Interesting debate here at Labourhome, hot on the heels of a post by Will Parbury the day after the mayoral results, ponders on who the next Labour mayoral candidate should be. Iain Dale has even linked to it (although he doesn’t recognise the suggestion he picks was a joke). It was sad to see a picture of Ken forlornly carrying a plastic Thomas the Tank Engine trainset out of his office in the Mail on Sunday last week but a suggestion from Alex Hilton (all round affable guy and PPC for Kensington) is that should be Kon not Ken next time ie Konnie Huq. All this speculation less than a week after Livingstone’s electoral demise. Indecent haste?
The full list of candidates is yet to be announced but you may have seen Channel 4 news showing stump action from the Crewe and Nantwich by-election yesterday. More here and here. Tamsin Dundwoody, the late Gwyneth’s daughter and star of this Facebook group, is Labour candidate. The Tories have picked an Edward Timpson, heir to Timpson’s heel-bar empire.
Among what will be the also-rans at the end of the day is this 26 year old northern Irish glamour model and Former Miss Great Britian, Gemma Garrett, from the “Beauties for Britain Party” who are hoping to inject some glamour into the proceedings. Strange things happen in by-elections but the likelihood of a British Cicciolina (Italian porn model turned MP who had a Pop Will Will Eat Itself single named after her) is unlikely I reckon. Screaming Lord Sutch was never like this.
Have had this up today on Comment is Free. Various commentators have fingered the blame for Boris’ win on outer London yet as Luke Akehurst points out here suburbs that bucked the trend by swinging to Labour include Brent and Harrow now represented by Navin Shan and further out in Slough in the Thames Valley. In Bromley and Bexley the Tories romped home with James Cleverley a candidate who smashes Conservative stereotypes as their first black Assembly Member. The suburbs cannot be subjected to blanket treatment then; outer London boroughs also helped the BNP to their first Assembly Member - an alarming fact that seems to have been conveniently overlooked by the media who are punch drunk on the Boris victory.
Comments are welcome, as all this is background to what will be my next book on the changing face of twenty-first century suburbia. They seem to be, for some reason, flooding into this curio which I can’t really account for.
Iain Dale has been having a pop at a clutch of Labour bloggers for not covering Gordon Brown’s Sunday round of interviews. In a typical hissyfit he decrees that none of the bloggers listed, which include the mighty collaborative efforts Harry’s Place and PIckled Politics, will be deemed worthy of a link from the Dale-ster.
Well this blog has never really been into tv reviews, particularly of programmes that I’ve never seen - Paul Burgin does that stuff much better. Some of us have stuff to do, kids to play with etc etc on a long weekend. I ended up turning on the box for the first time of the day late on Sunday night when I caught Headcases for the first time. As with earlier attempts 2-D Tv and Spitting Image, it inevitably felt too short. The Amy W(h)inehouse and Al-Fayed-baiting bits were mildly diverting. The portrayal of Boris Johnson as a St Bernard in a dog-basket was probably penned before Friday night’s result. Good to see some new satire on our screens. You can never have enoughin my book. Interesting to note also that ITV is replicating the i-player with this lil’ thing.
Now Iain, toys back in the pram pleasse.
I’m not in the mood for post-mortems right now so have just had this on an entirely unrelated subject (schools as it happens) up at the spanking new Harry’s Place instead. Let’s hope Ken can still pull it off this evening. Gordon Brown’s famous fingernails must be under extreme pressure.
Recieved here via the new look Harry’s place who nicked them from Socialist Unity. I didn’t realise Gorgeous George was on the ballot paper so I shall be putting Ken first and Sian Berry 2nd. Hopefuly no distribution of Ken’s second places will be needed so it’ll be irrelevant anyway. But that’ll only happen if Labour people get off their arses to turn out.
Remember to urge everyone you know who has a London vote to use it - specially for the London-wide top up list member as a low turnout will make the BNP’s job of the measely percentage they need for an assembly member and potentially holding the balance of power in our great city an easy one. I shall try to slip it into what I say to the 170 first years in the exam I am invigilating in a bit.
…Thinking woman’s (?) Tory Michael Gove flanked by two young Boris-leaflet bearing sharp suited men marching him towards Northfields tube station at 5.30 today. Pre-MP Gove used to contribute to the edited books of the irrepressible Mark Perryman . I was a contributor alongside him to this title on Blairism (although I never met the guy, who looks even younger now he’s ditched wearing glasses). He is not however in “Imagined Nation: England After Britain”. I guess he has had other fish to fry lately - which according to his Conservative homepage was the family business.
I couldn’t engage in banter/do the “keeping a Tory on the doorstep routine” sadly as I was in a car.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Morrissey is forking out £28,000 quid to save Sunday’s gig following the withdrawal of a sponsor.
According to the MEN he said: “This is a historic event spreading an important, anti-racist, message so it must be allowed to go ahead.” Can’t say fairer than that.
I wish he’d appear on the bill though. That really would give it the oomph that some say it has been missing.
This weekend sees a Carnival in Hackney’s Victoria Park in aid of the Move Music Hate Racism campaign which aims to be a neo-Rock Against Racism. Details of Sunday’s fun and games is here. Latest Comment is Free piece by me on the legacy of the original 30 years ago this weekend is here. Organisers want a big turnout but it’s the turnout (of non BNP voters) on May 1st that really needs to be a biggie to stop us finding out this time next week that a BNP assembly member (possiby more) has been elected to City Hall.
See you in the moshpit?
Launched yesterday was Mark Perryman’s edited collection “Imagined Nation” out with erstwhile radical publishing house Lawrence and Wishart. It’s a thoroughly recomended thought provoking read with chapters by Billy Bragg, Paul Gilroy and my good self amongst others. The serious bit after the colon is “England After Britain”. It’s being discussed all over the left-side of the blogosphere including Mark’s piece at Comment is Free, the Compass site here and even this Respect blog. This shouldn’t put you off acquiring a worthy addition to any bookshelf.
It’s also been featured here in the Swindon advertiser. The local man called Andy they interview is not the XTC lead singer and possibly greatest living Englishman Andy Partidge who has had a longstanding love-hate relationship with the town, but a Socialistunity contributor with a chapter in the book - Andy Newman.
So go seek out his perfect St Georges… um season.. gift. Who says feting 23rd March as a permanent fixture on the calendar will never catch on?
