Cruddas and Purnell , a dream ticket??????

Just noticed there are rumours of a 'dream' ticket of Cruddas and Purnell. I though it was bad enough that Cruddas  backed 42 days detention and praised Blair , but to be on a ticket with Purnell, a man who really really should jump ship to the Tories and be done with is almost as bad as defending Gordon Brown ! If that's the case  I nominate Cruddas as an early Friday Fuckwit.

Oh though a choice snippet from the Guardian Politics blog :

Purnell made a few comments to mark the birthday and reprised his ambition for an "egalitarian capitalism"; Cruddas was standing in the audience, next to a table full of gazpacho and garlic bread, nodding sagely at Purnell's points. 

"Egalitarian capitalism "...an oxymoron surely.

I'm re posting up something I wrote last September, which goes into more detail  about my view of Cruddas:

I did try to like Compass , honest. I went to their conference even though Cruddas had just backed Brown on 42 days detention. I listened to his speech . It was a checklist of all the right things, but as Dave reported at the time, his actions don't quite match:

Compass leaders like Jon Cruddas combine the ability to deliver speeches demanding that Trident be scrapped, council houses be built and the Post Office not be privatised, with the supine cowardice to vote for 42-day detention without trial, a measure he surely must know to be wrong.
On the one hand, Compass wants to present itself as pragmatic radicalism for the twenty-first century; on the other, it wants to keep New Labour sweet. Ultimately, it cannot do both.
It's politics offer too little, too late.

But hey, he has changed from his Blairite past and the left should work with him and Compass , right ? We need to be realistic and he is pushing a soft left agenda isn't he?

Trouble is he seems to change his views to fit what he thinks people want to hear as demonstrated in his interview in The Times. Is he calling for a debate on policy , pushing left wing ideas, even of the softest variety? Nope, he is nostalgic for Blair and offering to support Brown and take a post in hisGovernment:

Voters were watching aghast as Labour tore itself apart, Jon Cruddas said last night in rebuke to the Blairites who are driving efforts to topple Gordon Brown.

In an interview with The Times, Mr Cruddas said that none of those who claim to be Tony Blair’s allies come close to matching the former leader.

The Dagenham MP, who is one of David Miliband’s rivals to succeed Mr Brown, turned down a ministerial job last summer despite being most members’ first choice as deputy leader. He suggested to The Times that he was now willing to take a job under Mr Brown.

Mr Cruddas said that MPs had been reckless, irresponsible and divisive in calling for change without a candidate, timetable or alternative policy programme.

Mr Cruddas, who worked in No 10 under Mr Blair, sought to wrong-foot those who would dismiss him as a leftwinger, praising Mr Blair’s “genius” and making a barely coded attack on those such as Mr Miliband who were “acting under his banner”.

“Blair was a much more charismatic, sophisticated, inclusive and radical politician than any of those who claim adherence to Blairism now,” he said.

Mr Cruddas signalled that he was willing to shore up Mr Brown’s battered administration. “It’s all hands to the pump now,” he said. “A year ago I said my [deputy leadership] campaign wasn’t about a job in government and I felt you had to carry that through. My instinct is not oppositional. Whoever is leader, we’ve got to think how we put the band back together.”

He seems to be hedging his bets . He points out that the Blairites are not talking about policy but does not mention McDonnell who clearly has been. He offers to support Brown whilst hinting he would support whoever was leader.

Even those who see him as a pragmatic soft left MP to do business with should wonder why he did not take the chance to call for a policy shift rather than praise Blair.

Cruddas backs David Miliband for leader

Well as Owen Jones says on Twitter

'Cruddas backs DM' story is this:'ex-Blair adviser backs ex-Blair adviser'.No surprise if people look at JC's political record, not rhetoric .

Yep, check out some of my old posts for my views on this opportunistic chameleon of a Politician .

He backed 42 days detention, voted for the Iraq war and then changed his mind , supported Brown and backed a secret inquiry on Iraq.He praised the genius of Blair.

As Dave said :

Compass leaders like Jon Cruddas combine the ability to deliver speeches demanding that Trident be scrapped, council houses be built and the Post Office not be privatised, with the supine cowardice to vote for 42-day detention without trial, a measure he surely must know to be wrong.
On the one hand, Compass wants to present itself as pragmatic radicalism for the twenty-first century; on the other, it wants to keep New Labour sweet. Ultimately, it cannot do both.
It's politics offer too little, too late.

