TIME TO RE-BUILD THE PLP

Five days after the NEC made encouraging noises, we are back in an untenable situation where there is seemingly one rule for backbenchers who have milked the system, and another for Cabinet Ministers.
While Ian Gibson, Ben Chapman, Shahid Malik et al fall on their swords, the likes of Hazel Blears strut around and say they have done nothing wrong and are doing a "great job." This despite the fact Brown said her behaviour was "totally unacceptable." Even more bizarrely, he has also exonerated James Purnell and Geoff Hoon despite the huge question marks still hanging over their conduct. It could well be he does not to get rid of such high-profile figures but frankly the longer they stay in office the worse it will be for the Labour Party and the Prime Minister should be seen to be absolutely even-handed.
At the moment, that just isn't happening. The Prime Minister has to realise that a root-and-branch clear-out of the transgressors is the only way of re-gaining trust and credibility. Yes it will be embarrassing and unpleasant but Hoon, Purnell and Blears need to be at the very least out of the Cabinet and then disciplined in the same way any other MP is facing in the light of the revelations. With the June elections only a few weeks away, the dithering has to stop. It's time to re-build the PLP .It is simply unacceptable that Cabinet members continue in office while owning up to tax avoidance and other abuses of an expenses system which has been greeted with disbelief and disgust by an increasingly angry electorate.

CABINET MEMBERS SHOULD NOT ESCAPE SANCTIONS..

Ian Gibson is standing down as he has transgressed the rules - likewise Ben Chapman. Can someone explain to me why Blears, Purnell and Hoon are still in the Cabinet. If we are going to discipline MPs, it should be a level playing field......a few backbench scapegoats just won't cut it. If we have to re-build the PLP, let's start at the top

NOT ENOUGH- IS MESSAGE TO NEC

Had my reservations re yesterday's NEC- confirmed by e-mail ( see below) from the original instigators of the letter which I signed in personal capacity.And Hazel Blears's breathtaking dismissal of the PM's view what she had done was "totally unacceptable." Quite frankly, we need to keep the pressure up.........add your voice at necletter@hotmail.co.uk
Dear Friends,

We just wanted to write to thank you for taking the time to sign our letter submitted to today's NEC meeting. It took a lot of courage to sign a letter that would inevitably fall into the public domain and be discussed by the Party leadership.

Particular Thanks
We would particularly like to thank members of Labour Party Staff who stood with us in this effort, understandably they were unable to join us as signatories, but showed their support in the form of texts and private emails.

We sincerely thank the leading political blogs, Labourlist (http://www.labourlist.org/), Labourhome (http://www.labourhome.org/) and Liberal Conspiracy (http://www.liberalconspiracy.org/) for their enthusiastic coverage and by encouraging our Party members to sign up. We would urge you to regularly read these blogs and add your voices to the debates that will undoubtedly continue to take place.

Where we are now
As of this evening, more than 200 Parliamentary Candidates, Party Officers, Councillors, former staff and other loyal activists from across the UK, have jointly signed today’s letter to the NEC, calling for our leadership to put the reputation and wellbeing of the Labour Party before the interests of a minority of MPs, who have let our movement down.

While undoubtedly well-meaning, we feel that the proposals stated today by our Prime Minister, and agreed by our NEC, lack the necessary teeth to help restore our Party's credibility with hard working members of the public.

In particular we are concerned that:

An MP will not face sanction by the Party if they remained within Parliamentary rules - no matter how publicly damaging their expense claims may have been.

Constituency Labour Parties remain unable to take action to challenge those MPs who have brought the Party into disrepute, without a system of approvals first from the leadership

We therefore reiterate our call to the NEC to:

Organise a thorough review of suspected excessive and abusive claims - regardless of whether they were eventually signed off by an over-worked Fees Office.

Support the immediate removal of the whip from individual MPs who have brought the party into disrepute over this issue and allow CLPs to trigger reselection ballots against them.

We therefore also ask that you encourage fellow activists to add their signatures to our letter, which will remain open until the situation has fundamentally changed.

Labour Party activists have once again come together to take a principled stance on one of the most important issues in modern politics. We are proud to be part of the Labour movement and all fellow signatories clearly remain loyal servants and inspiring champions of our Party.

Thank you for terrific support and we will keep you updated.

In solidarity,

Cllr. Richard Bingley
(Former Labour Party Press Officer)

Fred Grindrod
(National Policy Forum and Former Parliamentary Candidate)

Beryl Milnes
(Former Chair of Hemel Hempstead CLP)

Tom Flynn
(Labour Parliamentary Candidate)

RESTORING ORDER

My silence re yesterday's events was down to the fact I was in London for a meeting of the Centre Left Grassroots Alliance, which discussed the developments on de-selection of MPs.
The Special Endorsement Panel will, in the interests of sorting this almighty mess out, now review all cases where MPs have behaved badly and broken the rules, or the spirit of the rules. The remit is rather vague and possibly strewn with difficulties but it is a start - though I would have preferred the NEC to take up the call for trigger ballots and allowing CLPs to make their own decisions. I understand the first two casualties are likely to be David Chaytor and Elliott Morley. How many more will follow is anyone's guess but if there is justice then cases like Margaret Moran and Hazel Blears must surely be looked at. I have my doubts whether a sub-group of the NEC is sufficiently independent to make the right decisions but broadly speaking, the tough line which has already seen the departure of the Speaker must be welcomed. But he should not be the sole scapegoat for others' misdemeanours......

BLIND LOYALTY WILL NOT SORT THIS OUT....

http://www.labourhome.org/story/2009/5/17/191649/675

Earlier today, I was asked to put my name to a letter which will be put on the table at tomorrow's NEC and I was happy to do so. The text of it is at the link above and it calls for steps to be taken to ensure MPs who have transgressed the rules to be held to account- and if necessary de-selected.
In extreme circumstances, extreme measures are called for and it won't do the Party any good at all if this is swept under the carpet. But it would seem CLPs are already closing ranks and expressing "unanimous" support for MPs who frankly don't deserve it. Channel 4 News just announced, for example, that Margaret Moran's CLP has just backed her. Yet Moran has been cited as one of the worst offenders. In the long-term interests of the Labour Party, activists have a duty to ensure the appropriate action is taken, and thoroughly investigate the accusations, before reaching any conclusions. Supportive, or otherwise. Blind loyalty, however well-meant, will only make a bad situation worse - and do nothing to boost our standing with the electorate.

SPEAKER IGNORES CALLS TO QUIT

Valiant Pendle Labour MP Gordon Prentice was apparently among the Parliamentarians urging the Speaker to quit amid astonishing scenes this afternoon. No surprise, really that he did not. Such intransigence in the face of overwhelming opposition will not be helpful to any hopes of restoring faith in the House Of Commons. He should listen to the voices urging him to go- and do it.
It speaks volumes that Gordon Brown refused to back him

ESTHER RANTZEN TO STAND AS MP?

A bit of light relief in our current travails - the BBC reports that Esther Rantzen is considering standing against Margaret Moran in Luton as an independent on a "no expenses" ticket. She's hardly Martin Bell and what is more I seem to recall Esther once being a very enthusiastic Tory. Maybe her fellow I'm A Celebrity contestant Jordan will throw her hat in the ring. ........in which case Moran just might be in serious trouble

WELL DONE TERESA IN ERITH AND THAMESMEAD

Last night I e-mailed Teresa Pearce to wish her well in Erith and Thamesmead. I think the result there is a glimmer of hope amid the miasma surrounding Westminster. Activists were not fooled by glossy brochures, famous connections and all the spin we have come to associate with New Labour.
The intervention of local MP John Austin also undoubtedly helped and he is to be applauded for coming down so fairly and squarely on the side of local candidates - not people trying to parachute themselves in to a safe Labour seat with the help of the great and the good.
In Calder Valley, as is widely known, many Party members had concerns about the selection process recently and the fact that our previous PPC was not endorsed because of underhand and despicable means which included libellous allegations and Party members disparaging her both publicly and to the NEC
Our more recent concerns regarding allegations in the media were expressed at a Calder Branch meeting last week which unanimously called on the NEC to carry out a full investigation before finally endorsing Stephenie Booth. The relevant NEC members have chosen not to. Time will tell the wisdom of this decision. But what I can say is I will be raising it on Tuesday after the NEC meeting, at a gathering of the Centre Left Grassroots Alliance, when I will personally ask Ann Black to justify it. And, if necessary, come to the constituency and explain it.

FORMER CALDER VALLEY PPC SUSPENDED

The BBC and Sky News are now reporting that David Chaytor, a former Parliamentary candidate for Calder Valley and now MP for Bury North, has been suspended from the PLP in relation to claims for a non-existent mortgage. It is alleged he claimed £13,000 in payments which were not needed........he describes it as "an unforgivable error." I think the general public may take a rather different view. Gordon Brown has to act - and act fast - to stop this already scandalous scenario completely destroying the credibility of most Mps who I believe have not transgressed the rules. He is right to suspend both Mr Chaytor , Elliott Morley and relieve Shahid Malik from his Ministerial role while investigations are carried out. But what of Jacqui Smith and Hazel Blears?

