Over at The Chamberlain Files they are big supporters of that ghastly Blairite concept 'modernisation'. They were sadly let down in the Spring by those dreary old stick-in-the-muds, known to you and me as the electorate, who steadfastly refused to go along with the 'project' for elected City Mayors. And even in areas where they have fallen for it, the daft sods tend to vote for politicians instead of handing the reigns of power to well-intentioned celebrities, who we are expected to believe would bring 'new thinking' in to the job. In reality, of course, putting the celebs in charge means handing over power to council officers who will bamboozle the poor sods with local government-speak and general guff!
The Chamberlain Files latest gripe is that those dreary old politicians – dismissed as the 'usual suspects' – are now interfering in the elections for the 'modernisers' latest wheeze, police and crime commissioners (PCC). Apparently they are insisting on standing for election – what a shocking thing for politicians to consider – instead of standing aside and letting our old friends the well-intentioned celebrities have a free run at it.
In South Wales Falklands War veteran Simon Weston, a fine and admirable chap who has an exemplary record in charity work after recovering from his horrific injuries, has decided not to stand as a candidate in the election for PCC, complaining that the post had become 'too political'. For The Chamberlain Files this is so distasteful because 'this being South Wales' the likelihood is that the successful candidate will probably be a member of the Labour Party. Reading it you almost get the impression that some sinister figure has put a gun to the temple of poor old Simon and forced him to stand down. We are even told that in the West Midlands Labour has chosen a bloke with over 25 years experience of how the police service works, as if any knowledge of the job you are required to carry out for £100,000 plus a year should instantly tule you out of being a candidate.
What really surprises me is not the naievity that Simon Weston is said to have by Paul Dale… but the naievity of a hard-bitten political journalist like Paul Dale! The most basic thing that any 'A' level politics student would tell you about the role of political parties, is that their very raison d'être, is to aggregate the vote in elections. Journalists blaming political parties for standing in elections is a bit like, to turn an old phrase on its head, a sailor complaining about the sea.
But what it really boils down to is that the 'modernisers' don't only despise politicians, they also have a deep contempt and distrust of those that vote for them. No-one in South Wales or elsewhere will be frog-marched down to the polling station and be forced to cast their vote in the public gaze, risking the wrath of local political worthies if they have the temerity to cast their vote for someone who wants a job but doesn't have a clue what it's all about.
Time to change the electorate, eh Paul?
The whole website’s a shitheap of Tory apologetics, Bob. Life’s too short…
Say what you think, Mike, don’t sit on the fence.
Hmmmm.
So the only people who know how to do a job are….(wait for it)…..members of a political party.
Pay £33 via Switch/mastercard/Visa or cash and hey presto, you have the qualification to offer something back into society.
I accept your reasoning that political parties stand candidates (anyone they can drag out) into an election status.
Standidng for the first time actually negates a bit of your argument though.
The party machine is designed to grind down the amateur foolish enough to think they have something to offer, regardless of their Phd in economics.
The machine stands for the NHS and Welfare State, after all.
Please read: The state of local Government by Peter Latham, particularly the section on the local Government act 2000.
Not that it has anything to do with this subject at all, but more than it has a large slice dedicated to yours truly.
Clever people will spot the Sandwell connections.
So the only people who know how to do a job are….(wait for it)…..members of a political party.
Says who? If you weren’t too stupid to read what I wrote, you would realise I said nothing of the sort. My view is that is a matter for the electorate, who were bright enough to realise you are a clown, so I trust their judgement.
The rest of your comment is the usual incomprehensible waffle, which even you acknowledge is irrelevant.
There you go again, Bob. Ho hum.
The reference I gave to the book actually shows how the machine works against all reasoning and it doesn’t surprise me that one individual feels the weight of the party machine bearing down with considerable weight.
100 mickey mouse members carries an almighty ‘brand’ with the Labour rosette.
You may recall the machine threatening to sue me because I wore a Labour red rosette in Stoke during on stint (13 first class stamps on small envelope carried the threat).
You answered your own question by pointing out the dutybound existence of the machine to field a candidate in every election.
This offers no confidence at all, just duty.
You may recall our first mayoral election of which an Independent won (Labour won really, but not outright).
