Saturday 14 September 2019

Yellow?

Feverish stuff in these parts. It is suggested that the Liberal Democrats are so desperate to keep out of Parliament the man who casually retold the old Just So story, How Luciana Berger Got Her Seat, leading to its repetition even in Israeli newspapers, that they are preparing to order the standing down of the man who has been their parliamentary candidate here on the last three occasions.

He cut the Labour majority in half in 2010, he was a founder member both of the Lib Dems and of the SDP, and he remains both a poll-topping Councillor in this constituency's largest town, as well as a major financial donor to the party nationally. But none of that is of any matter to the people who have come to control his party this year, one of whom joined it at all only this month.

It is inconceivable that Berger agrees with Owen Temple, and thus disagrees with Simon Henig or Laura Pidcock, about the County Durham Teaching Assistants. That may be pretty much the only thing on which I do agree with Owen. But it is the issue on which I marched alongside both him and my own Campaign Patron, his wardmate, Alex Watson. My other Patron, Davey Ayre, is also a stalwart of that struggle.

It is a bit much to ask Hard Remainers to vote for me, but if their party is determined to disenfranchise them for the sake of a newly arrived opportunist, then what are they to do? I am not so sure about this rumour anyway, and in any case I would fully expect Owen to stand his ground. On the Teaching Assistants' issue, I voted for him in 2017. Pidcock had walked out of the TAs' rally at the Durham Miners' Hall, a rally into which Owen, Alex and I had marched together.

Another hung Parliament is coming, and we need our people to hold the balance of power in it. A new party is now in the process of registration. After nearly 30 years of suggestion, speculation, and even a sort of preparation, I will stand for Parliament here at North West Durham. The crowdfunding page is here, and buy the book here. Please email davidaslindsay@hotmail.com. Very many thanks.

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