DEBATE ON MP'S ' EXPENSES

I had a white-knuckle taxi ride to Leeds last night to take part in a discussion on MPs ' expenses. Last night's programme is here........


http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00k871r/The_World_Tonight_15_05_2009/

ARROGANCE BEYOND BELIEF

I've just been watching Look North on the telly. My TV is a clapped-out old thing that used to belong to my dad and I have been meaning to replace it for ages, A couple of hundred quid should get me a decent flat-screen model which will suffice for my modest needs. Not so Shahid Malik. When he wanted a new telly, he spent over £1000 on a "home cinema" - paid for of course out of the taxpayer's purse. I've just watched Malik defending himself - the arrogance was utterly astonishing. No wonder Gordon Brown moved swiftly and ( I hope) urged him to stand down. He actually thought his constituents, in one of the poorest parts of West Yorkshire "would understand." Well, actually, watching them being interviewed , it is clear they do not. They do not understand when they are struggling every week to pay bills that their MP is claiming for such essentials as a swanky telly and a massage chair . To say it is taking the mickey is an understatement. Which is why, instead of the quiet night in I had planned, I am heading to Leeds for a live radio discussion on MPs and Parliamentary selections. I would like to thank Radio 4 for the invite to say what I think......

DOWN WITH THE KIDS....

In these difficult political times, it was refreshing today to face an audience which still has faith that its local representatives can actually do something. Children from schools in Mytholmroyd and Cragg Vale were invited to come along and grill the Mayor on issues of importance.

It was as demanding as any hustings - possibly more so. We've made a note of the things which are causing concern - lack of play facilities on a local estate, the need for a swimming pool in Mytholmroyd, trouble spots for road safety, and of course the inevitable dog poo. The kids' questions have been minuted and I will be contacting the residents' associations, local councillors and relevant departments in Calderdale to see what we can do as a Town Council in the coming period. One of the things I most enjoyed this year was getting out to the local schools and today I had the added bonus of dispensing Vimto and chocolate biscuits.......thanks to all the children who showed real interest in their local communities.

ELLIOT MORLEY WAS MY BOSS.....

Years ago I worked for Defra press office in the days when Elliott Morley was a junior Minister. Today, he's the first scalp to be claimed in the furore over expenses, home "flipping" and sundry other scams which Mps of all parties have gleefully indulged in while the rest of us cope with job losses, spiralling energy bills, unemployment and mortgage worries.
We're supposed to be grateful for a pitiful increase in the minimum wage and go out campaigning for politicians whose moral compass got irretrievably bent many years ago if this rapidly unravelling saga is anything to go by.
I didn't see last night's Question Time but apparently Margaret Beckett got booed and heckled when the issue was raised. Perhaps a little unfair because, as far as I know, Ms Beckett is no hedonist and prefers holidays in a modest caravan to five-star luxury, but one has to take on board the fact that the public is incandescent with rage about what's been happening at Westminster.
There are three Cabinet Ministers who come out of this with any dignity. They are: Ed Milliband, Hilary Benn and Alan Johnson. The rest are swirling around in a stew of claiming for every possible goodie they can think of. Worst offenders being Hazel Blears, Shahid Malik and backbenchers like Fabian Hamilton. The only way this boil can be lanced is for heads to roll - fast

PATRONAGE AND PERSUASION

This weekend will see the re-run for the Parliamentary candidate in Erith and Thamesmead. Forgive me for being cynical, but it has become clear that the Party's apparatus is utterly geared to ensuring that their favoured candidates get through - regardless. In the recent furore over the second selection in Calder Valley, many members were angry and horrified at the way in which postal votes determined the outcome. They have also been appalled by recent allegations in the media concerning the PPC. Our many objections, I am sad to say, have been utterly ignored. Two weeks after I wrote to NEC Chair Cath Speight, I am still waiting for a reply. So are several fellow members who variously wrote to General Secretary Ray Collins, the Labour Party Compliance Unit, ete etc etc. Quite clearly our views are disregarded. I don't suppose any of us should have been surprised
It seems that there is one rule for New Labour candidates - and one for those of us on the left who only ever wanted a fair and square contest in our constituency.So I will watch and see what happens down in Erith.

DERISORY INCREASE ON MINIMUM WAGE

The Minimum Wage was undoubtedly one of the best achievements of the Labour Government when it first came to power. No-one disputes that.
But the latest- derisory - increase of between 4 pence and 7 pence an hour is frankly an insult to working-class people. At a time when billions of pounds have been poured into bailing out the banks and their friends in the City, at a time when Cabinet Ministers targetting the unemployed are claiming hundreds of pounds every month for food bills, who can expect the electorate to be impressed by such a risible amount. It's time the Government acknowledged the huge anger out there at the widening gap between rich and poor. And did something about it. More here
http://leap-lrc.blogspot.com/

THE HISTORY OF MS POLLY TOYNBEE

In today's Guardian, Polly Toynbee finally puts the knife into Gordon Brown and says he must go. Just as two years ago she counselled Gordon was the only man for the job.
Her antidote to the current miasma is another coronation - this time for Alan Johnson.To say this smacks of desperation is putting it mildly.
One can only smile wryly at her suggestion we "valiant few" still left as Party members should go to our MPs and urge them to instal AJ ASAP without an election as if that would make a ha-porth of difference to Labour's chances.
I'd like to remind Polly that a "valiant few" of us tried in vain to get our MPs to have a contest last time for the Labour leadership. We were resolutely ignored by the vast majority of MPs.Over 300 of whom now bear the responsibility for installing a Leader who has turned out to be a catastrophe. That catastrophe just might have been less had he had to face opposition from a swathe of candidates and a proper debate about Labour's future. But the kingmakers in the PLP ordained otherwise and now we are where we are.
I see little point in a leadership contest now. But if Brown were to go, we would have to have one. We would also have to have a General Election pretty much immediately afterwards in a climate febrile with disdain for all politicians, disgust at MPs who cut welfare benefits then demand £400 a month themselves for food on top of a Ministerial salary, and even "left-wing" MPs who claim for posh rugs and furnishings.It is a mess of such fantastic proportions that we can only sit back and see what June 4 brings. But a whisky and revolver for Gordon Brown without some fundamental U-turns on policy and humility in front of the electorate is not the answer.Polly's "mea culpa" is below


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/may/11/labour-gordon-brown

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE GREEDY....

I just got in from a Labour Party branch meeting to catch Shaun Woodward eating humble pie on Newsnight. Ex Tory Woodward, Labour MP for St Helens, has SEVEN homes yet used the system to claim mortgage payments.This is a man of immense wealth.His mantra to Paxman was this was a "rotten system" yet people like him have shamelessly used it. The same goes for the Tory MPs today exposed and let's be clear there are many MPs who have come out of this with some decency. One is Alan Johnson, and that's probably why people like Polly Toynbee are now calling for him to replace the current Leader. Amother is the eminently decent Kelvin Hopkins (see link below) The tragedy is, decent or not, all MPs are now tarred with the same brush and the level of public anger is entirely right. For those of us - most of us - who struggle month by month to pay our bills and keep families fed and clothed the greed displayed by a significant number of Parliamentarians is inexcusable Gordon Brown was right to say sorry today at a union conference and to be fair he tried to reform this freeloading free for all. The disgrace is many of his MPs closed ranks to stop him
http://www.labourhome.org/story/2009/5/11/154857/973

PEOPLE'S CHARTER- A CALL TO POSITIVE ACTION NOT POLITICAL DIVISION

In today's Morning Star, John Haylett outlines in an excellent piece why the People's Charter should be supported. Its modest goals have the support of millions of activists in the labour movement yet major unions like UNITE and the GMB have withdrawn their official support. Their line is that it is some kind of clarion call for a mass walk-out from the Labour Party and a new Party led by John McDonnell, who is one of the higher profile Parliamentarians to have supported it. At best, this is a misunderstanding of the Charter's aims. At worst, it is deliberate mischief-making. The rumour mill, fuelled by MPs like Jon Cruddas, has been suggesting for some time that groups like the LRC are to follow the kind of trail which the ILP did in the 1930's and split from the Labour Party. Nothing could be further from the truth. As Haylett points out, over 30 Labour MPs and a broad swathe of unions have lent their support to the Charter. It is a serious failure of the "Big 4 " to join their ranks - given people like Tony Woodley and Paul Kenny originally pledged support. If you haven't signed already, you can do so on the link below. On Saturday June 20, at the Morning Star conference in London, the LRC will be spearheading calls for support


http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/features/the_fear_factor

LAST CALL FOR LABOUR IN TRIBUNE

This week's Tribune has an excellent editorial with which I wholeheartedly concur. It's change direction - or lose - as far as the Government is concerned. Maybe it is stating the blindingly obvious but let's be clear who is to blame for the current mess the Government is in. Not the Tory media, not the dispirited left, not the dwindling band of Labour activists, but a leadership which has doggedly, mystifyingly ignored commonsense calls for a return to the left of centre. The kinds of policies contained in the People's Charter, which is not wild-eyed Trotskyism, but a modest raft of policies which would restore people's faith and hope in Labour politics.
The Tribune link is below
http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/2009/05/07/tribune-comment-the-time-of-reckoning-is-very-near/