Anyway, seems he has kissed and made up with David Miliband after a little tiff when he was still brown nosing Gordon and Blair in the same interview , quite an achievement in hedging your bets with both New labour camps :

In an interview with The Times, Mr Cruddas said that none of those who claim to be Tony Blair’s allies come close to matching the former leader.

The Dagenham MP, who is one of David Miliband’s rivals to succeed Mr Brown, turned down a ministerial job last summer despite being most members’ first choice as deputy leader. He suggested to The Times that he was now willing to take a job under Mr Brown.

...

Mr Cruddas said that MPs had been reckless, irresponsible and divisive in calling for change without a candidate, timetable or alternative policy programme. “People will be watching with wide-open eyes unable to understand that . . . we should become preoccupied with electing another party leader. That’s what’s so wrong,” he said.

...

Mr Cruddas, who worked in No 10 under Mr Blair, sought to wrong-foot those who would dismiss him as a leftwinger, praising Mr Blair’s “genius” and making a barely coded attack on those such as Mr Miliband who were “acting under his banner”.

“Blair was a much more charismatic, sophisticated, inclusive and radical politician than any of those who claim adherence to Blairism now,” he said.

Mr Cruddas signalled that he was willing to shore up Mr Brown’s battered administration. “It’s all hands to the pump now,” he said. “A year ago I said my [deputy leadership] campaign wasn’t about a job in government and I felt you had to carry that through. My instinct is not oppositional. Whoever is leader, we’ve got to think how we put the band back together.”

He praised both Mr Miliband’s and Mr Purnell’s efforts in taking on the Conservatives. Labour had not laid a glove on the Tories for more than a year, he said. He criticised attempts to portray David Cameron as a “shallow salesman” and as a right-wing Tory posing as a moderniser. Instead, he urged his party to match Mr Cameron’s emotional literacy and expose the tensions between the Tory party’s liberal and authoritarian wings.

Now I know some say we need to be pragmatic , but there is a need for some sort of consistent principle in a politician ,surely? Either Cruddas is just a careerist, who says what he thinks will get him further or he is a ditzy indecisive guy who changes his mind as much as his underwear (hopefully !). Neither is grounds for some sections of the left seeing him as the sensible saviour of the soft left in Labour . Surely his backing of David Milliband will cause the naivety to disappear ?

Cruddas praises Blair

I did try to like Compass , honest. I went to their conference even though Cruddas had just backed Brown on 42 days detention. I listened to his speech . It was a checklist of all the right things, but as Dave reported at the time, his actions don't quite match:

Compass leaders like Jon Cruddas combine the ability to deliver speeches demanding that Trident be scrapped, council houses be built and the Post Office not be privatised, with the supine cowardice to vote for 42-day detention without trial, a measure he surely must know to be wrong.
On the one hand, Compass wants to present itself as pragmatic radicalism for the twenty-first century; on the other, it wants to keep New Labour sweet. Ultimately, it cannot do both.
It's politics offer too little, too late.

But hey, he has changed from his Blairite past and the left should work with him and Compass , right ? We need to be realistic and he is pushing a soft left agenda isn't he?

Trouble is he seems to change his views to fit what he thinks people want to hear as demonstrated in his interview in The Times. Is he calling for a debate on policy , pushing left wing ideas, even of the softest variety? Nope, he is nostalgic for Blair and offering to support Brown and take a post in his Government:

Voters were watching aghast as Labour tore itself apart, Jon Cruddas said last night in rebuke to the Blairites who are driving efforts to topple Gordon Brown.

In an interview with The Times, Mr Cruddas said that none of those who claim to be Tony Blair’s allies come close to matching the former leader.

The Dagenham MP, who is one of David Miliband’s rivals to succeed Mr Brown, turned down a ministerial job last summer despite being most members’ first choice as deputy leader. He suggested to The Times that he was now willing to take a job under Mr Brown.

Mr Cruddas said that MPs had been reckless, irresponsible and divisive in calling for change without a candidate, timetable or alternative policy programme.

Mr Cruddas, who worked in No 10 under Mr Blair, sought to wrong-foot those who would dismiss him as a leftwinger, praising Mr Blair’s “genius” and making a barely coded attack on those such as Mr Miliband who were “acting under his banner”.

“Blair was a much more charismatic, sophisticated, inclusive and radical politician than any of those who claim adherence to Blairism now,” he said.

