Author Archives 
-
Why Brent leader Ann John is backing Ken
One of the many people backing Ken Livingstone’s candidacy for the Labour nomination for Mayor of London is the leader of my local council, Ann John.
Ann led Labour’s campaign in Brent to win back the the council after a tough night in the local elections four years ago. The previous Labour administration in Brent – also led by Ann John – was replaced by a Tory-LibDem coalition until this May. It’s good see Ann and her local Labour colleagues back in majority control. Local victories like that point to [...] -
Valued pubs are closing – so the Tories cut the fund that saves them
The Telegraph today covers the problems faced by community pubs whose future is threatened by the closure of a £3.3 million fund set up by the last Labour government to help stem the closure of local pubs.
It reports:
Critics said last night that ministers were “turning their back” on rural communities.
More than 80 groups have come forward for help to buy out their local pub since the Community-Owned Pubs Support Programme was announced in March.
But about 50 projects across England that [...] -
235 NEC nominations for Ken
The nominations for the constituency section of the Labour party NEC are now starting to be published. Ken Livingstone has received 235 nominations, with only current party chair Ann Black securing more.
Paul Waugh has tweeted that this means ‘Newt Labour’ is set for a national comeback. Of course the outcome will be decided on the basis of the votes cast rather than the nominations from Constituency Labour Parties but nonetheless it’s a strong showing for Ken, reflecting the same kind [...] -
Are the Tories running scared over police cuts?
Conservatives like to present themselves as the party of law and order so it is no surprise that they are sensitive when the unpalatable truth about their record is brought out into the open.
The reaction of City Hall’s Tories to the news that Ken Livingstone is attending the Metropolitan Police Authority tomorrow to oppose police cuts and defend London’s safer neighbourhood police teams suggests they are less than delighted to have these issues raised.
The cut to police numbers of 455 [...] -
Oliver Stone – “It’s the same story in Afghanistan, Iraq and South America”
There’s an excellent, revealing interview with Oliver Stone in the Observer today, published to coincide with the British launch of his new film South of the Border about the rise of the left in Latin America.
Over many years Stone has conducted a relentless examination of power and politics in his own country and how the USA takes its place in the world. I recently watched Wall Street for the first time in years. The Observer’s Carole Cadwalladr is right to [...] -
Open for business
Visitors to this site will have noticed that it went very quiet at a number of points this year.
Others may not have experienced this but personally I found it difficult to blog whilst working on an election campaign, which I was doing for the first half of the year. The pace of the campaign is one thing. That’s particularly the case in the weeks of the greatest activity. But there’s another consideration: if you’re working for the party you’re responsible for [...] -
Moving on
With the general and local elections well and truly over, Thursday was my last day at the Labour party. It was a great experience to work on a general election campaign and a pleasure to work as part of a team that gelled so well together. From campaigning against Boris Johnson’s January fare increase to Gordon Brown’s marathon ten visits in one day on the last weekend of the campaign there was – as the cliche goes – never a [...]
-
Conservatives should be disappointed by the London election results
There’s a very interesting article on Conservative Home by Alex Crowley in which the author concedes “Nowhere should Conservatives be more disappointed with the recent election results than in London.”
Crowley writes:
“On a night of mixed results, Labour got the most votes in London and performed far better than they did in the rest of the country. As a result, the Tories were denied marginal seats, and key councils turned red.
“How did Labour manage such a good result?”
Crowley’s piece hits the [...] -
Crossrail – problems for a Tory mayor
Ongoing speculation about the future of Crossrail is mainly a problem for London. But it is also a problem for London’s mayor.
During the general election campaign Labour highlighted the failure of the Tories to give a clear commitment to complete Crossrail. That issue finally broke open when Justine Greening, then the Shadow London Minister, admitted that it was possible that under the Conservatives Crossrail might be cancelled.
The Tories’ deliberately imprecise formulation of ‘support’ for Crossrail – as opposed to any [...] -
Has Boris Johnson lost his grip? – asks the Spectator
There’s disgruntlement with Boris Johnson’s mayoralty from an unexpected quarter today – the Evening Standard’s property and planning correspondent Mira Bar-Hillel, in the lead article for this week’s Spectator.
Accusing the mayor of having passed his ”Emperor’s New Clothes moment,” Bar-Hillel pulls no punches: “he can’t admit he’s wrong, but he’s a little too lazy to do his homework properly, and that often leaves him intellectually denuded.”
“Just how well-suited is Boris to power?” she asks.
Bar-Hillel characterises Johnson’s administration as “well-meaning enthusiasm, followed by [...]