THE GRAVY TRAIN STOPS HERE

No-one would expect the Telegraph to be a friend of Labour but Peter Mandelson's suggestion that exposing the ludicrous expenses claimed by sundry Cabinet Ministers is some kind of Zinoviev letter scenario is frankly absurd.
Harriet Harman ( see link below) has it right when she says that people are angry - and that people are probably right to be angry - despite the fact that n one of these MPs were breaking any actual rules. Years ago, Labour MP Dave Nellist took an ordinary wage in solidarity with those of us who earn rather less than Cabinet Ministers or MPs. I don't think most of us would expect that MPs shouldn't be paid their dues for working long hours and spending most of their lives ( as most of them do) looking after their constituents.
I don't think anyone reasonably can have a problem with MPs who live outside London having a home near Westminster.Most Northern MPs I know choose the most affordable, modst homes they can. MPs also need staff these days to cope with the mountains of casework they incur. But the latest rash of disclosures is frankly an unaceptable and excessive milking of a system which, as Harman says , needs to change. The payback for the privilege of being an MP is being beyond public reproach. Too many - in all parties - have regarded it as an unstoppable gravy train. It has to stop - now
http://www.politicshome.com/Landing.aspx?Blog=7608&perma=link#

£4000 GOAL REACHED FOR HOSPICE

Last night I was at the Trades Club quiz night where a generous band of quizzers collected £95 to take us over the £4000 target for the Overgate Hospice in Elland. Thanks to all.
Tonight is the launch of the Hebden Bridge Arts Festival which I'll be enthusiastically supporting. Last night I also fitted in a peeting of the Halifax Friends Of Palestine with a talk by Kevin McGrother of the FBU who was part of a trade union delegation to Palestine a year ago. Kevin goes out on the stump to meetings large and small and people like him are the reason many of us remain committed to the labour movement. They are a sharp contrast to politicians who seem determined to milk as much money as they can from the system.
I just wanted also to say a word or two about my meeting with Lord Morris (Alf Morris former Labour MP) the other day in the House Of Lords, At 81, Alf is still campaigning for the causes he believes in. The latest being justice for the haemophiliac victimes of contaminated blood products- justice currently being denied by the Government.
One of eight children brought up in poverty in Ancoats, Alf was an MP for 33 years. When he submitted his ground-breaking Private Members' Bill in 1969 he was told the then Government could not support it on grounds of cost. He went ahead anyway and 40 years we have come a long way on rights for the disabled. But, without a new generation of MPs who are prepared to stand up for what is right, not expedient, I wonder where we will be. People like him were/are the heart and soul of the Labour Party. How sad it is there are not more.

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.

OLD SCHOOL LABOUR

This afternoon I'm being elevated to the House Of Lords, where I'm meeting Lord Morris of Manchester, aka Alf Morris, ex MP for Wythenshawe and someone I have known since i was a teenager. One of Alf's Commons speeches gets a mention in Hansard's latest publication and i am writing a piece accordingly. I am looking forward to the meeting - Alf, like Jack Jones and sundry others of his generation, is a shining beacon of integrity. Shame there aren't more like him in the current crop of career politicians

CALDER VALLEY PPC - TODAY'S YORKSHIRE POST

Today's Yorkshire Post carries the following story . My only comment is to reiterate that I am absolutely appalled at this latest development. As a matter of urgency, I will be making a complaint to the NEC Chair Cath Speight as, contrary to reports which have appeared in the local press, the PPC candidate still has to be endorsed by the full NEC

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Wouldbe-Labour-MP-accused-of.5231327.jp

CIVIL WAR AT WESTMINSTER

Charles Clarke has a majority of just over 3,000. Which probably explains why he is back in the business of slamming the Prime Minister and leaking stories to the media about leadership challenges. I was recently told by an NEC member that any MP with a majority of less than 3,000 should be scanning the jobs pages . The reality is many more seats are now at risk due to the unrelenting stream of bad publicity for the Government.
Most is self-inflicted. The issue of the Gurkhas, Damien McBride, MPs' expenses have all combined to make for a poisonous stew of suspicion and recrimination which means Labour is in freefall. How on earth to quell this awful miasma? Hazel Blears's "solution "is to have a go at Gordon Brown in today's Observer. With a rock-solid majority in my old constituency of Salford, she is one of the few Cabinet Ministers almost certain still to be there if it's as bad as seems likely at the next General Election. There is talk of 12 MPs defecting to the Liberal Democrats, a stalking horse challenge in the next few days, and inevitably a witch-hunt of the MPs who rebelled on the Gurkha issue. Downing Street strenuously denies talk of a hit-list which has been drawn up by the Chief Whip. The fact is that the NEC was recently treated to a presentation by Nick Brown targetting the rebels. And the intent is clear. Get rid of the Left because they are likely to be in the ascendancy after the next election.
If members of the Government would stop squabbling, take a step back and look at the recent policy mistakes they have made there might be hope of rescuing something positive from this mess. Scrap Trident, scrap ID cards, stop the smearing and the back-room manoevres. Likely? I fear not. The rabbits caught in headlights tendency is now not just sleepwalking to a Tory Government, it is actively encouraging it . And if they start on a witchhunt, then the Party really will be over .

MORE STRIFE IN ERITH AND THAMESMEAD

With the re-run of the Erith and Thamesmead selection set for May 16, more strife reported as the CLP Chair is got rid of by Gen Sec Ray Collins. The "crime" which Frank Lerner committed was to write to CLP members telling them what had happened and had the temerity to ask for a total start from scratch due to the furore over postal votes. Surely he was right to do so. My Branch Labour Party was also right to ask the Regional Labour Party to investigate some concerns we had over the selection process in Calder Valley. Those concerns have now been passed on to Cath Speight , Chair of the NEC.

HAPPY MAY DAY!

Even by my grim standards, I seem to have been passing on unremitting gloom from this neck of the woods. So I would just like to wish my readers a happy May Day. My most memorable one was 20 years ago in Leningrad in front of the Winter Palace on an official platform.
Today is a rather more muted affair but I will be enjoying a nice lunch with a friend cooked by my good self and tomorrow heading to Leeds for the traditional May Day march and rally. Wherever you are, comrades, have a good day.......

WHERE NOW FOR REGIONAL JOURNALISTS?

I learned this week that yet more of my friends and former colleagues at the Manchester Evening News are to be made redundant. Highly skilled, experienced writers and subs in their forties and fifties suddenly find themselves without work - and little prospect of finding anything comparable with the wages they are used to. Today, I read on-line that the MEN's TV wing, Channel M, is also to lose half its staff. These are terrible times for journalists everywhere , but in the regions things are getting desperate.

The only reason I am currently recession-proof is due to the fact I am now living off the earnings which I saved in the good years as a freelance. Those who were less circumspect with their money face the prospect of mortgages they can't pay, children they can't help through university, and the sheer misery of being flung on the scrapheap at an age when they still have years to give.

A couple of years ago some friends of mine tried to be inventive and set up a radical PR agency - but that was before the recession and that didn't come to much either. The reality is that staff jobs are geting fewer and freelance work has dried up. Yet thousands of teenagers are still signing up for journalism and media studies degrees and dreaming of a glittering career. This is good for ex-journos who need an alternative source of income . I did some teaching last year and will be touting around my CV again in the hope of further employment. But, if I'm honest, my advice to the starry-eyed youngsters would be to choose an alternative degree. Journalism, as we knew it, is dead.

WHAT HAPPENED TO HILARY BENN?

Back in 1983 as a young whippersnapper I stalked the streets of Ealing North to try and get Hilary Benn elected as an MP. It was not a great year for Labour and we lost - big-style.

In those days, the younger Benn was still a Bennite.He has since eschewed those politics and become a part of the Establishment.

I know, and applaud, his work at the DFID and have no reason to doubt his sincerity. But how can anyone seriously suggest, as he did on tonight's Question Time, that we have left Iraq "a better place" following the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraquis and the soldiers who came back in body bags. We did NOT go into Iraq, actually, to play some paternalist role. We went there because the then Prime Minister assured us that Saddam Hussein was a serious threat to Western democracy thanks to his WMDs. Weapons which did not , er, ....exist.

Benn's defence of an appalling foreign policy is deeply saddening given his father's utter commitment to the anti-war movement.And, speaking as someone who knocked on doors tirelessly to try and elect him all those years ago. it also shows how many of the people we had faith in in the 1980's have let us down.

TOO LATE FOR STALKING HORSES.....

