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.