Mr Cruddas signalled that he was willing to shore up Mr Brown’s battered administration. “It’s all hands to the pump now,” he said. “A year ago I said my [deputy leadership] campaign wasn’t about a job in government and I felt you had to carry that through. My instinct is not oppositional. Whoever is leader, we’ve got to think how we put the band back together.”

He seems to be hedging his bets . He points out that the Blairites are not talking about policy but does not mention McDonnell who clearly has been. He offers to support Brown whilst hinting he would support whoever was leader.

Even those who see him as a pragmatic soft left MP to do business with should wonder why he did not take the chance to call for a policy shift rather than praise Blair.

Friday Fuckwits- Gay exorcisms, Conservative Future, Mark Sanford and John Cruddas

Not done this for a while and as usual spoilt for choice, so here is a selection...


Again god bothers getting their knickers in a twist about lesbian and gay people having sex. This really pisses me off. I have known a number of people who are lesbian or gay who have been made to feel guilty and bad for what they are by their families , in the name of religion.

Below is a you tube of an 'exorcism of gay demons' supposedly in this 16 year old boy.Terrifying abuse. What if he gives in and pretends to be straight, living a lie. Not exactly great for any woman he is involved with.



Of course trying to 'cure ' lesbian and gay people is nothing new, as I discussed in a previous post.
As I said before, with reference to Iris Robinson:

Sadly many people are still pressurised to conform to heterosexual norms , usually through family and religious pressure. Others have residual guilt and if they do try to change only end up unhappy and living a lie, trying to please the religious intolerance of people like Ms Robinson.

What is her problem, why does it matter to her if two men have sex together. No one is asking her to indulge in a little girl on girl action, no one is telling her not to be in a heterosexual marriage and family.

Next up for the title of Friday Fuckwit is Conservative Future, all of them. CF have got the video taken down from YouTube, but it can be found here .

New Cuddly Cameroonies, well they seem quite old school in their politics; low tax, questioning climate change, wanting the family and marriage to be 'strengthened.' For them Boris is a trendy radical pin up. Most obnoxious though was the London Conservative Futures Chair, who said :


Personally, I want to be a mother. Every woman in society should achieve that…We’re here to procreate.

Speak for yourself, I have no intention of procreating !


Hat Tip F Word.

Next Friday Fuckwit is Mark Sanford , Republican Governor of South Carolina , not living up to the family values pushed by his Party .

As Hakmao puts it :

Nothing beats a good ‘family values’ sex scandal — they who protest too much can always be relied upon to put their dicks/fannies where they say you shouldn't’t, and lie through their teeth to try to make it all go away.

The press has got hold of his e-mails to his mistress :

The e-mails show the internal struggles of a religious conservative awkwardly donning the mantle of adulterer as he mixed wholesome descriptions of family life with steamier language about “the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of night’s light”.

Slightly at odds with a previous quote :

"It is my personal view that the largest proclamation of one's faith ought to be in how one lives his life."


And finally, John Cruddas . Check out Marsha-Jane's post :

One thing I had to bring to your attention though was the way Cruddas voted yesterday in parliament - as you may be aware, there was a vote and debate yesterday in parliament on a motion (tabled by the opposition) to oppose Brown's proposal of holding the inquiry in to Iraq war in secret (although he conceded that they would 'try' to determine that 'some' of the inquiry 'may' be in public), without oaths and any form of possibility of repercussions in relation to the findings. Oh yeah and that the members of 'independent' inquiry were hand selected by the government.
...
I would like to point out that Jon Cruddas MP and Michael Meacher MP were among those who voted AGAIN with the Government. Comrades, it is about time people stopped sowing (or allowing union bureaucracies / The Guardian /The New Statesman to sow) illusions in politicians who have repeatedly voted against the will of the people. Both Cruddas and Meacher voted for the war and complained since that they 'were misled' or that 'they made a mistake'.

OK, Meacher is a fuckwit as well, but this is more about how some on the left back Cruddas. Well I have made my feelings clear before and nothing since has given me reason to change them.

Suggestions for other fuckwits?

Johnson/Cruddas dream ticket?

Todays observer has an awful piece about unions backing a johnson-cruddas dream ticket, and no mention of a change in policies.

Dream ticket? Its my idea of a nightmare!
I know let's repeat the mistakes of a few years back!

I've sent in this in response and would encourage others to do similar.

