IN THE FIRING LINE......

Sadly, I have come to the conclusion that this blog is in its dog days. I set up Grimmer Up North nearly three years ago and the problem is that I can no longer really do what I intended to do when I set it up. So, pretty shortly, I am going to close it down.
It's been an interesting few years involving campaigns for an election for Labour Party Leader ( that never happened) . several Parliamentary selections , a year of activity locally as Mayor and of course more general observations on the political scene.
Today I was speaking in LRC Vice-Chair capacity at the RMT's conference on the crisis of working- class representation in London . I knew it would not get an easy ride - I was right.
People clapped politely but for the most part they were all fired up with the far more enticing prospect of a New Workers' Party/ Socialist Alliance at the next election and obviously I wasn't going down that road. The speeches, by Joe Higgins, Bob Crow, and Pat Sikorski, were absolutely brlliant and their rhetorical skills stunning but the conclusions?.
The problem is that if you start believing , as one Socialist Party comrade clearly did, that a one per cent share of the vote ( which is what No2EU got) is some kind of victory for socialism then it's a parallel universe you're living in.
The hard truth is that minority candidates get minority votes. And maybe the electoral system needs to change to give more people more of a say but we are where we are.And that is facing the prospect of a Tory Government and a resurgence of the right - not socialist utopia .
The LRC attracts criticism from the far left for focussing on retaining socialist Labour representation in Parliament and most of the audeince clearly wanted no truck with Labour at all . But I hope I made my case and thanks to the RMT for the invite to the LRC. So why the prpblem with the blog?
If they are to work, have to be individual, quirky, and fearless. They also only thrive on regular posts. And as I now have some extremely welcome journalistic work , I'm finding it increasingly difficult to keep the whole thing going. Though I would hope to continue contribute to the official LRC website , LabourHome etc
I will keep everyone informed about the LRC Conference and maybe one or two other things to come. But after that, Grimmer Up North may be taking a well-earned holiday. And, with the prospect of some money coming in after an extremely difficult year, hopefully so will I.