CAN LABOUR SURVIVE IN THE CALDER VALLEY?

I was down in London yesterday for a meeting of the LRC's National Committee and discussing Parliamentary selections. A well-intentioned comrade said to me, if you put in the work, you will get selected. I disagree rather in the light of my own experiences but this was certainly true in the case of Calder Valley's Janet Oosthuysen, who was selected after a hard contest only to be unendorsed in the light of stories which appeared in the media which the NEC judged would harm Labour's chances at the General Election. We said they were wrong.
I've blogged at length about the reasons why, so I will not repeat them again. Suffice to say my Branch lobbied the NEC and several individuals also made complaints- to no avail.
Today, the Mail On Sunday is running a quite separate story about our current PPC , Steph Booth. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the matter, it should be investigated by the NEC as a matter of urgency.
Calder Branch Labour Party has a public meeting on Thursday at the Hole In The Wall pub in Hebden Bridge on the general topic of the General Election. I hope Party members and non-Party members locally will turn up and tell us what they think.

ASHAMED? NO

Charles Clarke said earlier this week he was "ashamed" to be a Labour MP.Let me make one thing clear. I'm still proud to be a Labour councillor and proud also of my comrades in Calder Valley who are exemplary in fighting for fairness and social justice.
Tonight, I did my last official gig as Town Mayor and we're going to make my £4000 target to raise money for the local hospice. It's a real achievement for which I profoundly thank all the members of my local community who have contributed. I just wish the powers-that-be in the Regional Labour Party and NEC had listened to our voices. We would not be in the mess we are currently in if they had. To win this seat at the next General Election, we needed grassroots activists rooted in the community.

WHAT HAPPENED IN CALDER VALLEY

As this is now in the public domain via the local press I just want to post some thoughts on the fact that the Calder Valley selection is now going to be totally re-run.
The first is that a highly marginal constituency now faces a Herculean task in hanging on at the next election. The second is that individuals who opposed our elected candidate, Janet Oosthuysen, deliberately and wilfully went to the media with disparaging remarks and personal allegations which were utterly groundless. The third is that the NEC took six months to decide not to endorse her. Which means that a whole two years after our MP announced she was standing down we do not have a candidate in place. It is an absolutely appalling fiasco which has led many members just to walk away and/or consider resigning from the Party.
I'm glad to say that Janet is not one of them. And neither am I.
Our CLP is having a meeting with NEC members next week and I will be raising all my concerns then. The biggest sadness in all of this is that our constituency is utterly torn asunder and that we have lost much of the support which would have enabled us to win. It is not a result which any of us , particularly those of us who stayed quiet in the hope that justice would prevail, and that the NEC would support us, wanted.

JANET OF THE FIVE TOWNS......

Great news from Calder Valley, where LRC member and steadfast grassroots campagner Janet Oosthuysen has now won FIVE branch nominations for PPC. As I have said before, the only chance for us in this constituency is a Real Labour candidate who can win votes back from the disaffected and disillisioned. Not there yet - but we'll get there. Why? Because she's head and shoulders above the opposition.

RUNNERS AND RIDERS IN CALDER VALLEY

The selection process for Calder Valley is about to start and we now have the list of names of the local contenders who have put themselves forward. They are Kerry May (GMB) Jane Lewis(AMICUS/UNITE) Steph Booth and Janet Oosthuysen. In the interests of fairness and good relations with my CLP colleagues, I will not be commenting further on this until a decision has been made. However, I have already made my preference clear.

Janet Oosthuysen, who four weeks ago almost WON a council seat from the Liberal Democrats, is by far the best candidate for the task. Not only does she work and campaign tirelessly, she is a committed socialist with Real Labour values. She is also a mum with teenage kids who unlike other politicians doesn't have to give patronising lectures about "hard working families." because she is part of one and knows exactly what life is like at the sharp end. Good luck Janet. We'll be working hard to try and get that selection through. Because the only way we can win this seat again is with a Labour Left - not New Labour - candidate.