(John4leader 08 anyone?)

marshajanethompson@yahoo.co.uk

Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2008 13:09:38
To: letters@observer.co.uk

Subject: Unions and Mps back 'dream ticket' 10.08.08


Unions and Mps back 'dream ticket'.
Unions and trade unionists are not particularly interested in who the leader is but in a change of policy. It is the centre right agenda fully backed by Johnson that is alienating those union members that Tony Woodley mentions. As for Cruddas he fails to convince as Prescott to Johnson's Blair. Neither candidate has a solid track record of support for union policies. If union members want influence for our policies - and our unions - in the context of the forthcoming leadership election we need to focus attention on those policies, rather than the personalities who are jockeying for position. That is why we need a candidate who will stand to promote union policies and put these firmly on the agenda before all the candidates.

Latest on nominations for McDonnell

BBC report just announced :

Left-winger John McDonnell still needs the support of 18 more MPs if he is to challenge Gordon Brown for the Labour leadership, the party has revealed.
So far, 27 MPs have nominated him, compared with 282 for the chancellor.

In the deputy leadership contest, Hilary Benn and Jon Cruddas have yet to gain the 45 nominations needed.

Alan Johnson, Harriet Harman, Peter Hain and Hazel Blears have all got through. Nominations are due to close at 1230 BST Thursday.

Labour Party site has the figures :

Candidates for Leader
Gordon Brown 282 MP nominations
John McDonnell 27 MP nominations

Candidates for Deputy Leader
Hilary Benn 34 MP nominations
Hazel Blears 48 MP nominations
Jon Cruddas 44 MP nominations
Peter Hain 49 MP nominations
Harriet Harman 60 MP nominations
Alan Johnson 64 MP nominations

The BBC site gives out some McDonnell names :

Among his supporters were backbenchers Diane Abbott, Jeremy Corbyn, Dennis Skinner and Mike Wood.

Anyone know the other MPs who have nominated John or who the 43 are who have yet to nominate ?

Update 1: Jon has links to those who have nominated John and Gordon. Be good to have the names of the ones not nominated . And no Im not going to sit down with a list of MPs and work it out!

Here are John's :

Abbott MP, Diane Hackney North and Stoke Newington
Campbell MP, Ronnie Blyth Valley
Caton MP, Martin Gower
Clapham MP, Michael Barnsley West and Penistone
Clark MP, Katy North Ayrshire and Arran
Cohen MP, Harry Leyton and Wanstead
Cook MP, Frank Stockton North
Corbyn MP, Jeremy Islington North
Cryer MP, Ann Keighley
Drew MP, David Stroud
Etherington MP, Bill Sunderland North
Fisher MP, Mark Stoke-on-Trent Central
Flynn MP, Paul Newport West
Gerrard MP, Neil Walthamstow
Gibson MP, Dr Ian Norwich North
Heyes MP, David Ashton-under-Lyne
Hopkins MP, Kelvin Luton North
Jones MP, Lynne Birmingham, Selly Oak
McDonnell MP, John Hayes and Harlington
Meacher MP, Rt Hon Michael Oldham West and Royton
Prentice MP, Gordon Pendle
Riordan MP, Linda Halifax
Simpson MP, Alan Nottingham South
Skinner MP, Dennis Bolsover
Taylor MP, David North West Leicestershire
Wareing MP, Robert N. Liverpool, West Derby
Wood MP, Mike Batley and Spen

Update 2:

All three of my local MPs ( Des Turner, David Lepper and Celia Barlow )nominated Brown, and two are retiring next election so what did they have to lose ! None great rebels though, so what did I expect.

Cruddas

Ok, those who are saying the left should back Cruddas,can they explain why he nominated Brown? Genuine question.

Even if he did not nominate McDonnell he did not need to nominate Brown. He could have argued he wanted to be neutral or something.

I mean, isn't he supposed to want a more democratic Labour Party?
Instead its looking more stage managed and controlled than the Tory Party .One candidate for leader, hmmm , reminds me of something. Ah yes, the good old Soviet Union.

Ok, I'm going to stop blogging now and get back to finishing my bottle of wine...

Jon Cruddas going for deputy leader

Jon Cruddas launches is bid for deputy leader today with an attack on Blair’s foreign policy.

“We have to admit openly that our foreign policy over the last few years has reinforced a sense of insecurity, fear and isolation within some of our own communities”…

Fighting words Jon but are you any cop? Or am I just being too cynical??

Talk amongst yourselves as I am writing a letter of complaint to the Inland Revenue.

Ponderings on Blair and Brown

Blair resigns as PM today,so why no celebration. Well of course I am glad he is going, but Brown was an architect of New Labour and has been a major part of the government for the last ten years. So when he takes the reins of power he is not going to be heralding the dawn of the revolution or even anything a little bit reformist. Things aren't going to get better, to misquote the New Labour '97 election song.

