig Murray at Staveley House in Blackburn"This general election really has nothing to do with making the traditional choice between the Tories and the Labour Party because they have slowly homogenised and become one and the same thing in that they have lost sight of what ordinary people need in their lives.

"What ordinary people need in their lives is community.

"It's been interesting to be here in Blackburn and talk to people and even in this short moment I have had a sense that there is a potential to return to it.

"I am very pleased to be here and the atmosphere in the street was really lovely.

"We're now in a weird place where the marketplace and neo-liberal capitalism rule and beyond that there might be a place where we start to look after one another. And that is what Craig stands for.

Craig Murray greeted Mr Waters as he arrived by helicopter

"Looking after the Palestinians is part of a more general sense that we are all brothers and sisters and that we need to look after one another and organise our society to make life better for all of us.

"It's not complicated, a bit like the situation in Israel/Palestine is not complicated since the genocide started.

"I am here in Blackburn because my friend Craig Murray and I share a very similar worldview.

"We are a fairly small but important band of brothers because we are motivated by supporting equal human rights for all our brothers and sisters all over the world irrespective of their ethnicity, religion or nationality.

"To allow the marketplace to define our lives was clearly a hideous mistake. And the other awful mistake is Zionism because it's the epitome of not respecting the human rights of others."

Mr Murray said: "I am very pleased to have Roger here and it's very good of him to come and support my campaign."

The full list of candidates on the Blackburn ballot paper is: Kate Hollern – Labour Party; Adnan Hussain - Independent; Jamie McGowan - Conservative Party; Denise Morgan - Green Party; Craig Murray – Workers Party of Britain; Tiger Patel – Independent; Natasha Shah - Independent; Tommy Temperley – Reform UK; and Adam Waller-Slack – Liberal Democrats.