Hazel campaign launches
Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to Hazel Blears' Deputy Leadership campaign launch in Salford today due to childcare commitments.
I'm on her website as an endorser though - along with MPs Kali Mountford, Steve Pound, Eric Joyce, Dari Taylor, Andy Burnham, Caroline Flint, Rosemary McKenna and Kitty Ussher.
The site is here: http://www.hazelblears.com/
Also declaring their support for Hazel today was NEC Member Peter Wheeler on his blog here.
To quote (and agree with) Peter:
"For me there is no decision to make. Hazel has my full support. She is a breath of fresh air, positive, dynamic, modern in outlook and rooted in the Labour community she was born in. Hazel will be a real asset as the Deputy Leader."
posted by Luke Akehurst at 6:56 pm
25 Comments:
Luke,
You missed a cracking event. I was lucky enough to make it and Hazel was on top form.
Despite other strong candidates having thrown their hats in the ring already (most notably Benn), I'm supporting Hazel. She really is a walking metaphor for socialism in the 21st century.
9:42 pm, February 24, 2007
Luke writes: "Hackney goes up a grade".
On what date (month & year) did Hackney go up from one star to two stars?
11:53 pm, February 24, 2007
A walking metaphor for socialism.
What on earth does that mean?!? And it's nonsense.
11:34 am, February 25, 2007
No, she's not a walking metaphor for socialism. She's a walking metaphor for feeling hungover and suicidal.
1:47 pm, February 25, 2007
I was there and it was good. I think Andy Burnham might be supporting her as well
2:14 pm, February 25, 2007
Andy Burnham is backing Hazel - he says so on her site.
3:30 pm, February 25, 2007
200,000 leave the party; 4 million voters desert us; millions of the so-called "core vote" are deeply disillusioned and desperate for change; at the last election, the party wins the smallest share of the vote for any winning party in the history of British democracy.
What's Hazel's solution?
More of the same, more of the same and, oh yes, more of the same.
How about this for a nightmare scenario: John Reid as PM and Hazel Blears as his deputy. If that happens, I'm going to follow the same example as the Labour party - commit suicide.
5:26 pm, February 25, 2007
Very Many Thanks for kindly signing (and circulating) this New Downing Street Petition at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/AbolishGMC
8:57 pm, February 25, 2007
"John Reid as PM and Hazel Blears as his deputy. If that happens, I'm going to follow the same example as the Labour party - commit suicide."
Never have I heard a more compelling reason to vote Reid for leader and Hazel for deputy!
In terms of electoral suicide, if the vile John McDonnell gets elected, that is indeed what will happen.
Owen's hatred of Blears has more to do with the fact he's a sexist pig. Shocking really from someone who claims to be a socialist. Indeed, one might ask if there are any prominent women at all in the disgraceful John4Leader campaign?
I doubt it. Positively shocking.
11:41 am, February 26, 2007
Phew, thank goodness Hazey got your endorsement from afar Lukey.
If you couldn't be there to help polish off the sarnies at least you were there in spirit. And signed up on the dotted line.
This will help sectarians everywhere know which waay to jump if they were at all dubious about Hazey.
12:18 pm, February 26, 2007
Hey Sham, you comedy legend you. As regards female involvement in the John4Leader campaign, you might want to get in touch with Mary Partington who is coordinating Feminists4John. Personally, I'm proud to be supporting a candidate who is standing on an avowedly feminist platform.
You'll also note that two of the three published signatories on the pro-John4Leader letter in Saturday's Guardian were women. But hey, don't let facts get in the way of a poor argument.
Keep up the good work Sham - no-one on the left is as good at completely discrediting Blairites as you are.
12:52 pm, February 26, 2007
Excellent, so we can all look forward to Hazel build on a fine record of falling membership, decimated councillor base, redundancies, declining activism and crushing debt!
We may as well start celebrating the 2009 election win now...