Labour Home ( see link below) has a story alleging that an ex Cabinet Minister is getting set to mount a stalking horse challenge to unseat Gordon Brown. Bit late, really, isn't it?
Assuming this were true, how exactly would it help Labour's election chances? If someone like John Reid or Charles Clarke did take over there would almost certainly have to be an immediate General Election. And the consequences would be even more catastrophic than they are under Gordon Brown. It is surely a sign of utter desperation that such stories are being leaked.And it doesn't help any of the MPs who are facing the grim prospect of losing their seats.

http://www.labourhome.org/story/2009/4/30/33359/7218

GURKHAS - ANOTHER OWN GOAL

It is sometimes mind-blowing how wrong the Government can be on issues where it simply makes the wrong call. Today's papers exult over the fact there was a Commons defeat for Gordon Brown on the Gurkhas and their right to stay in Britain. Cue pictures of Cameron, Clegg and Joanna Lumley outside the House of Commons celebrating a victory for democracy which will no doubt be followed by more opinion polls showing a plummeting rating for Labour. Of course many Labour MPs rebelled on this issue and they were right to do so.
The fact they had to is a sign that somehow those at the highest levels of power have somehow lost touch with their electorate . This latest fiasco is one of a series which have undermined the Government because they have got it wrong.
One of Tony Blair's great assets was his ability to sense the mood of the nation - particularly Middle England. This led to policies which infuriated the left and much of the Labour Party. But, under his watch, it would never have been suggested that the Gurkhas should have been denied the right to stay in this country. It was interesting to read in Chris Mullin's diaries that it was Brown, not Blair, who insisted on the privatisation of Air Traffic Control.
It is likewise Brown who has pressed ahead with the privatisation of the Royal Mail, the third runway at Heathrow ( opposed by several cabinet Ministers and backbenchers) and the Welfare Reform Bill. None of these is likely to win him much support so, on a purely pragmatic level, why is he doing it.
On Tuesday, as i was waiting to go into a meeting at the House Of Commons, I bumped into a friend of mine who is an assistant general secertary of one of the rail unions. He had just had a meeting with Geoff Hoon and was appalled at his lack of insight and concern on the issues relating to his members. His take was this is a Government which knows it is on the ropes and lacks the will or the sense to turn things round with policies which would appeal to its core vote. I'm afraid I can only agree.

OUT OF THE CHAIN GANG....

Last meeting tonight as Chair of Hebden Royd Town Council and just a couple of weeks to go before I hand over and step down as Mayor. One goal remains. That's to raise the £500 left to reach my target of £4000 for the local hospice. It's been an enjoyable 12 months and I have met so many people in the local community that I hope it's been a positive for everyone and in particular my freinds and comrades in the local Labour Party. When I started out in May last year, I did not expect to be ivolved in two Parliamentary selections and obviously it's been a real disappointment not to have ended the year as a PPC candidate in either. That's politics.
I have no idea what will transpire in tbe next 12 months but I will carry on doing my bit on the local Town Council, campaigning for the LRC and hopefully continue to fight my corner in the Labour Party. I had a chat with the Keighley MP Ann Cryer yesterday in Parliament and she has asked me to share my experiences of being on an all-woman shortlist at a conference to be held soon. I don't think I will be short of things to say.........

LRC MEETING IN MANCHESTER

I've spent the weekend in London at the LEAPhttp://leap-lrc.blogspot.com conference which gave more very useful insight into the economic crisis we're in and what should be done to address it. Welcome though the Chancellor's tax hit on the rich was it's just the tip of an iceberg where the rich are getting richer, tax avoidance is in the billions, and four million people are still waiting for council homes.
Tonight I'll be with fellow LRC National Committee member Jenny Lennox at an open meeting at the Friends Meeting House in Manchester where all are welcome at 7pm.

PPC RESIGNS IN EASTLEIGH

Dan Clarke, a Labour PPC in Eastleigh, Chris Huhne's constituency, has resigned and is joining the Liberal Democrats. He's made the wrong decision.
Dan's disillusionment with Government policy is one shared by many others, including myself. When Gordon Brown became leader two years ago I hoped the Party would change direction. It was never going to implement the LRC's manifesto but one hoped for a decisive move away from New Labour ideology,
Events have ordained the Government had to step in and bail out the banks - but the same people remain in charge and the billion we have spent doing so are clearly not available for other deserving cause ie people on welfare benefits, people facing soariung utility bills, rocketing tuition fees. Et etc etc. Ay thr weekend Stephen Byers said it was time for the Government to consider scrapping ID cards and Trident because of the cost involved. We should also consider scraping them because it would help restore faith in the Party, mean cash could be diverted towards social justice, and maybe, just maybe, stop people tearing up their Party cards.
I have several friends standing as PPCs in unwinnable seats. They are the only ones left candidates don't get stitched up in. But I know that Gary Heather in Tunbridge Wells and John Wiseman in Westmorland and Lonsdale will use their candidacy to contiunue to fight for the policies they believe in and give people faith that one day things will change. Closer to home, I have friends who are now considering leaving Labour right across the political spectrum. I won't be one of them. But I fully understand why they feel they can no longer stay.
Alicde Mahon, I'm glad to say, will still be campaigning with us in the LRC. Dan Clarke's reasons for leaving are below

http://www.labourhome.org/story/2009/4/26/123957/105

100,000 READERS - AND COUNTING......

Just noted this week that GuN has passed the 100,000 landmark. Thanks to all who have read the blog in the past two years. Hits have been on the up againm recently and will endeavour in the months ahead to up that even more. .......

WILL DARLING'S GAMBLE PAY OFF?

Last night I attended a meeting in the House of Commons where the Budget and its impact was discussed .More in the link below. And thanks to Graham Turner for giving me a copy of his book on The Credit Crunch .

http://leap-lrc.blogspot.com/2009/04/30bn-worth-of-cuts-and-privatisation.html

PROUD TO HAVE MET HIM.....

I was asked recently who my political heroes were and one person I most definitely should have mentioned is trade union leader Jack Jones. To the end of his life, Jack embodied the finest virtues of the labour movement - eschewing the House Of Lords and gravy trains for life in a modest council flat in London and tireless campaigning for those who were vulnerable. After he "retired" Jack was one of the leading lights of the National Pensioners' Convention. He also attended Campaign Group rallies every year at Labour Party Conference and never lost his fighting spirit. In Manchester three years ago, I was proud to say hello and shake his hand - Though clearly frail, he was able to stand up and be counted as one of the heroes of the Labour Left. It's a shame there are not more like him today. An exemplary human being .

LLOYD GEORGE KNEW MY FATHER

Away from matters local to the national picture and Polly Toynbee has a piece in today's Guardian calling for a "Peoples Budget." Hmmm...... I await with interest what tomorrow will bring as I'm going to be in London but leaked news of £15billion in public spending does not augur well for the Keynesian pledges ......let's see what happens and I'll leave it to the experts to do the analysis tomorrow

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/21/peoples-budget-darling-2009
Update: 10.20 The PCS union is already commenting on this....
http://leap-lrc.blogspot.com/

HOLDING THE LINE AND DRAWING A LINE....

It has been a very strange week up here in Calder Valley and I think that events are far from over. The row continues in Erith and Thamesmead and it remains to be seen what will transpire here. The media frenzy we have had over the Georgia Gould issue would probably not have happened without the internet -nor the revelations regarding Damian McBride.
As far as my constituency goes, i think it's now best for others to answer the questions we have put. I can only say there are going to be others. For now, I think it's best to draw a line. But I'm also holding the line that the whole process of how we select our candidates must be looked at by the NEC and I would urge people to contact their CLP representatives . This week, the grassroots have risen up and said enough is enough. I'd like to thank everyone who has phoned or e-mailed me and I'd like to hope that in the end the result will be a posiitve one for Party democracy and for all those of us who want to see politics be more open, honest and transparent. The smearing , and the tactics used by those who do it, cannot go on.

STAYING IN......

I spent much of yesterday with Alice Mahon while she was doing media interviews in the idyllic environs of Hebden Bridge. In the evening, it was my civic dinner over in Mytholmroyd and someone asked me had I thought tof resigning from the Labour Party.
Quite frankly, if I'm not going to do it now then I probably never will. But I must say I feel more disillusioned than ever before. As Alice said yesterday, the old ways of changing policy just aren't there any more. And, after what has happened to me as a candidate in Keighley and Calder Valley, I honestly think left-wingers do not stand a chance of beating the machine. The selection process would have to change radically to maje it a fair contest with a level playing field.
I think the only way forward would be possibly a truly OMOV process, an upper limit on campaign spending of around £1000 and an end to the "nomination" process by trade unions which to be honest is an uter stitch-up for favoured candidates. In both Calder Valley and Keighley, UNITE actively campaigned against me. As someone who has spent 25 years as an active trade unionist, I think that's a disgrace.
I used to have faith that the unions would help us "re-claim" Labout but the truth is they do their damndest to stop the left having a voice in the Party. Last yar at Labour Party conference, their cabals joined forces to ensure our resolution on leadership challenges was defeated. I was actually told by a senior union official that they did not want candidates like John McDonnell, someone whose voice is among the strongest in Parliament for trade union rights, having a chance. The resolution was actually one suggested, not by the LRC, but by the Campaign For Labour Party Democracy. Didn't matter - they trashed it
The truth is that at the moment democracy is not something we have, either as Party members nor as PPC candidates.It's all decided in rooms which may not have smoke any more but which still serve to block anyone who might not toe the line.
I've come to the conclusion that nothing will change until after the General Election. If it doesn't, then even lifetime Labour members like me may well vote with our feet. I am truly sorry Alice Mahon has left Labour, but I understand why she did.