At the next go, our City was unfortunate enough to actually vote in the party machine in Labour.
History records how utterly wrong the party machine is and how badly the myth of ‘working class’ is a con.
Surely, if Simon is not up to the job, then he should pay £33 by DD to ‘The Labour Party’ of which he will then be fully qualified.
I give you the credentials of Labour’s candidate in Stoke.
Give me strength in my hour of need, oh Lord.
Bob, ignoring that tit Elsby, I think you make a good point. If Simon Weston wants to put his name forward like those who have stood as Independents elsewhere, let him carry on. But you can hardly expect political parties of any persuasion to let him have a free run at it. Cameron has made the police a political issue, and even though I don’t think we should have these commissioners I will be voting for a political candidate who represents the party I am a member of. As we are constantly being told though, most people have no political party, so if they want to stand, get on with it and stop bleating.
Grant, I usually do ignore him unless I feel in the mood for a bit of Elsby-baiting. You are right though. Prime Minister creates post to oversee the police and abolishes the role of politicians in the process of holding the police to account… then we get a lot of squealing when political parties decide they will field candidates. Doh! Who’d have thunk it!
“I will be voting for a political candidate who represents the party I am a member of”
..and there in one we have the donkey and red rosette argument all rolled into one.
Bob, Looks like we are agreeing about a couple of things at last, you are right about the theme of the post, and completely correct about Gary; try as I must, I just can’t make one iota of sense out of the couple of posts that he has made on this theme, apart from his usual theme of the injustice of the Labour Party machine towards him, and I have tried to be sympathetic to him over this last couple of years. But I think that he has exhausted my rather fragile patience
However the main reason I have posted on here today is because I’m a bit concerned that you haven’t been posting on here for a few days, and I’ll presume that you have been busy, or maybe not very well, and far be it from me to expect you to be posting every day, but I thought that you would have made a comment on the Libor scandal, and particularly the spectacularly backfiring vicious personal attack on Ed Balls , by that yellow scumbag Gideon Osbourne, the gutless horses rectum had to resort to the Tories house magazine, the Spectator(on Labour list today I inadvertently accredited it to their other house magazine, the Telegraph)to start his hatchet job before he dare address the House of Commons, but since Paul Tucker shot him(Osbourne) down in flames at the select committee hearing yesterday, and then Balls wiping the floor with him in the debate in the House later yesterday,Osbourne hasn’t been seen since, more than likely licking his wounds in his rat-hole while sending his lickspittles scurrying round Westminster trying to claim that it wasn’t meant to be an attack on Balls or Baroness Vaderi.
While there’s time yet Bob I thought that you would have made some comment on the Lords Reform Bill that is having its 1st reading in the House yesterday and today. While it’s a great opportunity to give the coalition a well deserved kick in the goolies I have to agree with Mark Ferguson @Labour List and the Guardians leader today, that we have been waiting too long for this bill to elect a 2nd Chamber(or abolish it, but that’s beyond anyones wildest imagination to excpect a Tory government to abolish this bastion of hereditary power and privilege , class and wealth)While the Parliamentary Labour Party may need Polly Toynbee’s legendary/mythical clothespeg they should go into the lobby with Cameron and Clegg,even if they throw up in the process rather than line up with the most reactionary Tories in the House to preserve their blocking chamber of anything progressive over the last 100 years. Imho there are going to be other chances to defeat these reactionary *******s in the next 12 months or so, despite Nadine Doriesand other reactionaries saying the coalition will last until 2015.
Gerald, you haven’t read my observations at all correctly.
Bob’s main argument appears to be that a person of considerable longevity within his subject should be considered a formidable opponent to any fly-by-night candidate from the celebrity world fancying his chances at being a politician in a supposed non political arena. We can argue the merits of politicising the position if we want to, but time is important.
So consider the job being advertised in the Staffordshire area where I live.
We can expect the political parties to appear and the celebrity circuit to show their faces.
So what does Labour do?
It interviews two people. One a 30 year long serving County Councillor(Stafford) and Chair of the police committee with adittional experience of social services.
The other is a well known piss take and Elected Mayor apoligist from Stoke.
Guess who won.
You see Gerald, Bob’s argument is flawed and I’m happy to point it out.