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Burnham and Rotheram selected as Labour candidates in Mayoral contests

Andy BurnhamThis week Labour’s candidates for the metropolitan mayoral elections in 2017 were announced. MPs Andy Burnham and Steve Rotherhm were selected in Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region, while Sion Simons has been selected as the candidate in Birmingham.
Burnham and Rotheram’s selections, and almost inevitable victories in Manchester and Liverpool, will mean that by-elections, and therefore selections, will need to take place in Leigh and also Liverpool Walton.

The likelihood is that both candidates will win and step down as MPs in May 2017, meaning a by-election some weeks later, and an immediate selection contest.

So far under Corbyn, there have been selections for by-elections in Oldham West and Royston, Sheffield Brightside, Ogmore and Tooting. In all of these cases, nominees with close personal ties to the seat or surrounding area have been selected, regardless of the political makeup of the CLP.

There is also an upcoming by-election in Jo Cox’s former seat, Batley and Spen, though no candidate has yet been selected.

14 Comments

  1. Barry Hearth says:

    Oh gosh the Trots are coming!
    But this post highlights the healthy state of Labour politics, surely?
    Mass membership, getting more and more involved, yes those of the right won’t like it. but the Labour party shouldn’t exist to please the Tories.

  2. Richard MacKinnon says:

    Still no woman capable enough within the Labour Party. What are the chances?

  3. Bazza says:

    I have seen thousands of very capable women at Corbyn rallies and at Momentum meetings.
    With the massive JC led upsurge in membership there is so much diverse talent out there it is heartening!
    Solidarity!

  4. Richard MacKinnon says:

    Bazza,
    I know there are plenty of capable woman within Labour but they have no chance with the real cream jobs, they are all reserved for the boys, soon to be ex MEP and failed MP.
    You would think that the likes of Burnham and Simon would have stuffed themselves enough by now and give someone else a place at the trough but seemingly not.

  5. Susan O'Neill says:

    Once upon a time, not so many years ago, we had something called “positive action” which by it’s very nature discriminated against white people in favour of people of colour,race and gender regardless of their merits or capabilities. The result was lots of people supremely qualified for a job were passed over in order to ensure the minimum percentage of ethnics and minorities and a lot of people of colour, race and gender were given posts they were not best suited for. I am all for equality, but it must be based on merits and within a democracy, the democratic choice should prevail.

    1. Bazza says:

      Perhaps a bit of a sweeping statement and perhaps also treating BME and ethnic majority groups as homegenous?

      1. Bazza says:

        More I think about it not happy with your comments.
        You demonstrate a lack of understanding of positive action – it was about under-represented communities being supported and encouraged to apply for posts.
        You are thinking of positive discrimination which is illegal in the UK.
        Yours as a left wing democratic socialist.

    2. Paul Dias says:

      “I am all for equality, but it must be based on merits.”

      How meaningful are ‘merits’ when people have vastly dissimilar opportunities to acquire said merits via higher education, family connections, etc, which again depends on what class (and/or race) they were born into?

  6. rod says:

    It would be wrong to have a scouser as the mayor of Manchester. Does Burnham, and those who back him, have no sense of integrity?

    1. Bazza says:

      It’s the Mayor of Greater Manchester and what’s wrong with working people with different accents representing each other?
      One day we may have more Disabled Labour MPs representing CLPs when perhaps the majority of the electorate are not disabled by society.

  7. Bazza says:

    Just watched the second debate and think Jeremy did very well against ‘Born Again’ ‘Left’ Smith.
    It’s all an act by Smith to hoodwink Labour members that he is Left because with the new mass membership it’s the main game in town, but from Smith it’s THE GREATEST CON SINCE THE GREEKS GAVE THE TROJANS A WOODEN HORSE!
    If he won he would present the Party back to the Neo Liberal Right MPs!
    Once again we saw Smith with his broken record technique but some killer lines from JC showing at times Smith was out of his depth such as how war can be misused “and is often about taking resources from poor countries” spot on JC!
    And just what is it that part of the elite Smith cannot accept about the democratic will of the British people (17.4m) to vote to leave the EC- we may not like it but as democrats we must accept it – you can throw your rattle out of the pram as much as you like and act like a spoilt child but you have to accept democracy!
    Oh and on Smith abstaining on the welfare bill (poor leadership) kicking 12m low income citizens when they are down, perhaps screwing the poor is perhaps not socialist practice.
    And he talks of Keynesianism on the economy when this too has had its time then claims to be a socialist!
    So in summary Smith says he wants Labour in power but he and 174 Labour MPs have spent the last 12 months publicly undermining a Leader elected by the vast majority of members and in the process Smith so far has:
    . Alienated 17.4m people who voted Out by calling for a second referendum.
    . In saying he would press the nuclear button has lost perhaps 5 millions peace campaigners.
    . In abstaining on the welfare bill he has alienated 12m citizens on low incomes.
    I vote no confidence in Smith!

  8. Bazza says:

    Footnote final CLP nominations for Leader have to be in by Monday but latest position: 271 for Corbyn and 41 for Smith.

  9. Bazza says:

    Just thinking about JC’s comment on war can often be about taking resources from poor countries.
    So inspiring to hear a Labour Leader say this and shows Jeremy is a political heavyweight!
    Just imagine if post Chilcot we could get Blair and Bush to face charges in The Hague (and Campbell as questions to answer too) and what a message this would send to the people in the Middle East – that we want to treat them as equals.
    And then stop Western TNCs stealing their resources and perhaps grotesque so-called IS would wither into the dust.
    Brilliant point also by JC about the Labour Movement also needing art, music, comedy and culture (plus poetry) and society too!
    TORIES OUT! JEREMY IN!

  10. Bazza says:

    Funny yesterday looked on a Leeds Facebook page and a member had posted a bland reply from Hilary Benn re his actions.
    He felt JC wouldn’t win so had to do it?
    And as part of the great men and women of history over-rode the democratic decision of 60% of members.
    So he had no confidence in JC but many of us have no confidence in his like who voted for the Iraq War, to invade Afghanistan, to bomb Libya and now Syria (and in at least 2.of these it could be argued oil as a senior civil servant said was one of the spoils of war – Westen TNCs now own significant shares of the oil industry in Iraq & Libya).
    But take Syria – the first of our bombs (before they stopped reporting on this) were on oil refineries and petrol distilling stations but were these populated at the time by working people?(and if so they were likely to have also been trade unionists – the Syrian equivalent of Unite, Unison & the GMB).
    And if these were populated by workers and by non-combatants (and when IS comes to town you probably have no say in the matter) could this be classified as a Tory Government War Crime?
    If they were populated – who made the decision?Michael Fallon? and if so he should resign.
    But so too should Labour’s 166 social imperialists who voted to bomb.
    As they now call us Trots and one person in the Sunday’s Mail (The Daily Mail supported the Nazi Blackshirts in the 1930’s) calls us ‘Nazi Stormtroopers’ many of us have no confidence in the 174 Labour MPs.
    We’re now getting the Right’s gutter politics but Left Wing democratic socialists should stick to political arguments to hold the Right in Labour and the Right in the Tories to account!
    Solidarity!

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