Saturday 14 October 2017

Far and Wide

I am pleased for everyone who enjoyed Laura Pidcock's Constituency Labour Party dinner with Shami Chakrabarti last night. A number of my Facebook friends were there. But only one, it seems, from within this constituency, and he pretty much runs Momentum and all that in these parts. The rest had come from far and wide, being stalwarts of Hard and Far Left events.

The CLP was never asked whether it wanted Laura. It had always been used to very local MPs. It had nominated Jeremy Corbyn in 2016, but Andy Burnham in 2015, and Ed Miliband in 2010. Over half of the County Council seats in North West Durham are not held by Labour, while 34 per cent, more than one third, of those who voted here in June did so for the Conservative candidate, so anyone with the attitude that "They are the enemy" could never get anything done here.

Laura is 30 years younger than her predecessor, meaning that at least one entire generation was skipped in order to secure a candidate with the right chromosomes, while several perfectly plausible parliamentarians, from across the Labour Party but alas of the wrong sex, were already well established in North West Durham.

So the CLP barely campaigned for Laura, meaning that Hard and Far Left stalwarts had to be bused in from all over. The CLP barely turned up to Laura's dinner with Shami Chakrabarti, meaning that Hard and Far Left stalwarts had to be bused in from all over. And I am not here to be anybody's cheerleader.

7 comments:

  1. You still want this seat so badly, you have done almost as long as she's been alive. You'd be a better MP than her, all she does is lower the tone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That one does seem to come up a lot. She needs to work on it.

      Delete
  2. I've just seen the pictures on her Twitter. That was the CLP dinner? I remember ball gowns at the Pavilion with place cards, the lot. I'm surprised anybody turned up, from anywhere.

    ReplyDelete
  3. A ballgown should not be worn to a Chinese restaurant. It may be worn for a dinner dance,; but only if the men are in white tie. A cocktail dress would have been more fitting

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let's not talk about fittings. One sees, but never says.

      The Pavilion is not "a Chinese restaurant". That barely begins to describe it.

      Delete
  4. Quite a number of inaccuracies being pedalled here, which is disappointing from a journalist as trust is very easily lost. I attended this social event (not an annual dinner, no ballgowns required).
    Nobody was bussed in, which must be difficult for those not so popular to understand? I noticed plenty from the CLP and many who had travelled to see two very popular ladies.
    It's disappointing that you have a problem with female politicians but that is your demon for you to deal with and your problem. Thankfully the people of NW Durham don't share your outdated views.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You sound terribly frightened.

      Look, I wish Laura well. I shall voting Labour next time, regardless of anything else. But the CLP never picked her, it would not have picked her, and it might not pick her.

      North West Durham has had a woman MP for 30 years. In my time, I have voted for both of Laura's predecessors. In fact, as a Sub-Agent, I got one of them over half of the vote on a four-way split in what was then still very much a traditionally Tory ward.

      Delete