On to Brown. Well he seems to have started as he means to go on, beginning with his determination to ensure there was not an election for leader and as in the old Soviet days, that all nominated and endorsed him. It seems he wants to limit any real debate with his proposals to reduce further the influence of unions and conference. So much for those unions who backed Brown against McDonnell, who seemed to think they could exert influence on him. Will the tactic of not upsetting Brown whilst giving some support to Cruddas may any difference long term ?

Then there is the welcoming by Brown of a Tory defector to labour. Now as much as the next leftie I do like to see the Tories fight amongst themselves, but this is overshadowed at the horror of seeing him join the Labour ranks. Quentin Davies , the Tory defector, does not seem to have shifted his right wing views. Instead the Labour Party has become a place he now feels comfortable in:

Mr Davies said he had found himself increasingly "naturally in agreement" with the Labour Party.

He praised Mr Brown as "a leader I have always greatly admired, who I believe is entirely straightforward, and who has a towering record, and a clear vision for the future of our country which I fully share".

Mr Brown said: "Quentin Davies is a senior parliamentarian and he commands respect on all sides for his expertise and his dedication to public service, and I welcome him to the new Labour Party."

Take a look at a post from Owen highlighting what a nasty Thatcherite homophobic anti union shit he is. Proof if needed that Brown is not going to move leftwards , if any had any illusions (and I certainly didn't).

The Tories have tried to make out Brown is a closet leftie, but I suspect for all their talk of focusing on policies, their attacks will continue to focus on the personality differences. Cameron is more in the Blair mode with his bike riding, webCameon and converse shoes. Blair played the media, ingratiating himself with britpop in his early days and playing to the audience even to the extent of changing favourite foods and music to match the people he was addressing.

Of course it is not just the right that is attacking Brown on his personality . Hakmao highlights an attack on Brown by Galloway, interestingly in the 'showbiz and entertainment' section of the Daily Record. Says it all about Galloway really .

Galloway's comments :

THE first time I met Gordon Brown, more than 30 years ago, he was weighed down with more newspapers, magazines and policy papers than any normal man could possibly carry, never mind read.

But the clue is in the N word. Normal. Brown, who follows Bonar Law, Campbell-Bannerman, Ramsay MacDonald, Harold Macmillan, Sir Alec Douglas- Home and Tony Blair into No.10 as a British premier of Scots descent (not bad for an OPPRESSED small nation) is no normal man.

I mean that kindly as well as unkindly. Ir'n Broon has a completely abnormal single-mindedness - every step he has ever taken has been with this week's trip to the Palace in mind.

He is a policy worker on a par with Bill Clinton, though Brown's idea of a good time in his office is a study of endogenous growth theory rather than erectile expansion. He has a brain the size of Hampden, intellectually he is Bertrand Russell to Tony Blair's Bob Monkhouse (who said: "Once you can fake the sincerity ... the rest is easy.")

He is as straight as a son of the manse should be. Not for him the Cool Britannia pals and his missus will never secretly snap up nice flats in Bristol or get down and muddy for a spot of re-birthing with a con-man's floozy.

Neither will the new PM holiday with the likes of Mrs Robin Gibb, a bisexual Druid priestess from Northern Ireland (ah, but which team does Mrs Gibb support, I hear some readers ask).

But Brown's main problem with the N word is that he is, as Alistair Campbell allegedly said, indeed "psychologically flawed". In fact, I knew from that first day I met him that, like many a brain-box before him, he is asocial cripple.

Painfully shy, no small talk, dour to the point of sullen, unable to suffer fools gladly, he is a Rev I.M. Jolly when what the modern stage needs is Rikki Fulton's amanuensis, a Francie. Hullowrerrrr, nor anything like it, will ever trip off the lips of the new PM.

All of this could be carried to victory nonetheless if Gordon could just jettison the albatross of war, privatisation and the alienation of Labour's core vote which has seen them lose four million votes since that "New Dawn" in 1997.

But it can't and won't be. Because Brown is the co-architect of all that and it's too late to do anything about it. For me, therefore the script is tragedy, Shakespearean in scale.

Betrayed by his friends Blair, Mandelson and Reid, when they knifed him before the great John Smith was ere interred, Brown is "in blood stepped in so far, that should he wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er".