2:38 pm, February 26, 2007
The thought of Hazel "on top form" makes me want to be sick.A political Pollyanna who lives in a parallel universe and uses her working-class background as an excuse for the most right-wing rubbish you will hear in the Labour Party. Completely unrepentant on Iraq, a cheerleader for Blair ( apart from NHS policy which might cost her votes) and utterly nauseating. So is creepy Andy "let's privatise it" Burnham. Anyone But Hazel - please!
2:51 pm, February 26, 2007
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4:22 pm, February 26, 2007
Hey Sham, you comedy legend you.
What?!? Owen, have you completely lost it? It seems I'm not the only who finds you objectionable, but hey, don't let facts get in the way of a poor argument ...
Now to discredit you completely.
You're pretty adept at bandying figures about, well, here's some more for you:
- 10,000 anti-war marchers on Saturday, down an incredible 99.5% from your own figure of 2,000,000 four years ago.
- Just six, yes SIX MPs supporting your boss, a quite pathetic 1.7% of the PLP and a staggering 38 nominations short of making the list.
- 0. Zero. Zilch. The number of ordinary Iraqis who prefer Ba'athism to democracy.
I could go on but I wouldn't want to bore you.
4:24 pm, February 26, 2007
Could someone please lock Sham and Owen in a room to kill each other without boring the rest of us...
4:50 pm, February 26, 2007
Luke what do you think of Hazel's defence of private equity firms?
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/deputyleader/story/0,,2021943,00.html
The GMB in particular are running a big campaign against them at the moment.
6:16 pm, February 26, 2007
"- 0. Zero. Zilch. The number of ordinary Iraqis who prefer Ba'athism to democracy."
I don't like Owen, or John4Leader, but you are completely mental.
7:00 pm, February 26, 2007
"She really is a walking metaphor for socialism in the 21st century."
What does that mean??!
Hazel: "My socialism is from the streets".
Wicked!
I think it's disgusting that Luke is supporting someone who so brazenly protests against government policy (on NHS restructuring). Such disloyalty is a sign of Trotskyism and should be punished as such.
I'm glad that Hazel has entered the race, as it will probably further split the Blairite vote.
7:03 pm, February 26, 2007
Just to clarify my previous point, I'd like to point out that I disagree that Iraqis prefer democracy to Ba'athism.
Saddam Hussein is my hero. Who on Earth would want the right to vote when they've got Saddam for a leader?
7:10 pm, February 26, 2007
When we're talking about the numbers of Iraqis who are happy to live in "democracy" now, do we include the 100s of thousands killed in the sectarian fighting and terrorist campaigns that all came in the aftermath of the invasion? Do we assume they preferred life before the invasion to their death under democracy, or is that a bit left-field?
Saddam was a bastard. Democracy is good. But Iraq has taught us an important and tragic lesson: bombing for democracy does not always work. If you don't care about the violence in Iraq today then you don't care about the humanitarianism upon which democracy is built, and you are more interested in having your head up Tony B's arse
10:54 pm, February 26, 2007
Don't you realise, it's in the rule book (Luke Akehurst special edition). Only the left can be guilty of disloyalty. The right can slag off anyone and oppose any party policy they like.
11:24 pm, February 26, 2007
In other words, Saddam's a bastard but my head's still firmly up his arse. I don't care about the Iraqis killed by him. Why should their opressor ever face justice?
In fact, those who brough this murderer to heel are the ones who should be up in court, for war crimes. How dare they have done what they did? I'm incandescent with rage at what they've done to Saddam Hussein.
And as for the killing currently taking place in Iraq, I won't blame the terrorists, I'll blame the liberators! Blair and Bush: you are to blame for Islamic extremists blowing themselves up and murdering innocent Iraqis.
11:51 pm, February 26, 2007
Sham:
Grow up.
6:53 am, February 27, 2007
Hazel's a great stalwart of the party, a key champion of party refom initatives and despite not being necessarily the most refined current affairs interview operator is actually very good on the campaign trail in front of Labour audiences. At a time when the party needs aspiration and enthusaism she'd be an excellent choice...
P.S. I'm slgihtly biased as I was at uni at Lancasterand always liked Hazel and Salford CLP to begin with.
4:04 pm, February 27, 2007
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