ALICE - STILL A COMRADE

I've known for some time that Alice Mahon was considering leaving the Labour Party. At Labour Party Conference in Manchester, I spent a considerable amount of time persuading her to stay and I hope my thoughts helped keep her with the Party a bit longer.

Alice is resigning for a lot of reasons. Most of which are in today's Yorkshire Post. So I won't catalogue them. The final straw for Alice was the treatment meted out to Janet Oosthuysen who won the original PPC selection in Calder Valley. It took six months for the NEC to make its mind up on the issue. Their grounds for doing so, a police caution, was blasted all over the media thanks to a scurrilous campaign led by Janet's opponents in the Labour Party. Not satisfied with that, because the NEC was still undecided , they then besmirched her name further with totally false personal allegations which were splashed in the Mail On Sunday.

Having succeeded in getting rid of Janet, there was then a re-run in Calder Valley, where Party members who supported me are now asking for an inquiry. One of my endorsers was Alice and I was proud to have her name on my leaflet. I am very sad indeed that she is going.

But I cannot , in truth, blame her for being sick of the stitch-ups, the smears, and the tactics of those whose arrogance sickens ordinary Labour Party members.

The Guardian today has a piece on the Rrith and Thamesmead debacle in which I am quoted.

I note today's Times says Georgia Gould, who works for Tony Blair's Faith Foundation, should be the candidate chosen to "send a reassuring message to Labour voters." What nauseating rubbish

People with friends in the media and other high places may think they can ride roughshod over the hopes, dreams and aspirations of those like Alice who have devoted their lives to the labour movement. The truth is that their antics fool no-one - however many strings they are able to pull. In losing Alice Mahon, Labour has lost one of its greatest champions for peace and social justice. But I'm glad to say Alice will still be my friend and comrade.

ERITH AND THAMESMEAD CANCELLED

I'm astounded to learn that the selection tomorrow in Erith and Thamesmead has been cancelled. Apparently, a ballot box has been tampered with.This raises fundamental questions about what on earth is going on with the selection processes for PPCs. Clearly, in Calder Valley, we have been right to raise issues and I'm expecting some serious answers from the Labour Party.


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article6115915.ece

POSTAL VOTES - A VIEW FROM THE NEC

Six years ago I joined a group called Save The Labour Party which was set up to improve Party democracy and call for greater accountability to members. It would be nice to report that since 2003 we have made great inroads into the processes which, since Partnership Into Power was agreed in the early 1990's, have only closed down democracy and taken the decision-making processes further and further away from the grassroots.
The sad truth is that things are worse than ever. In 2006, the Party Conference was persuaded, thanks to a deal with the unions, to abolish contemporary motions. This year's Conference must, as a matter of urgency, restore the right to vote.
But all that frankly pales into insignificance with the current furore over the way in which postal votes are being used to outweigh democratic hustings at Parliamentary selections. One achievement STLP can be proud of is electing Peter Kenyon to the NEC. Peter is one of the most rigorous and fair-minded people I have met in my many years in the Party.
He wouldn't mind me saying that , though we differ on many issues, we have always shared a quest for fairness and accountability. His take on the postal votes issue is here:


http://petergkenyon.typepad.com/peterkenyon/2009/04/labour-ppc-selections-and-postal-voting.html#comment-6a00d8354c43ba69e201157025cfbe970b

OFF TO PARLIAMENT......

Next week the LRC has a Day of Action planned to coincide with the Budget Day and on the evening of Wednesday April 22 I will be chairing a meeting in the House Of Commons.
Our campaign - Their Crisis Not Ours! - is calling for a fairer tax system, a crackdown on tax avoidance, full nationalisation of the banks and an increase in pensions and unemployment benefit.
The campaign is also supportive of the People's Charter, backed by trade unions and a broad swathe of groups in the labour movement, which includes calls for more council housing, an end to repossessions, a cap on energy prices. and the return of the utilities to public ownership.
If you want to join in the day starts with a protest at 11.30am on Whitehall along the route the Chancellor will take from No. 11 Downing Street to address Parliament. At 5pm, there is a another protest outside the Treasury on 1 Horse Guards Road - then at 7.30pm a Budget Question Time event in Committee Room 10, House of Commons with panellists including John McDonnell MP, economist Graham Turner and Clara Osagiede (RMT Cleaner’s Grade Secretary).

LOOSE ENDS.....

This year of civic duty is coming to an end and there are a few loose ends I have to tie up between now and May 20. First, just over a thousand pounds more is needed for the Overgate Hospice to reach my fund-raising target of £4000 so I'll be doing my best at the Civic Dinner on Saturday to do that . Thanks to the friends who are turning up, including a gang from London, to boost the coffers with a three-course meal, traditional Irish music band and disco Then there's the Mayor's Report to write for the Town Meeting on May 13 before handover on May 20. And that's it.
By the time I've finished I will have done about 80 engagements and I'd like to thank all the schools, groups and individuals who have invited me to events or supported the fund-raisers I organised. It's really now time for a new chapter to begin. But, given the dearth of journalistic work in the north, it's going to be anything but easy.

STORIES IN THE MEDIA.....

There is wall to wall coverage on the internet today about the fact that members of my CLP are calling for an investigation into procedural aspects of the recent Parliamentary selection.
In normal circumstances, no-one would be interested. But the circumstances in Calder valley have been anything but normal in the past 12 months.
Some of the stories which have appeared are way off the mark - all correctly state that in the voting on the night of the hustings I won two-thirds of the vote. The hard fact is that even if I had won 100 per cent of the vote it still would not have been enough because it was the postal votes which won it.
Postal votes are on the media radar because of a furore over the selection in Erith and Thamesmead . And many in the Party are concerned at the fact they are open to abuse - and manipulation - everywhere.Let's not pretend otherwise
Let me make one thing clear. I did not , nor did anyone quoted in the story, approach the Yorkshire Post. Their enquiry was the result of a piece of correspondence from a Party member upset at the latest proceedings. I have no idea who.
When Chris McCafferty announced her decision to stand down two years ago , all any of us wanted was a similarly left-of-centre candidate with roots in the local community.
We did not want tabloid coverage and lurid stories dreamt up by those who had a problem with the chosen PPC. Those who, unfortunately, succeeded in forcing a second contest via poison pen letters to the NEC and an orchestrated media campaign. The tragedy in all this is that they were listened to by people who should have known better.

CONCERN GROWS IN LABOUR PARTY ABOUT POSTAL VOTES

Concern about postal votes and the way they have overetaken the traditional democracy of hustings has been growing apace. This is John Harris's take in yesterday's Guardian.If Georgia Gould wins in Erith and Thamesmead, it could well be a selection too far.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/15/damien-mcbride-georgia-gould-labour

BREATHING SPACE....

Having spent most of the weekend ill with bronchitis am down to the doc's for some antibiotics then off to Saltaire for some fresh air and lunch with an old friend and his family.
Tomorrow I'm going to start considering my options for gainful employment - today 24 hours away from financial and other cares.

A DIRTY GAME......

There was a time when comments to this blog weren't moderated. Then I started getting abusive and sometimes obscene messages so censorship had to prevail. But I still get anonymous messages from people whose role in life is seemingly to sneer and be nasty.
None, however, are on a par with Damian McBride, forced to resign over the weekend.
His tale of smears and dirty politics is one which brings shame on the Labour Party and one which could cost us all dear at the General Election.
In the Calder Valley, our previous PPC was targetted and smeared in a disgusting campaign of lies and personal allegations - those who did it achieved their result in getting the NEC not to endorse her - and force a re-run. It remains to be seen how that will play with the wider electorate. But here in Hebden Bridge, many people were disgusted. Several have already left the Party. One or two stayed to vote for me last week but I know the resignation letters are in the post and others are considering it. Me? I'm too bloody-minded and stubborn to even consider packing it in.
I often get comments which sneer at Hebden Bridge but the plain fact is that Labour needs Hebden if it is to hang on in Calder Valley. So I would suggest to those who are disparaging that they have a re-think if they seriously want to win. Charm offensives rather than snidey comments just might be the order of the day....

ERITH AND THAMESMEAD

Last night I had a phone call from a comrade in Erith and Thamesmead. A middle of the road kind of person who has been in the Party for many years. She rang me because she is distressed about what is happening in her constituency.,
Georgia Gould, a 22-year-old who is the daughter of Blairite guru Philip Gould, has glossy leaflets, lots of money, and a PR consultancy headed up by Margaret McDonagh, former General Secretary of the Labour Party, working on her behalf. In Erith and Thamesmead, the selection process is in chaos due to the number of postal votes. People are threatening to resign from the Party, and they are disgusted at the way in which the system has been manipulated .I think it's time to stop this malpractice and I'm not keeping quiet about it.

