Len McCluskey was on Question Time on the day that the impending release of Harry Roberts was announced. He called for a change in the law so that convicted murders of Police Officers would never be released from prison. Now that Roberts is out, expect that to be announced as Labour Party policy.
The Police are a key part of the public sector trade union family; they have the most old school trade union of the lot, due to the fact that officially it is not one. Four and a half years of Theresa May mean that there is probably not a Conservative voter left among them in the entire country. In any case, they need to be given something in return for the Orgreave Inquiry that has already been promised.
Come to the Durham Miners' Gala, and you will see that relations between the old mining communities and the Police are now back to where they were before the Strike, when young bobbies were recruited from miners' families that were proud to provide them. They routinely married miners' daughters, and so on. That was what She destroyed. But She is dead.
Why, this seat of North West Durham even has an MP whose husband was a member of Durham Constabulary during the Miners' Strike, and who is himself now a Durham County Councillor for an old mining ward.
Pat herself, though admittedly never active in Branch, Constituency or District Labour Party affairs that anyone can recall, tweeted her grief while attending this year's funeral of Stan Pearce, the Militant Tendency's main man inside the Durham Miners' Association during the Strike.
Yet this was once the Armstrongs' seat, which Hilary's protégé publicly announced would be his. One day before an all-women shortlist was imposed. Later, but no longer, the Director of Labour North, he also used to tell me off for attending the Big Meeting.
How the world turns.
And how quickly.
That bit about Pat is very clever because it looks like a compliment but it's really your way of saying the local right-wing (by Labour standards) machine couldn't produce anyone so the only way of getting a local candidate was to draft one in from the far left network.
ReplyDeleteHow come there was no local inside candidate? Because that would have been you. The old boys still want you. They always have wanted you. They always will want you. You know that because you are still in very close touch with them.
They don't want you. Whoever says this is an outright liar. Because I've asked them. They all say "it's very sad what happened to David".
ReplyDeleteOf course they say that to you, luv. They have only ever been barely able to bring themselves to speak to you at all.
DeleteAnyway, there are no circumstances under which you would still meet them.
The enemies were very shaken when you had that damn near definitive article about the Scottish referendum on Labour Uncut a few hours after the result. Pat's website was hastily updated to show Lanchester parish church and that, and she is your friend.
DeleteAs for the old Derwentside boys, few of whom still attend party meetings with several no longer party members, they still run Consett as you know. They got Alex himself in against the party.
If he had stood for MP last time after you got sick Alex would have been first past the post and handed over to the obvious successor next year. They could still make anyone they wanted first past the post in this seat. Of course you know all that.
And of course, if "Anonymous" 21:37 had been the Labour candidate, then Owen Temple would now be the MP.
DeleteBut on topic, please.