The Jim Callaghan of our times, he will likely have inherited his life-long goal, the Prime Minister-ship not Paul Gascoigne's, only in time to lose it.

Yes George, the main issue is his policy, not his personality. Why throw around words like 'normal' ? What exactly is 'normal' and why is it such a good thing ? Nothing wrong with difference . What is wrong with being weighed down with papers, being single minded and focused, not shagging the intern, not using office to gain freebies and hang out with new agers and con artists ?

And what exactly is a 'asocial cripple'? Interestingly language . So being serious and not shallow is being a 'cripple'?
'Painfully shy, no small talk, dour to the point of sullen, unable to suffer fools gladly' , why is this a criticism? is this relevant to his policies? This fits with
George Osborne last year :
He said Mr Brown lacked personal skills and, in a light hearted exchange, seemed to suggest his rival could be faintly autistic.

As I said on my post then :
I suspect Brown will be undermined by both Blairites and the Tories on the grounds of his 'psychologically flawed' personality. Autism and aspergers are not 'flaws' . If Brown is an aspie its telling of this society that he has to hide it. So what, its not a bad thing. Why can't leadership contenders be aspies, be gay , be single parents, have had drink problems,not be cosy family men and women (though of course none are women). I don't like his politics , but as I have said before, give me a dour aspie Scotsman any day over Cameron and his lightweight PR friendly personality .

Blair is 'normal', but he has taken the country to war, has limited the debate in the party and even in his own cabinet. Not just 'asocial cripples' then.
The issues with Brown are political and not his personality, which for the record I think is preferable to smarmy camera friendly Blair.
Lets judge him on his politics.

Latest Deputy and Leadership nominations

From the Labour Party website :

MP Nominations update - 1pm 16 May

Candidates for the leader and deputy leader of the Labour Party have received the following number of nominations as of 1pm 16 May.

Candidates for Leader

Gordon Brown 297 MP nominations
John McDonnell 29 MP nominations

Candidates for Deputy Leader

Hilary Benn 40 MP nominations
Hazel Blears 49 MP nominations
Jon Cruddas 46 MP nominations
Peter Hain 50 MP nominations
Harriet Harman 61 MP nominations
Alan Johnson 68 MP nominations

This is like some bloody awful cross between Pop Idol and The Apprentice ...

A guitar for Stroppy

I have absolutely no intention of 'acting my age' , whatever that means anyway. I plan to grow old disgracefully. In my 60's I shall still pootle out to see unknown indie bands play in small crappy venues . I shall listen to old favourites but still have a thirst for hearing new music. I shall wear fishnets and DMs when I really should know better (that is probably now). I shall have bottle blonde hair and avoid sensible comfortable practical clothes. If I change, and start going to dinner parties and listening to Dido , please take me out and shoot me.

Anyway, is there a point to this ? Shouldn't I be debating the Deputy leader contest? Well there is a point and I have already discussed Cruddas with Dave at 7.30 in the morning (sad I know), so enough of all that. Right, the point to this post,I am going to buy myself an electric guitar and learn to play. The other option was a red sports car and a toyboy. Trouble is 1) I can't afford a sports car. 2) Think Osler might be a bit miffed to be replaced by a toyboy and anyway I much prefer weird arsey old leftie men.

Today I spent hours perusing the guitar shops of Denmark Street and Charing Cross Road . Dave played loads to hear how they sounded and helped me decide what I needed .

I came home empty handed but with the bug for a guitar. I know I will get very anoraky about it. I saw loads and am left with a decision to make.

My options are :

- a very good deal of a guitar and amp for about £110. Nothing exciting but good value for a beginner.(Can't find pic, but its a strat type).

- A blue Yamaha that looks a bit nicer. About £190. (the first guitar pic)

- A retro guitar that has lots of options for different tones etc.

- And a girlie bright deep pink sparkly 'Daisy Rock ' guitar. The one in the shop was £440 . It was glittery and almost cerise in colour. I looked at it first and then went round all the other shops. I came back to have another look, after resolving to be sensible. Trouble is the others looked dull afterwards.
I have looked on the website and there are others very similar a lot cheaper.See pics above.

I could only find a pic of the Yamaha, the first pic above , and the Daisy Rock ones.See above for an idea of the sort of Daisy Rock guitar I am tempted by. I would probably have to pay £350 ish for it.Plus amp and other bits and pieces.