SMEAR TACTICS....AIDE RESIGNS

I've never been asked to contribute to LabourList, Derek Draper's blog of Important People. Too left and too far away from London, I suspect. But I did get a largely positive mention from my NUJ colleague Paul Routledge in this week's Tribune, for which thanks. A right of reply will be filed over Easter.
Tomorrow, all hell is apparently going to break loose about plans by Draper to set up a scurrilous blog called "Red Rag" with help from one of Gordon Brown's advisors, Damien McBride, with whom he exchanged some rather damning, allegedly obscene, e-mails . There is the usual talk of resignations and unacceptable "spin" from the leading players in the Westminster village. So we'll see what the papers say tomorrow. UPDATE : McBride has now resigned.
Allegedly, the plan was to use personal smear tactics to have a go at the Tories. If that's true, it is unacceptable and inane. Exactly the kind of tactic used in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election - with dire results. If we can't win elections on policy and principles, we shouldn't be in the business. The problem is , of course, that smear tactics sometimes get results. But that is never an excuse to use them. Here in the Calder Valley, we know that more than most.

POSTAL VOTES INQUIRY LAUNCHED IN EROTH AND THAMESMEAD.....

The following story appears in this week's Tribune

DEMANDS for an inquiry are to be made into an unusually high number of postal vote applications in the selection of Labour’s candidate in the safe Westminster seat of Erith and Thamesmead.
Figures obtained by Tribune suggest that more than a third of the 279 eligible voting members in the south east London seat being vacated by sitting MP John Austin have applied to vote by post rather than turn up in person at the hustings on April 18.
The calls for an official investigation from at least two members of the National Executive Committee follow concerns expressed by Mr Austin, who held the seat at the 2005 election with 11,500 votes, over the level of postal applications.
There are also suggestions that members are being deterred from attending in person in order to affect the outcome of the ballot by ensuring that some candidates are not heard “live”. Party rules allow postal votes only for those unable to attend for legitimate reasons “not for those who choose not to attend”.
The contest has been fraught with controversy, with allegations that one candidate, Georgia Gould – the 22-year-old daughter of Tony Blair’s polling guru Phillip Gould – has been “parachuted” in
with the help of a Blairite machine involving Alastair Campbell and former party general secretary Margaret McDonagh.
Party members have told Tribune that supporters of Ms Gould have been canvassing the use of postal votes, but Ms Gould has not responded to Tribune’s emailed questions.
The selection process has been taken over by party head office which cancelled a scheduled shortlist meeting in order to prevent any of eight candidates being eliminated; the procedures secretary has been relieved of his post; and Mr Austin has released an impassioned plea to every party member for a local candidate, Teresa Pearce, to be selected.
It has now emerged that the Westminster branch of Unite (Amicus) has challenged the choice of Rachel Maskell as the union’s candidate in the race. Barry Spate, secretary of 0693 branch – whose delegate to Erith and Thamesmead is the MP Mr Austin – has written to union joint general secretary Derek Simpson claiming the process of selecting Ms Maskell was “anti-democratic” and against union rules.
The rules state that: “Any branch’s nomination in any selection process shall be decided by the Regional Political Committee and the National Political Committee, in conjunction with the branch delegate(s) to the relevant Constituency Labour Party”.
However, Mr Spate was informed by head office that Ms Maskell, a national officer of the union, had already been chosen as Unite’s candidate before the Westminster branch’s scheduled meeting to discuss a nomination.

CONSIDERING OUR OPTIONS....

There is an interesting piece in today's Guardian by Eric Hobsbawm on how capitalism has failed - and socialism in his view found wanting. Which isn't to say that the collective ideal is not the way forard. I found it raised some very pertinent points

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/apr/10/financial-crisis-capitalism-socialism-alternatives

I LOST......

Welcome back to grimmer upnorth. I lost the vote tonight but two-thirds of the people who turned out tonight voted for me. 35 votes to 22. A huge swathe of postal votes did not. I wish Stephenie Booth the best in her fight to retain Calder Valley.. But let's be clear. The current process in the Labour Party is wrong. I lost because I had very little time to defeat the machine. I won the populat vote with the people who were there to make a considered decision based on what I said and what I stood for. No doubt some will say I have sour grapes. I do not.I'm going to bed safe in the knowledge that the comrades in Hebden Bridge did their very best to see a socialist candidate standing up for them. We didn't win. But I think we won the argument. I'll get back to day job covering the General Election in Manchester 2010.And at least my house will be rather more pristine than it has for the last four months.

THE FUTURE PARTY.....

So that's it. I've written the speech ( thanks to those who helped with comments). I'll state my case, I'll make it clear, and of one thing I am now certain.
Win or lose, I will continue to state the case for a Labour Party untrammelled by neo-liberalism, one which has room for all points of view, and one which at some point in the future will re-engage the many who currently are not motivated to take part.
Yesteday I was chatting to someone who used to be very active in the Party but who for years has felt her contribution would not make a scrap of difference . It DOES of course make a difference if you contribute to the few democratic processes left - one of which is choosing PPCs. But, both in Keighley and Calder Valley, it has been a Herculean task persuading people they need to be there to make that difference. And , without a re-democratisation of the Party, those kinds of perceptions will still hold sway - and cost us dearly at the next election.

YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND......

To any member of my generation, there are iconic songs which recall one's earlier self in a youthful and perhaps more hopeful incarnation. You've Got A Friend, by Carole King, is a biggie. I've dragged it out at key moments in my life so it was good to see her looking fab and performing the lovelorn anthem on the Jools Holland programe just now. Especially coupled with The Specials, who emerged a bit later in the Thatcherite years which - let's hope - are never coming back. Trouble is it doesn't half make you feel a little raddled round the edges. But quite a good filllip for the next 48 hours......thanks to my friends in Calder Branch BTW for positvie suggestions this evening re my Big Speech on Thursday.

ACCUSTOMED AS I AM.....

I've been writing a speech. To tell you the truth, it feels like I've been writing a speech for a long, long time. After four months campaigning in Keighley and Calder Valley, I am suffering from serious speech fatigue so I shall give it a good 24 hours and then rely on my old standby of last-minute panic to spur the juices of creativity.
The other night I finished reading the Chris Mullin diaries and by the end I was amazed at the number of times he tried to wing it. There are some occasions when you can and some occasions when you can't. PPC hustings is one of them.
Various remedies have been suggested to quell the inevitable stomach-churning nerves which inflict one on these occasions. They range from homeopathic remedies to a large G and T.
However I think I will rely on that good old standby of making sure I do my homework beforehand. And, tomorrow, I'll go back to drafting the speech..,...

PPC SELECTIONS ETC ETC

I've just not had a chance to comment on much as juggling PPC campaigning, Mayoral duties ( only six weeks to go) Town Council and organising for LRC events in London and Manchester. In short, I am exhausted. And no respite as spending all of today and tomorrow out and about around the constituency doing last-minute stuff to get people to the hustings. OMOV is a good thing, but I'm afraid mass postal voting in a Parliamentary selection is not and once this is over, whaetver the result, I intend to start a campaign about it.
How can you possibly make a choice of who you would like to be your next candidate if you have not see everyone in the field - at any stage of the proceedings. The current process is utterly skewed and needs to be re-formed in a democratic way.

UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOUR IN ERITH AND THAMESMEAD

After taking part in two Parliamentary selections, I have learned an awful lot about the process and come to the conclusion along with many others that it's time we got back to basics and had old-fashioned hustings where people need a jolly good excuse NOT to go to the selection meeting. Good on John Austin MP for speaking out. The situation in Erith and Thamesmead sounds appalling.


http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/2009/04/02/nepotism-and-rule-breaking-claims-in-safe-labour-seat/

AT A CROSSROADS.......

It's nearly Easter and I am looking forward to a bit of a break after a hard few months canvassing for support as a PPC in two constituencies. The Calder Valley hustings are next Thursday and, win or lose, I will continue to be based in Hebden Bridge but the nature of journalistic remuneration these days is that I may have to cast my net wider for paid work.
On Tuesday night I headed up to the Lakes with a friend who was writing an article about a five-star hotel and needed a companion to assess its merits. Nice work if you can get it but actually on our current rates of pay a standard B and B would probably be beyond us . However, everyone goes through bad times workwise and we were lucky to start out in regional journalism more than 20 years ago in the days when it still WAS journalism.
There were daily press conferences, lots of press calls with the great and the good. We even got the chance to interview our favourite writers face-to-face and did theatre and cinema reviews. In my case as a local government reporter, hefty council agendas were a daily task to be ploughed through and we always went to important council and committee meetings in Manchester.
Those days are gone. Most regional papers these days just regurgitate press releases and everything is done over the phone - if at all. Syndicated copy is the norm and swingeing staff cuts and bad wages have taken their toll on even the best of the regional press.
The NUJ is admirably trying to find a way out of this morass but I must be honest, I am not optimistic. There may be other ways of generating news and indeed getting it to a wider public using new technology and small community enterprises but the glory days are gone. Along with most of my means of earning an income.
So, after a year putting things on hold while I carried out Town Council duties as Mayor it is probably time for a re-think.

