If you want more reason for dealing with the political elite’s career structure in the Labour party, just look at who represents Yorkshire in Labour’s shadow cabinet. Labour has 32 MPs from Yorkshire (the Tories having gained 10 seats in 2010), just 12% of the 258 won by Labour in 2010, but it has 37% […]
Posts Tagged ‘Parliamentary Selections’
The political elite in action: who represents Yorkshire in Labour’s shadow cabinet?
Oct 13th, 2014 by Jon Lansman.Things Labour needs to do to beat UKIP #1: destroy the political elite’s career structure
Oct 13th, 2014 by Jon Lansman.One comment on the website of a Clacton local paper this week summarised the attitude of so many: If it means that the lying, corrupt political elite of this country finally wake up and realise that they must start to serve the people of this country and not themselves then maybe some good will come […]
Machine politics alive and well in Labour leader’s office
Jun 3rd, 2014 by Jon Lansman.Labour’s national executive met today with a row brewing over a handful of parliamentary selections where the current MP is retiring. It’s a row that exposes the continuing machine politics tendencies of Labour’s leader’s office whose fixers are still are work even if their leader says he wants an end to machine politics. And it also reveals […]
UKIP’s surge makes working class Labour candidates more vital than ever
May 27th, 2014 by Jon Lansman.The initial Labour reaction to the success of UKIP at attracting working class voters in many areas has focussed on the right policy response. But as Matthew Goodwin and Robert Ford, authors of Revolt on the Right: Explaining Public Support for the Radical Right in Britain, say in tomorrow’s Guardian the voters with “white faces, blue collars and grey […]
Aberavon selection: Kinnock struggling in third place
Mar 5th, 2014 by Jon Lansman.Stephen Kinnock has been shortlisted in the selection to be Labour’s parliamentary candidate in Aberavon but is thought to be trailing in third place. The real contest, local sources say, is likely to be between current favourite, Progress member Jeremy Miles, and left-wing challenger, trade-union backed Mark Fisher. Members of Aberavon Labour Party will meet on […]
Another by-election stitch-up in Wythenshawe?
Jan 19th, 2014 by Jon Lansman.Paul Goggins, former MP for the safe Labour seat of Wythenshawe and Sale East, was buried three days ago, tragically dying a few days after collapsing whilst out jogging. Today at 9am, applications opened for his successor with an announcement on Labour’s Membersnet. The deadline for applications at 10am tomorrow, longlisting on Wednesday and all over […]
Unite has been vindicated over Falkirk. It’s time for others to move on
Sep 13th, 2013 by Pat Rafferty.Unite Scotland statement on the Falkirk Constituency Labour Party (CLP) selection by Pat Rafferty, Unite Scottish Regional Secretary. That Unite did nothing wrong in the Falkirk CLP is now a matter of fact. This was made clear by the Labour Party last week (Friday 6 September 2013) and more importantly by Police Scotland earlier last month. Despite […]
The Collins inquiry (part 2): what role trade unions should play within Labour
Aug 21st, 2013 by Keith Ewing.The Collins review into the Labour party – trade union link has two fundamental questions to consider. The first is whether trade unions should continue the practice of collective affiliation, and if so on what terms. The other is what role trade unions and their members should play within the Labour party. Yesterday I suggested […]
Campaign to oppose primaries
Aug 7th, 2013 by Jon Lansman.The Labour Party is calling on its members to let its leaders know by Friday 13 September what they think about Ed Miliband’s proposals on “building a better Labour Party, so we can build a better Britain.” Tell us how you’d build a better Labour Party – a party that is rooted in the hopes of the British people, that reaches […]
It’s time to really mend the Labour trade union relationship
Jul 26th, 2013 by Mark Seddon.News that the police have dropped their inquiry into the Falkirk selection because of a lack of evidence does not come as a surprise to me. Having spoken at length to people who had read the Labour Party’s internal investigation and to a number of those directly involved in the selection, it became pretty clear that this […]