Over on Progress
I've written this: http://progressonline.org.uk/Magazine/article.asp?a=1428
posted by Luke Akehurst at 3:17 pm
Friday, October 13, 2006
About Me
- Name: Luke Akehurst
- Location: North Durham, County Durham, United Kingdom
Labour MP for North Durham since 2024. Labour Party activist since 1988 - firmly on the moderate wing of the party. Member of Labour’s NEC 2010-2012 and since 2020. National Secretary of Labour Students 1995-6. Parliamentary candidate for Aldershot (2001) and Castle Point (2005). Hackney Councillor (Chatham Ward) 2002-2014, Labour Group Chief Whip 2002-09, Chair of Health Scrutiny 2010-2014. Dad. Unite and GMB union member. All views expressed in a personal capacity. The rest will become evident from reading the blog.
11 Comments:
Good article. I suppose in Manchester as we have huge working class support we don't have the same problem. But keep it on local issues and related to labour values and you'll go far.
4:50 pm, October 13, 2006
Adele what do you think the chances are of a Labour gain in the Man City Council Gorton South by-election next Thursday?
4:56 pm, October 13, 2006
London has also quite a good number of marginals at parliamentary levels.
Against the tories Labour should defend: Finchley and Golders Green,
Battersea, Brentford and Isleworth, Ealing Central and Acton, Eltham, Enfield North (bad boundary changes there), Harrow East, Hendon and Westminster North
should all be less than 10% majorities
Hammersmith and Tooting are between 10% and 15% (so not exactly marginals, but not safe either...in a bad year, they can fall easily).
And there're the Libdems...they are usually able to get some seats in big swings (and then maybe failing to get some "real" marginal). I wonder which seats they'll target next time...they've some obvious targets over Labour like Hampstead and Kilburn and Islington South (which can be hard for them next time after this years' locals). They've to target Brent Central...not sure if they've enough resources in that area of London to target other Labour seats as "outside" chances (like Holborn and St Pancrass). But they sometimes aren't humble enough to realize their limits and their "winning here" mentality let them carry away...sometimes leaving them with nothing.
Luke, what's your take of next GE's London battleground for Labour
1:36 pm, October 14, 2006
We have had all the MPs out, the labour group out, activists out. We have worked incredibly hard. No big problems nationally.
The lib dems have let people down and the state of the area is a disgrace. Their candidate is a joke. We have a top candidate who has lived in Gorton all her life.
Its neck and neck which is fantastic considering in the all outs we were close to a 1000 votes behind.
It'll be a tough ask; but I am quietly optimistic. We have done everything we can and theres a buzz about labour in Manchester at the moment and the self belief is there.
Labour council working with a labour Government have changed Manchester so much and all that remains is to tell people about in on Thursday. Whatever happens I personally am incredibly proud of how hard we've worked.
1:18 pm, October 15, 2006
Adele, good luck for the byelection... a Labour gain would certainly be a major setback for the Libdems
4:21 pm, October 15, 2006
Cheers, it would throw them into absolute dissaray as well as giving the people of Gorton a good labour councillor.
5:03 pm, October 15, 2006
Oh dear oh dear, Lukey baby. I hope that you're not advocating the military overthrow of democratically elected governments implementing social reform? (And when I use the term "reform", I refer to its original meaning, not "privatising everything and turning the clock back to the Victorian liberal economics").
Presumably you would argue that Allende was responsible for the military coup against his democratically elected government?
8:07 pm, October 15, 2006
The Lib Dems may think they can take Brent Central but Dawn Butler's gonna wipe the floor with Teather. Just let Teather try and tell the voters of Harlsden that she wants to rid them of their favourite daughter. Oh, the pleasure I will gain when Teather is booted straight out of parliament.
10:03 pm, October 15, 2006
Just expose Teather's appauling political judgement and all will be well.
10:40 pm, October 15, 2006
"The Lib Dems may think they can take Brent Central but Dawn Butler's gonna wipe the floor with Teather"
According to the Telegraph, she wanted to go for Hampstead and Kilburn, but the Hampstead Libdems asked for a full open selection process (and not a simply yes/no to Teather). So she realized they didn't want her and she went for BC.
10:47 pm, October 15, 2006
Exactly. It is the worst kept political secret that the Lib Dems can't stand Teather and are as eager as we are to get rid of her. Roll on the general election!
9:44 am, October 16, 2006
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