DEFENDING THE INDEFENSIBLE

Am I unrepresentative of the public mood on Jacqui Smith and her expenses claim? It would seem not.........

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/31/jacqui-smith-mps-expenses-media

AND ANOTHER FOR US......

This Thursday my Branch Labour Party is having a Curry Night fund-raiser, as it always does, on the first Thursday of every second month.
For four years now we have been doing this - raising a few thousand pounds in the process.
The money pays for local election leaflets and other campaigning material.
I don't have a lot of money to spare for PR and publicity. The fact I was able to run at all in Calder Valley - after incurring considerable expense in Keighley - is down to the fact I'm able to write my own publicity using journalistic skills. It is also down to the goodwill of people like a local graphic designer who charged way under the odds for leaflets . Plus offers of cars from Branch members. I simply could not have done it without their help.
It is therefore particularly galling to see Government Ministers claiming to the hilt for everything under the sun. Including porn films.
Quite honestly, what people get up to in their personal lives is nobody's business but theirs. But the notion that the public purse is a bottomless pit as long as you stay within the "rules" is utterly wrong. The damage done to the Labour Party by such disclosures is possibly irreparable before the next General Election.
When Labour came to power in 1997 Tony Blair rightly said that his Government had to be whiter than white after the years of Tory sleaze. How far some people have fallen from those noble sentiments.
So, as i chop the chillies on Thursday night I will be wondering, how much longer will it be before people who are already seriously well-off see that their conduct is something which reflects on all of us with honest ideals of fairness and decency. Jacqui Smith, in a nutshell, should resign. And if Gordon Brown, the self-styled son of the manse, cannot see that, I begin to despair.

ONE RULE FOR THEM....

I have just got back from London where I took part in the G20 TUC protest - Put People First. 30,000 trade unionists on the march to express their wish for a world rid of greed, debt and neo-liberalism.
Before setting off home this morning I caught the headlines re Jacqui Smith and the latest farrago involving expenses and "adult" films. Truly shaming and embarrassing stuff.
It's a strange irony that PPCs need to live lives of seemingly ascetic virtue - while Cabinet Ministers can milk the taxpayer of thousands and use their dosh to rev up their husband's libidos. Is it any wonder people are losing faith in Labour.The hypocrisy and double standard is frankly breathtaking.

NO, MINISTER

I need a bit of light relief amid the travails of campaigning and Chris Mullin's account of his years in Government is certainly that. Mullin is an odd hybrid who did marvellous stuff in the 1980's and then fell into line with the prevailing winds and swallowed The Project hook, line and sinker. Well, maybe not quite.
Once a Bennite, he eschewed the wilder shores of Parliament's Campaign Group for life as a very junior Minister and clearly hated it. His contempt of "lines to take" and the dire speeches he was forced to recite as a lowly Governmennt Minister make amusing reading for anyone forced to put their head above the parapet and make pronouncements in public. The sense is he regretted selling his soul for the mundane tasks - and discipline - required in Government.
He's pretty scathing also about many of the senior figures in New Labour, including Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson and Philip Gould. But he was clearly captivated by the undoubted charisma of Tony Blair, who he rather irritatingly refers to as The Man throughout. Still, I recommend the book for anyone interested in the workings of Government and the last 10 years of Government. There are many lessons to be learned - not least of which is that transparency and honesty, rather than control freakery and the quelling of dissent, is the only way in which Labour can be rescued from its current plight.

PARTY DEMOCRACY

I've just got back from London- six-hour journey after atttending NUJ lobby on the terrible state of the media in the regions. It was a really interesting meeting with all-party support, chaired with aplomb by Austin Mitchell, Chair of the NUJ Parliamentary Group.
Spent much of the tortuous journey reading Chris Mullins Diaries - which will post about when not so knackered.
At the moment I am gearing up to another hustings speech for the Calder valley selection - and pondering what to say. I'm not at liberty currently to voice my thoughts on the process so far. But wht I will say is I have had a couple of pretty nasty comments from the usual anonymous posters .
So let me be absolutely clear why I am standing. This constituency is in the current situation because of a decision by the NEC not to endorse our previous PPC. As I made clear at a meeting in Parliament last night of the Centre Left Grassroots Alliance, I believe the NEC made a wrong call which has diminished our chnces of retaining the seat. It has also led to some members resigning or just washing their hands of the whole thing. As Chris Mullin makes clear in his book, one of the cardonal sins of the Party establishment has been to close down much of the democratic apparatus we used to enjoy. Whatever decision is made in the Calder Valley selection, I will continue to fight for those processes to be reinstated. And I will have plenty to say about the concerns I raised last night regarding ALL Parliamentary selections.

THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT IN CALDER VALLEY.....

Yesterday I was out and about meeting Labour Party members and I just want to say thanks to all who are supporting me in my bid to be PPC . It's clear that in my immediate vicinity I have the backing of dozens of members but I am under no illusions. It will be a very close call. And, because of my previous commitment to Keighley, I've had relatively little time to campaign. So, once again, blogging will have to take a back seat.....will post as and when I can.

WELFARE REFORM REBELS

In the past two years in which I have been writing this blog, the same names crop up again and again.
Moat of those ( if not all) in the list below are also the names of those who did not want to see a coronation of Gordon Brown as Leader in 2007. They are the names of those who opposed Trident, 42 Days, et etc etc
I attedned the lobby of Parliament on the Welfare Reform issue a couple of weeks ago and I wish those hundreds of labour MPs who have now supported this disgraceful piece of legislation had been there too. It was frankly shaming to hear disabled people, trade unionists, and lifetime labour supporters denounce what this Government is doing in the name of Labour. Most sid they would never, EVER vote labour again. This was not some far left rally either - there were speakers from Child Poverty Action Group, Neal Lawson from Compass gave a speech and UNITE Gen Sec Tony Woosdley was among the most vociferous in opposition . MPs Katy Clark and John McDonnell explained theu would be doing their best in parliament via various amendments and opposition. The result, unfortunately, is their efforts have gone largely ignored by the vasy majority of MPs.
In standing recently as a PPC in Keighley, my aim was to be selected as a candidate who WOULD stand up and be counted when it mattered. It's not about being a rebel for the sake of it, it is about honouring the legacy of previous Labour administrations who would never have dreamt of forced labour for the unemployed - or privatising the Royal Mail.
One wonders who exactly will be left on the left after the next Election to carry the flag.

Colin Burgon,
Ronnie Campbell
Martin Caton
Katy Clark,
Frank Cook
Jeremy Corbyn
Jim Cousins
Frank Dobson
David Drew
Paul Flynn
Ian Gibson
Roger Godsiff
John Grogan
Dai Havard
Brian Iddon
Lynne Jones
Peter Kilfoyle
Eric Martlew
JohnMcDonnell,
John McFall
Austin Mitchell
Gordon Prentice
Alan Simpson
Dennis Skinner
Mike Wood
Neil Gerrard
Kelvin Hopkins
David Taylor
Linda Riordan

WELFARE REFORM BILL - DEBATE TODAY IN PARLIAMENT

Today's Guardian has this piece in Comment Is Free on the Welfare Reform Bill. These are the proposals peter Hain binned as a step too far when he was DWP Minister. Sadly, they were exhumed. I'm not going to comment - the piece by John McDonnell clearly explains why the Bill is one which should be opposed and the comments, I'm afraid, speak for themselves.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/17/john-mcdonnell-welfare-reform-labour

NOT GROUNDHOG DAY IN CALDER VALLEY.......

I'm just waiting for the final proofs of my campaign leaflet for Calder Valley. More than a slight sense of deja vu.
It is most peculiar piggybacking from one Parliamentary selection to another - but I want to be clear. Opportunism this is not. I have earned the right to stand via years of campaigning in this Valley.
At the last election, I worked every day to ensure Chris McCafferty was re-elected.
When I put my name forward in Keighley, there was no vacancy here. A month into the campaign we heard our PPC was not to be endorsed. It was sad news which many people are STILL very upset about. Let no one think otherwise.
It would have been deeply cynical to jump ship and I wanted to see Keighley through. So I did.
It means I'm on the backfoot in my home constituency but here of course I know dozens of Party members and am one of the hardest working activists there is. So I'm more than a little optimistic I can make up lost ground. As I learned in Keighley, no-one can be taken for granted. It is solidarity which wins campaigns and I am very grateful to my comrades in Calder branch for pulling out the stops. As the Keighley selection proved, a left grassrooots candidate CAN do extremely well. I came second. Now I'm resolved to come first......

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS.....

The bad news is I did not win Keighley today. The good news is I came second out of an original 10 candidates. That's not bad going for a complete outsider from a wing of the Party which has been granted pariah status for the last 10 years. But, obviously, not good enough.
I wish Jane Thomas, who won , all the best in winning Keighley again for Labour. The selection process was conducted with exemplary fairness as much as it can be. But it is not the level playing field which it should be. Points there to be raised with the NEC........My immediate task is to ensure I am now on the ballot paper in Calder Valley and carry on the grassroots fight which was started by my friend and council colleague Janet Oosthuysen. I have a team already in place - we're going to be late starters as you cannot ride two horses at once. But let me stress I am not downhearted. I'm strengthened and delighted by the support I got in Keighley. And I intend to carry on......

