Labour Party activists: 80% back Brown
A poll in yesterday’s Sunday Times offers an interesting insight into the current state of play among Labour activists: ‘A YouGov poll of more than 1,100 Labour Party members suggests that Gordon Brown [pictured], who is waiting on Blair’s announcement, does not face any serious groundswell of opposition from within the party. Asked who they [...]
Bethnal Green & Bow: Labour selects Ali
New Labour has finally named its candidate to fight Bethnal Green & Bow at the next election. The gig has gone to Rushanara Ali – pictured left – who will almost certainly be the next MP for the East End constituency. Here’s some extracts from the officially-sanctioned CV: ‘Rushanara Ali grew up in Bethnal Green [...]
Sarko: blame it on May ’68
Sarko knows exactly what is to blame for the social problems of France. It isn’t unemployment or racism. It isn’t even la racaille. No, it is instead the massed ranks of greying soixante-huitards: ‘A week before the climax of France’s presidential election, Nicolas Sarkozy, the neo-Gaullist favourite, yesterday delivered a striking show of force as [...]
More on Tatchell and Oxford East
One of this blog’s nearly famous and well-connected readers – it does have them, you know – emails with the following proposition: ‘The “real” story about Tatchell and the Greens is that after two failed attempts, they’ve clearly ditched Brighton Kemptown as their number one Westminster target seat, and dumped the buffoonish Keith Taylor with [...]
McDonnell and Meacher: deal or no deal?
John McDonnell and Michael Meacher have done the sensible thing and agreed that whichever of them garners the fewest nominations in the Labour leadership race will back out, The Times reports this morning. Or have they? ‘But last night The Times discovered there are tensions between the two candidates, with Mr McDonnell saying that a [...]
Richard Flint 1959-2007
Richard Flint – former head of communications at the International Transport Workers’ Federation, pictured left – has died at the tragically young age of 47, following a long illness. Born in Canada in 1959, Flint is credited with transforming the ITF Communications Department, especially through pioneering use of the internet and email during the early [...]
Tony Blair and European social democracy
One of the most telling rejoinders to those who still argue that Tony Blair is still a politician in some way tangentially connected to ‘the left’ is his persistent preference for seeing rightwing politicians elected in other European countries. Heaven knows, Europe’s mainstream social democratic parties are scarcely what anybody would describe as radical these [...]
Who are the mystery Meacherites?
Today’s Guardian letters page features the following words from Labour leadership hopeful Michael Meacher: ‘The truth is that I have 24 signed statements from MPs nominating me, with further support from another dozen colleagues who have indicated that they will sign up once the contest is about to start. ‘John McDonnell may have up to [...]
From prefects to bosses
Didn’t you always hate the kids that got picked as prefects at school? Ever wonder what became of the bastards?: ‘Many managers were marked out for leadership at an early age, picked in their youth as school prefects, sport captains or leading members of a choir, according to a study published today. ‘A survey of [...]
Tatchell to fight Oxford East for Greens
Peter Tatchell – a guy I’ve known personally, liked and admired ever since I canvassed for him in the Bermondsey by-election back in 1983 – is to stand for the Green Party at the next general election, challenging Labour’s Andrew Smith in Oxford East. ‘Mr Tatchell said: “The people of Oxford have an opportunity to [...]
