Why Cruddas is still getting a transfer from me
I've repeatedly said over the last 6 months that I would put Cruddas 4th.
In recent weeks he's done his best to lose my 4th place transfer with his policy pronouncements. I was tempted to only vote 1 to 3 and give no ranking to Hain, Harman or Cruddas.
But now that the ballot papers are here I have decided to stick with Plan A and put him 4th.
Why?
- Primarily because a comrade yesterday reminded me that back in the mid-90s when the Labour Group in Hackney split (literally - 17 councillors defected), Cruddas was instrumental in getting union members on the NEC like Vernon Hince and Brenda Etchells to intervene on the side of the forces of light. That was critical to my borough getting back on its feet and being won back for Labour. I want to see more of that kind of Jon Cruddas. Can we have him back?
and
- because my union is backing him and that counts for something with me
- because of Tom's involvement in his campaign, which reassures me
- because the campaigning stuff is good and someone talking left but doing the campaigning slog is better than someone just talking left
He could have got my 3rd preference if he'd toned down the policy stuff, but there you go.
posted by Luke Akehurst at 8:12 am
9 Comments:
The Blears 1 will sadly transfer quickly to, let's see Johnson and Benn in whatever order. As Cruddas is fairly likely to be up against one or both of these in the last three your 4th preference will not count. Your argument about JC's roundhead qualities is well made and the policy input of the DL will be zip so it is hard to understand why a roundhead like yourself has factored in the policy at all. Is it just petulence over his Trident vote?
But we seem to have three (count 'em) of the same candidates in our top fours - albeit in reverse order - so there's a good sign for future unity.
Sadly my 4th preference won't transfer either. She'll already be toast by then.
10:15 am, June 08, 2007
As a cruddas person myself, Hazel has actually crept up from 6 to 4 on my ballot after running a very impressive campaign - easily the second best of this election, and a campaign which has made Benn's in particular look woeful.
Now, if she can bring herself to say something remotely off-message she might yet make 3rd...
11:42 am, June 08, 2007
I don't expect Hazel to be off-message. What you see is what you get. Like Cruddas she's a damn good campaigner and she has my second preference. Despite a number of major policy disagreements, these are largely share with the other 4. What marks her out from them is that she is a grafter and doesn't seem to want to ponce around as Deputy Prime Minister. Plus she's northern.
11:56 am, June 08, 2007
I have had this debate at home as well. I like Cruddas, I like his background and his emphasis on party renewal. I like the fact that he thinks about issues, even if he comes down on the wrong side of things sometimes. I am still umm-ing and ahh-ing about whether he should be number 3 on my ballot, although as I fully expect Johnson (my number 1) to be in the final two, it will probably be an irrelevance.
12:19 pm, June 08, 2007
Blears's votes will all transfer to Johnson. A factor the Cruddas camp don't seem to have taken onboard.Hain's will be split between Benn and cruddas.
Harman 's probably to Benn or Cruddas. Last 3? Benn/Johnson/Cruddas
12:33 pm, June 08, 2007
Seeing as Blears looks as if she will be eliminated first her transers her transfers will be very useful to the other candidates
12:34 pm, June 08, 2007
think the final round will be Benn - Johnson, but it may just be Johnson with Harman or (just maybe) Cruddas. Essentially if people don't want to be disenfranchised from that whilst still making a statement by first preffing any of the others, they'll need to go all the way down to six and preference each of these 4 either above or below each other.
So...whilst I'm first preferencing Benn I'm second preferencing Johson even though in a Benn-Johnson fight that will make no difference - because I prefer Johnson to Harman or Cruddas.
Essentially what will matter is who in the last round is higher on more people's ballot paper. That why, especially if you're voting for Hain, Cruddas or Blears(and most likely Harman) you need to express preferences all the way down to 6 to make sure you're expressing a view when the last two candidates face off in the last round.
In most AV elections like this you can normally expect to be expressing a preference in the last round by only going down to 3 or maybe 4. But with the votes so evenly spread (even the out-of-it candidates like Blears and Hain are only 10 or so % down on the leaders over the whole college) this will go to a fifth round almost certainly.
3:16 pm, June 08, 2007
I'm still deciding on my line.
Weirdly enough my current one matches Jon Harris's.
This is killing me.
2:35 am, June 10, 2007
What's a roundhead in this context?
4:02 pm, June 21, 2007
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