HOW RED IS MY VALLEY.......

Tonight to a civic function in Mirfield. Tomorrow hustings in Keighley. I'm very cheered by the many messages of support I have had - and the knowledge that so many people in the Labour Party want to see grassroots candidates succeed.
Let's be clear. The odds will be against us at a time when independent-minded socialists are in a minority in the PLP. But I 100 per cent believe that the more of us who put our names forward the more we will stand a chance of winning in the months and years to come.
If I win in Keighley tomorrow, it will be a serious victory . If I lose, it will not be a serious defeat because I have proved that a candidate with a socialist platform can get on the shortlist and win serious credibility due to a lifetime track-record working hard within the labour movement. I have one message really to like-minded comrades in and outside the Labour Party. Let's not give up on our core values - let's not give up on the Party. And let's have more candidates who are prepared to put their heads above the parapet.

BESIDE THE SEASIDE...

Just off to Scarborough to chair fringe meeting @ Women's TUC. I will be taking with me a copy of the People's Charter which was launched in Parliament yesterday. More details here
Update midnight: Just back ( two changes York/Leeds) after some time in main conference listening to v interesting debate on sex workers /decriminalisation followed by our LRC discussion on the global crisis. Speakers from PCS and CWU shared their thoughts on specific issues ie privatisation of Royal Mail and the Welfare Reform Bill. Also a wide-ranging discussion on recession, need to take on banks, and generally move to more socialist vision.
I haven't been to Scarborough for many years.....the Spa Complex is a stunning location and it would be nice to see more conferences there.All in all, worth a four-hour round trip. Now for a very stressful few days..........

MEN-RIP

For much of my journalistic life I was one of the key freelancers at the Manchester Evening News. You name it, I did it. MEN Diary, Women's Page, feature interviews with tbe great and the good. Plus the more mundne task of covering local news stories for the newsdesk. They were good years both financially and professionally and my colleagues were all excellent, meticulous journalists. I was a freelance negotiator with the management and did so much work that most thought I was a staffer. I wasn't.
Some years ago the MEN got rid of most of its freelances - me included - and the only vestige of my previous life is a page I write weekly - which I have done for the past 14 years .
This week, MEN journalists learned their workfocce is to be reduced by half. The paper is already a shadow of its former self and I cannot envisage how it will survive with further cuts.
All the weekly newspapers owned by the MEN are to, effectively, close. These are sad days for journalism and I will do my best to attend the lobby of Parliament on March 25 on this issue. I noted the other day that the MEN's business pages reported that 1 in 10 people are soon expected to be out of work. That's a figure which will resound with anyone who grew up in the Thatcher years. UB 40 immortalised the number with a song we all remember. Truly looks as though we're heading back to the 1980's .

ON THE PICKET LINE.......

Today I was in Leeds to show solidarity with NUJ members on strike at the Yorkshire Post. With me on the picket line was Alice Mahon who has been a stalwart supprter of mine in the campaign to be PPC in Keighley. The final vote is on Saturday and I will be giving it my best shot. I've made it clear all along I am not a career politican and I'm standing in Keighley as a credible candidate for a West Yorkshire constituency. I still hope I can win.

However, in my own constituency of Calder Valley we are still without a PPC following the de-selection of Janet Oosthuysen, an excellent candidate and friend who fell foul of an orchestrated media campaign against her. This NEC decision left many of us saddened - and also resolved to carry on the fight for a candidate who could win a highly marginal seat. When I applied for Keighley, there was no vacancy in Calder Valley. There is now - and the timing , unfortunately, means the two selections overlap. So, if I don't win on Saturday, I will immediately start another campaign in my own constituency. Only one other candidate, Stephenie Booth, has put her name forward. Watch this space........

THANKS.......

Tonight we raised another £400 for my local hospice - Overgate. A heartfelt thanks to the staff at the local Italian restaurant, Dave Boardman our quizmaster and all who turned up. Tonight takes us to £2500 raised locally - only £1500 to the total I set last May. I'm sure we will do it. A real positive at a stressful time.......

THE GREEN SLIME TENDENCY.......

Other bloggers have had a field-day over the Peter Mandelson slime incident. Much joshing about guacamole and variations on he-had-it-coming.

Actually, I have always taken the view that eggs, custard or whatever unguents one chooses to chuck are probably not the best way of getting your point across. But the reasons why people feel compelled to adopt such desperate tactics are really very simple. Increasingly, they feel utterly frustrated by the lack of democracy and the fact that the Government often rides roughshod over the silent majority. The Heathrow issue is a case in point. No vote in Parliament, no mandate for those whose homes, schools and hospitals would be bulldozed by the plans. No power to do anything much other than protest as loudly as possible in the hope one's voice will eventually be heard. The same is true over Royal Mail privatisation and the Welfare Reform Bill. At the rally I attended last week, people were visibly angry that a Labour adminstration should be targetting those most vulnerable and on benefits while failed bankers are bailed out with very few visible strings. So, while not a follower of the slime tendency myself, I do hope it gave Peter Mandelson some food for thought.

A WEEK IN POLITICS...A LIFE WITH LABOUR

A week today I will be over in Keighley relying on adrenalin to get me through a nerve-wracked afternoon at the final hustings. Public speaking is something very few of us are born to and something I have had to get used to in the past couple of years. But I will give it my best shot.
I've been mulling over what I shall say for several weeks and I've toyed with various ideas. But, with only seven days to go, I think there is only one strategy I will feel happy with.
It was made clear to me on Thursday when I attended the funeral of Bill Risby, a friend and comrade for most of my adult life. I'd like to thank Bill's widow, Marie, for asking me to do a reading at the Requiem Mass at St Dunstan's. It was a privilege to do so. It was also very moving to see so many people there paying tribute - dozens of Manchester councillors, MPs Tony Lloyd and Graham Stringer, plus friends from the Labour Party, many of whom I hadn't seen for over 20 years.
We first met each other as idealistic youngsters - we're now resolutely middle-aged but, whether in or outside the Labour Party, still I hope committed to those ideals of social justice which led us to get involved in politics all those years ago. I hope the presence of so many people who admired and respected Bill as someone who stayed true to socialist values was a comfort to the family.
There was one saying of Bill's which was quoted at the funeral and which has stuck in my mind for the past couple of days - namely that if you have an opinion, you should have the courage to express it.
So, when I make my final hustings speech in Keighley, what I say will I hope be an honest and straightforward explanation of where I stand and why. It will then be up to the CLP members to choose whether or not they think I am the right person for the job.
I would like to thank those who have endorsed my campaign. They included Bill , who sent me a message of support only two days before he died, also Tony Benn, Tony Lloyd MP, John McDonnell MP, Alice Mahon , Jeremy Dear of the NUJ and my friend Coun Dave Young from Hebden Royd Town Council. I know that if I am selected for Keighley I can rely on the support of many friends old and new in the labour movement. So keep your fingers crossed, comrades, and I'll get on with preparing my speech.

WESTMINSTER WATCH

Have not been at my computer for couple of days as have been in London for several meetings, including yesterday's Welfare Reform Bill lobby led by PCS and supported by the TUC . Yesterday 's rally featured the PCS's Mark Serwotka, Tony Woodley of UNITE , MPs Katy Clark and John McDonnell plus Neal Lawson from Compass. Plus speakers from pressure groups also opposed to the new laws like Child Poverty Action group and Release.
It was a very broad selection of campaigners - all united to oppose this draconian legislation which can only be a vote-loser and further erode Labour support at a time when we re staring election defeat in the face.
Expediency aside, it beggars belief that a Labour Government is choosing to single out the most vulnerable members of our society while fat cats like Fred Goodwin walk away with vast rewards for their ineptitude, and while the banks are bailed out with billions of pounds. There are still many principled politicans and trade unionists within the Labour Party - their voices seem to go unheard for reasons I find both mystifying and distressing. Alongside the Government's dogged determination to privatise the Royal Mail, this is legislation which will cost us dearly. And for the life of me I canot understand why the Government insists on ploughing on with what seems an almost wilful determination to adhere to New Labour dogma despite the fact it has long passed its sell-by date. Many MPs must be pretty much in despair at this madness

KNIVES OUT FOR HARRIET HARMAN

There is some seriously nasty briefing against Harriet Harman in today's Mail On Sunday amid accusations she is being "disloyal" by making known her opposition to measures like the part-privatisation of the Royal Mail. According to the MoS, the PM is considering sacking her and has no time for her whatsoever.

Aside from the ideological debate, it's deeply depressing that the culture of spin and highly pesonal atacks is alive and well almost two years after Gordon Brown vowed to put an end to it . And even more that anyone who raises a sensible voice against what are ( let's face it) deeply unpopular policies is immediately briefed against. If only the Cabinet would stand up against measures like the Welfare Reform Bill, the Heathrow third runway and the Royal Mail fiasco then maybe Labour wouldn't be in the troubles it currently faces. That's not hard left dogma, it's common sense.