71 today, a Very Happy Birthday to Paul Gambaccini, the next Member of Parliament for Holborn and St Pancras. Resist all temptation to field more than one candidate against Keir Starmer. With proper discipline, then we can lose him his seat. Gambaccini is the first in the field, he has name recognition, he has a simple message, and he deserves a clear run. If he cannot afford a winning campaign, and he probably can, then Cliff Richard certainly can.
Camden is 19 per cent "Other White". Boris Johnson could emulate Disraeli's brilliant doubling of the electorate, the effects of which can still be felt, if he were to legislate so that, while parliamentary candidates would have to be British citizens in Great Britain, or British or Irish citizens in Northern Ireland, there would no longer be any nationality requirement for voting.
The New Statesman carries an article over the name of Phil Wilson, who was one of 51 Labour MPs to lose their seats to Conservatives who were more left-wing than they were. Three more lost their seats to Conservatives who were to their right, but who were nevertheless well to the left of the 51.
Bringing us to the composition of Starmer's Shadow Cabinet, if not necessarily at first, then certainly by 2024. The presence of Yvette Cooper on Question Time suggests that that mass murderer, she of the Work Capability Assessment, is destined for a return to the frontbench. But her majority is only 1,276. Vote and campaign for whoever was in second place; as it happens, that is the Conservative Party.
Vote and campaign for whoever was in second place in the constituency of each Shadow Cabinet member in 2024. Do not field other candidates. Just get on and do this. Forget old friendships. These people will have made their political choice, and we must make ours.
We have the opportunity to get ourselves into that habit as we prepare for Super Thursday, 6th May 2021, when a huge number of elections will be held. In local elections, vote for whoever was best placed to defeat Starmer's Labour Party. A ward by ward guide to County Durham, where this need is particularly acute, will appear here nearer the time.
Return Alex Salmond to Holyrood, and elect as many as possible of his supporters, within or beyond the SNP. Ideally, one of those would be Craig Murray. Remove the supporters of Nicola Sturgeon. Might her own seat be contested by Murray, or by Tommy Sheridan, or by George Galloway, or even by Salmond himself?
George's vote for Mayor of London must be maximised so that even if he did not win, and never bet against him, then his total would be larger than the winner's margin of victory over Sadiq Khan. Both the Workers Party of Britain and the Social Democratic Party ought to present lists to the electorate, and either would be worthy of a vote.
The same would be true in Scotland and in Wales. The idea of George at the head of the WPB's London list, its list in a Scottish region, and its list in a Welsh region, leading to his election in all three cases, is almost too delicious for words. Only he could pull that one off.
I am never again going to be a member of a political party, and there are problems both with the WPB and with the SDP. But there is no such thing as a perfect party. Where they agree, and they do quite a lot, then they are right. They mostly appeal to different sections of the electorate, and the list system offers the opportunity of getting some of each of them in. That opportunity needs to be grasped.
Meanwhile, the Budget of March 2020, and the Government's response to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, have ended the era that began with the Budget of December 1976. The Centre is the think tank for this new era. Please give generously.
We have the opportunity to get ourselves into that habit as we prepare for Super Thursday, 6th May 2021, when a huge number of elections will be held. In local elections, vote for whoever was best placed to defeat Starmer's Labour Party. A ward by ward guide to County Durham, where this need is particularly acute, will appear here nearer the time.
Return Alex Salmond to Holyrood, and elect as many as possible of his supporters, within or beyond the SNP. Ideally, one of those would be Craig Murray. Remove the supporters of Nicola Sturgeon. Might her own seat be contested by Murray, or by Tommy Sheridan, or by George Galloway, or even by Salmond himself?
George's vote for Mayor of London must be maximised so that even if he did not win, and never bet against him, then his total would be larger than the winner's margin of victory over Sadiq Khan. Both the Workers Party of Britain and the Social Democratic Party ought to present lists to the electorate, and either would be worthy of a vote.
The same would be true in Scotland and in Wales. The idea of George at the head of the WPB's London list, its list in a Scottish region, and its list in a Welsh region, leading to his election in all three cases, is almost too delicious for words. Only he could pull that one off.
I am never again going to be a member of a political party, and there are problems both with the WPB and with the SDP. But there is no such thing as a perfect party. Where they agree, and they do quite a lot, then they are right. They mostly appeal to different sections of the electorate, and the list system offers the opportunity of getting some of each of them in. That opportunity needs to be grasped.
Meanwhile, the Budget of March 2020, and the Government's response to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, have ended the era that began with the Budget of December 1976. The Centre is the think tank for this new era. Please give generously.
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