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Manchester Withington Selection: Anti-War Letters and Head-to-Head Hustings
Today's South Manchester Distorter Readers' Letters feature was the fourth in succession to carry a letter from a potential Man Wit candidate expressing opposition to the Iraq War. 
In order of publication these were from Nargis Khan who opposed the war and Trident replacement, Jenny Lennox who did likewise and had attended the latest London Demo, Naheed Arshad-Mather who adds her anti-Trident letter this week, and now Yogesh Virmani. 80% of the remaining five candidates. Perhaps next week will bring a full house?
We are also heartened to see that Chorlton Against War have organised a special head-to-head hustings for the five prospective candidates with all welcome to attend. The meeting - on Thursday 29 March at 7:30pm will also give an opportunity to inspect the new meeting facilities at Chorlton Library. Will there be enough space?
Questions are expected to range widely across all areas of government policy and constituency issues.
After all money spent on making war cannot be spent on making our Metrolink better.
This one really is a five-line whip. Hopefully it will be filmed and YouTubed.
UPDATE: This post has triggered some heat in the comments on two red herring issues. One: a mischievious story about Diane Abbot being unseated. And two: some concern about a face-to-face hustings organised by Trots. For clarification although the blessed MK sent the letter in to the Distorter he did so on behalf of a broad group of local people of all parties and none. CND, churchies and mosquies prominent.
24 comments:
Your new best mate Dave Osler is linking your other mate Nargis Khan with a challenge for Diane Abbot's parliamentary seat in Hackney.
Diane faces a trigger ballot.
Read it here:
Dave on Nargis
Oo-er Miles. That's pretty disreputable even for a Jenny 4 Leader apparatchik. You lot have consistently broken the rules on bigging up your own instead of dissing your opponents. I sincerely hope that your candidate is not harmed by that pattern. You probably know best.
There are some comrades and colleagues in Man Wit who don't think Nargis Khan will need to look elsewhere ... or that there is a hope in hell of Hackney New Labourites shifting Diane from her seat on the green benches or from her place on the sofa with someone who used to be the next leader of the Tory Party - and who would have been a far better and more threatening model than Dave/id.
When you say "faces a trigger ballot" do you mean like all sitting MPs may? Or are they actually doing it to her and themselves?
I'll just nip off to bessy mate Dave's blog and try to divine the truth of the matter.
Mark Krantz who stood for Respect in the 2005 General Election. Why would candidates in a Labour Party selection want to go to a meeting organised by a bunch of former Socialist Worker paper sellers.
Let me know who goes - they've lost my vote next Saturday. Against the war maybe, but not in bed with people who are anti-Labour and who campaigned against Labour in Withington.
Ouch Lorenzo. I'm getting that friday feeling.
As you probably know Mark stood against Beverley Hughes in Stretford and Urmston. As well as being Usdaw sponsored and a former employer of one Lucy Powell La Bev voted for the war and 100% for everything dodgy our government has done.
Which is not to say she isn't a good constituency MP and blah de blah. But loyal to a fault and an obvious target as a former IND Minister for Trots to take on.
Respect did not stand or campaign against Labour in Manchester Withington - more's the pity - because Keith Bradley's record of speaking up against the war and Manchester Withington CLP's known policy against the war was recognised.
If they had stood and got just 400 of the protest votes given to the opportunist hoaxer and liar Cllr John Leech MP Labour would have held the seat albeit by a tiny majority. If they had got two, three or even four times this figure then Keith would still be on the green benches instead of the red.
They have not stood a candidate in Man Wit at all as far as I can recall since 2003 (?) when if anything they helped our position. Sadly their candidate in WR stood down that year in recognition of our track record ... and that added to our defeat by not being there rather than by being there. Again we might have won if they had stood, despite the raging anti-war feeling.
Clearly we all have issues with Respect and their windbag MP and cat impersonator. But in this case the hustings meeting has been called by a broad group including CND, some non-sectarian LP people (boo hiss), Greens, Churchies and Mosquies, and just a couple of Respectees.
I hope it goes ahead and that all five candidates take part as this would be the only chance to see them in the sort of head-to-head situation they will face in Churches Together or other Hustings for the real thing. And also in the Houses of Parliament when elected.
Obviously that could leave you with no-one to vote for ... but perhaps you will revise your position and give this thing your blessing?
PS to Miles - you keep on getting the order of my preferences in this election wrong my friend. Keep it up and you may find yourself right.
Oh and I have been to Dave's blog and posted a comment which will be the basis of a post here shortly. ALL sitting MPs face a trigger ballot. The process has yet to start. There are actually very good Political reasons that every MP should have to face reselection and that is my "theoretical" position. However there are very good political reasons for avoiding these so that has tended to be my "action" position when it has come up.
The danger of triggering a ballot because you think it is the right thing to do, and should apply to all parliamentarians so they are properly held to account - even if it is a shortlist of one - is that it presents an open goal for party managers (who are cute as hell) to parachute in right-wingers.
Think it was 2004 in fact, sorry.
Chris
I wasn't suggesting Nargis was personally trying to unseat Diane -just that she is being touted as a possible replacement if DA is challenged.
I thought LOL readers would be interested.
It obviously means she is popular with Labour members in her home borough so is hardly bad publicity.
On the trigger ballot I think all MPs and councillors should face re-selection as a matter of course.
Lorenzo - Mark K is a very committed anti-war activist. He helped to organise the transport to the recent anti-Trident demo for example.
On this issue I think we should be thanking him rather than attacking him.
And giving him a Labour Party membership form!
Paul is right Lorenzo - any potential candidate is going to face tougher challenges in the General Election campaign than debating a room full of Trots.