And yes its an extravagance but I have decided to treat myself. When my mum died I inherited the grand sum of about £1500 . My mum was a character. She hated the 'uniform' of pensioners in their beige clothes and bobble perms. She wore bright colours, loved purple and had a bright blonde bit in her hair with swirls of pink and lilac. I think she would approve of me buying a guitar and learning to play.

Any thoughts? Should I get the sensible budget option,the inbetween options or the bright girlie guitar ?
Or should I just stop all this nonsense and grow up...

The return of Derek Hatton ?

Brought to my attention by Susan , who found it via Yozzer.

Apparently :

It was reported in the Liverpool Daily Post in May 2007 that Hatton has stated that he has recently rejoined the Labour Party and that he intends to seek selection as a parliamentary candidate in the North West. Hatton also says that his ambition is to be Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and that he would run for the office in the summer in the unlikely event of him being able to enter parliament via a by-election. Hatton made clear that he is no longer a Trotskyist, but maintains that he remains firmly on the left of the party, expressing his belief that Labour has to abandon 'New Labour' ideology (or "neo-Tory", as Hatton puts it) and return to its traditional values.

Well he missed out on that DP vote didn't he.Imagine the debate on the leftie blogs, Cruddas or Hatton ?

Perhaps the media work and motivational speaking engagements have all dried up, well there are so many other egos out there jostling for air time . Wonder if he has been approached for Celebrity Big Brother .

I can't see Brown letting him get selected anywhere.

Anyone know why he is back in the labour Party?

labour leadership : MPs who haven't nominated yet

Kate in the comments has said that Nick has come up with a list of who hasn't yet nominated . Glad there is someone sadder than me !

Here it is, courtesy of 4glengate.net blog :

Anne Begg, Aberdeen South

Joe Benton, Bootle

Colin Burgon, Elmet

Stephen Byers, North Tyneside

Charles Clarke, Norwich South

David Clelland, Tyne Bridge

Vernon Coaker, Gedling

Michael Connarty, Linlithgow & East Falkirk

Jim Cousins, Newcastle upon Tyne Central

Jon Cruddas, Dagenham

Andrew Dismore, Hendon

Jim Dowd, Lewisham West

Gwyneth Dunwoody, Crewe & Nantwich

Frank Field, Birkenhead

Bruce George, Walsall South

Nia Griffiths, Llanelli

Mike Hall, Weaver Vale

David Hamilton, Midlothian

Dai Havard, Merhyr Tydfil & Rhymney

Sharon Hodgson, Gateshead East & Washington West

Kate Hoey, Vauxhall

Brian Jenkins, Tamworth

Piara Khabra, Ealing Southall

Peter Kilfoyle, Liverpool Walton

Chris McCafferty, Calder Valley

Siobhain McDonagh, Mitcham & Morden

Rosemary McKenna, Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Kirklintilloch East

Andrew Mackinlay, Thurrock

Fiona Mactaggart, Slough

Alan Meale, Mansfield

Alan Milburn, Darlington

Austin Mitchell, Great Grimsby

Chris Mullin, Sunderland South

Terry Rooney, Bradford North

Graham Stringer, Manchester Blackley

Jon Trickett, Hemsworth

Paul Truswell, Pudsey

Alan Williams, Swansea West

Michael Wills, North Swindon

David Winnick, Walsall North

Anthony Wright, Great Yarmouth

Tony Wright, Cannock Chase



Thoughts anyone on who might back John ?

Deputy Leadership debate

I don't have time to say much about this , but will later.

Initial impressions are none inspire me . Suppose Cruddas is the best of a bad lot, but is that a reason to vote for him? I am not convinced by him , though he does make some of the right noises. That's not just about him not backing McDonnell, though my view is he could have stayed neutral and not backed anyone at the very least.

Oh and listening to Blears made me want to bang my head against the wall, what a chipper little cheerleader .Arghhh. Now I know why I try to avoid listening to her, its not just her politics, its the way she avoids answering questions and comes up with slogans .

So what are the views of readers ? Who do they think should be Deputy Leader?
And why the hell didn't the left put up a candidate ?

Can New Labour get any worse ?

Well yes.

There has been lots of debate on the 42 days detention without trial vote in the commons last night.
I'll add only a little more .

First off what the fuck when New labour relies on Widdecombe and the DUP to get this through ,when the Tories can appear more 'left' than some Compass and LRC MPs.

Yep, Cruddas, Trickett and it appears some LRC supporting MPs ( I haven't had time to check the names ) are to the right of David Davies !

We are not talking radical leftie principles here, its basic civil liberties and yet in they trooped to prop up New labour when supposedly they believe its dying .