I would expect any candidate worth their salt to turn up and show their mettle in debate. You don't win any prizes for debating with your friends, it's the opponents that need shoeing.
Put it this way, if a candidate can't deal with the Left in a convincing way - in fact that's one place where we need to win votes back - how do you expect them to perform against Leech?
Miles: It's the way you tell them as Mr Carson used to say. Possibly still does I'm not on the obits desk. You're right that if Nargis were being carried shoulder high round Hackney and urged to stand against Diane this would refelect the bloody good job the stats show in her mullering the Lib Dems and representing people. I can easily imagine this might happen if Spart's scurrilous story had legs.
And I'm using scurrilous here with some admiration. Spart is having some fun. But so you know what? It may never happen. The anti-Diane putsch that is. And clearly someone selected for Man Wit would not be available.
Which may rule out Jenny, who knows? Or Lucy whose newly purchased home is not so far away from the constituency or the HP.
ALL sitting LPs face a trigger ballot. I agree with your theory. But in practice making them fight a selection when they are a good, left MP is playing into the hands of the party managers.
SPART has gone on a fishing expedition linking three women - not just Nargis, another Trotty deception of yours - who happen to be on the LP panel with a seat which is NOT vacant and which may not be anytime soon.
Action-Without-Theory could be coming home to roost. We should do a plug for the big social at English Martyr's Tonight (the Blessed Oliver Plunkett and the rest - wasn't he Irish. ed?) with some big shot easy listening DJ and candidates from Burnage, Fallowfield and City Centre. £5 ovno. Also some Man Wit nominees. Straying off piste.
Nargis is a Greater Manchester candidate through and through. How dare this loathsome Trot suggest she is a homey in Hackney? Give him some more big stick and no carrots Mr Webmaster.
Ed is right, although contemporary of and executed without great sensitivity but with much hacking, cutting, dragging, torturing and burning at Tyburn as part of the same season of medieval entertainments with a number of English Martyrs. But St Oliver Plunkett was Irish, from Co Meath.
He was sent over in an exchange of Saints for St Paddy (that's a fib, bless me father etc it is decades since may last confession).
The real English Martyrs are here and St Margaret Clitherow was one of them. She refused to make a plea and in the time honoured fashion this saved her from the knifes and nooses and got her crushed under lots of big rocks instead. Good call St Maggie. Dead quick as they say. Time for a quick novena on the rosary and then heaven.
Note to Deejay: "English" Martyrs is a very Irish parish and social club. Hard left, though they do have a fairy-ring of Brownies lurking in the scout hut at the back. Bring Irish Punk, rebel songs, and exile dirges of Brendan Shine etc.
This was where trivia fans JUST two of 300 registered voters from the nearby student hall of residence voted in the important general election of 2005.
As opposed to the unimportant general election of '87 or '92 or '97 or '01 or '05? But good point - most students don't vote, but they will if sent some appropriate communications by an ambitious candidate faced with the complacent assumption that "students don't vote".
Chris
1) I've never read any Trotsky though would like to find the time one day. What do you recommend?
2) On reselection - no democracy because we might lose?
Scandalous.
Where would the Sandinistas be if they thought like that?
Oh...hang on a minute.
3) SLF and Undertones sorted.
I've got an update on the Chorlton hustings Here
Trotsky for Dummies? Trotsky Made Simple? Bluff Your Way in "Trot"? I don't know Miles. I'm not a bookseller-running-lickspittle-dog-of-capitalism.
I'd say the defining characteristics are:
1. Action-with-Theory (or Inaction if you are a detractor)
2. Continuing and continuous world revolution
3. Petulence and lack of collective responsibility
So on that last one ... if the majority support X while you support Y you either split or struggle to sabotage X from within until ice-picked.
But some of that may be wrong.
Sandinistas - back in government. But not adherents to same old same old. They've changed. A lot.
SLF and Undertones - may be a bit modern. Have you got a new fangled contraption to play vinyl platters my man? in which case have quite a bit of kosher diddly diddly. And a little klezmer.
CDs only.
Petula Clark will have to do.
CDs. Oo-er. I'll take a look.
I think I'm going to have to remove that one. As soon as I get a complaint. Any relation to the one saying Roy Harper should get his blooming shirt on? Er Miles?? Or is that Jim?
Not me gov.
Still not had any complaints Jim. I'm sure you were tucked up your bed getting your beauty sleep or organising the rounds for today's Burnage Carnage. I don't think the post breaks the rules.
Someone's idea of satire. But seriously - I will remove this if asked to.
Chris
You keep accusing me of writing things I haven't written.
Carter Ruck are on stanbdby.
I think that post should be removed as impersonating a candidate is clearly unacceptable to everybody except obsessive negative campaigners.
Do you know any?
Hi Miles: Have you corrected your blog clock yet? They think you're in Hollywood. I have removed the post, though I'm not sure you're right about impersonation - when that is obvious, vide Luke Akehurst and Luke Akehurst, both of whom blog stuff here and on their own blogs - but anyway it's gone. Obviously I accept that this was not you this time. In fact your NCTJ training is so ingrained that you cannot do long paras. This means though that if anyone is trying to identify the posters of some of the negative stuff under cover of anonymous, local voter etc you're bang to rights. Carter Ruck or no Carter Ruck.
Have a cracking - nothing to do with the selection - and am on to Max Clifford with it but if he passes do you know any cheque book journalists? And how much is your intor fee?
Best w
Chris P
Cracking "story" btw. Though there was a cracking of two of Geoff's eggs last evening ... eggtastic.
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