Civil liberties trashed .

But wait, it gets worse, via the F word

But it would never have happened without support from the DUP - according to the Telegraph, he secured this support by promising - among other things - not to end the ban on abortion in Northern Ireland.

Shaun Woodward, the Northern Ireland Secretary, assured the DUP that the Government had no plans to end the ban on abortion in the province. Abortion has never been legal in Northern Ireland, and women and girls seeking a termination often travel to the England for the procedure.

I wonder what they offered the Compass and LRC MPs ?

(Of course we shouldnt be involved in what happens in the North of Ireland, but given we are then its despicable that women's rights are so easily bargained away).

Peter Hain appealing to the left ?

Peter Hain , who has thrown his hat in the ring for Deputy , now sounds like he is trying to appeal to the left in the Labour Party.

As an aside, if he is trying to revive left credentials (he had a few with his anti apartheid campaigning ) , and Cruddas is trying to gain some, does that mean there are a few of us still in the Party ?

Anyway back to the point of this post:

City firms should donate two-thirds of their bonus pots to charity rather than giving employees six-figure bonuses, cabinet minister Peter Hain says. Massive bonuses - which totalled £8.8bn this Christmas - were fuelling envy and social discontent, the Northern Ireland Secretary told the Sunday Telegraph.
"There's a real problem of people on average incomes feeling there's a sort of super-rich class right at the top," he told the newspaper.

Well Peter its more than a feeling, its a reality that won't disappear by donations to charity .

The report outlines his concerns :

Four thousand City workers receiving more than £1m each in bonuses. People don't feel that's proportionate. We've lost a sense of moral corporate responsibility here.
"That sort of thing creates a society where you start getting envy being promoted and a sense of real antagonism and that breeds all sorts of socially undesirable behaviour."
Mr Hain, who is a candidate for Labour's vice-leadership, suggested two-thirds of the £8.8bn should be given to charity or inner-city regeneration projects.

And what is "all sorts of socially undesirable behaviour" ? People questioning why city boys and girls get rewarded so well? People questioning whether the Labour Party any longer represents ordinary working people or is happier cosying up to big business .

It will take more than shaking down the city boys for their small change to address the real inequalities in society.

Harriet Harman: desperately seeking deputy leadership

Oh dear, poor 'ickle Harriet Harman is desperate to show she is a heavyweight contender for deputy leader that she commissioned her own poll. YouGov found that 15% of voters would be inclined to vote Labour if she succeeded John Prescott. Non-entity Hilary Benn was second in the pecking order with 12%.

None of the other candidates - Hazel Blears, Peter Hain, John Cruddas and Alan Johnson - were favoured by more than 10% of the voters.

"It is understood that Ms Harman commissioned the poll to confirm her belief that she was best placed to bolster Labour's fortunes at the next election". If the findings had been against her she would have "reflected" on the matter.

I mean, come off it, she commissioned her own "independent" (ha!) poll. That just smacks of utter desperation. She is like the rest of the Blairites. Spineless, opportunistic and cynical. She is rubbish like the rest of 'em.

United Campaign Rally For Trade Union Freedom

There's a rally tomorrow regarding the Trade Union Freedom Bill that will get its second reading in Parliament on the 19th October. The rally is to show support for this Bill.

Hope to see comrades there......

Event Details
Date: Thursday 18 October 2007

Time:
4.00-4.30pm - Assemble opposite House of Commons

4.30-5.30pm - Demonstration outside House of Commons
5.30-7.30pm - Rally in Committee Room 14, House of Commons
nearest tube is Westminster

Confirmed Speakers
John Hendy QC - United Campaign National Secretary
John McDonnell MP
Sarah Veale - TUC Head, Equality and Employment Rights
Phil McGarry - STUC President
Bob Crow - RMT General Secretary
Tony Woodley - Unite T&G General Secretary
Paul Kenny - GMB General Secretary
Mark Serwotka - PCS General Secretary
Matt Wrack - FBU General Secretary
Brain Caton - POA General Secretary
Jeremy Dear - NUJ General Secretary
Keith Ewing - IER President
Ian Lavery - NUM President
Anita Halpin - SERTUC Vice President
Katy Clark MP
Jon Cruddas MP
Christine Blower - NUT Assistant General Secretary
Gail Cartmail - Unite Amicus Assistant General Secretary
Patrick Roach - NASUWT Deputy General Secretary
Manuel Cortes - TSSA Assistant General Secretary