Good Friday
All kinds of things got done today. But before I forget I must say that the 'Way We Were" Labour Election Broadcast is head and shoulders above the opposition ones seen so far. The lyric is great. The smirking pictures are great. And they have had the nous not to pour oil on Howard's "it's not racist", "same rules for gypos on planning" lines by even mentioning his - is this right Jack? - 'horlicks' on that.
Blog-wise this is a holding post. I have spent my limited blog time today repairing some of the lost posts of the past fortnight. Most posts have been revised since I first posted them. There are still plenty of typos and grimmatical errors. Never mind.
But in particular I have finally re-entered the story of Sunday 3 April. When our most excellent chancellor and de facto "Home PM" Gordon Brown came to town.
Please take a look at this. Particularly 'Untying the Gordian Knot'.
Mr Brown has taken some flack in the papers for his supposedly craven New Labour performance on the manifesto launch. Not sure that criticism is quite on the money.
But on Sunday 3 April he broke clear from all that and instead of appealling to some key demographic to Blair's orders he just spilled his guts about world poverty. And more than that what he wants to do about it. And when can we start.
Which we liked. And which we think is true Gordon.
Posts exceed 30 and wordcount reaches 'already utterly ridiculous'.
Other happenings today were :
First thing - collect parcel (beautiful United Nations art print from USA via eBay) from GPO and meet Tony Lloyd there by chance. He will join in locally if anything comes up but otherwise will go and campaign in marginals like Oldham and Saddleworth.
Our constituency is twinned in fact with Rochdale (Lorna Fitzsimmons) but I believe more members will be more interested in helping in Oldham area or Ashton where BNP are most likely to compete, or Bury North where David Chaytor seems to be recognised as mostly-loyal-pragmatist-but-socialist-really.
Next - start long day producing reports for bank and government to secure monthly salary run at IDEA and increase momentum of our regeneration project.
Lunch - discuss politics with my 100% Labour accountant who is nonetheless overly impressed with some Lib Dem proposals. Cast doubts on all these one way or another. They can say anything and do nothing.
Afternoon - finish submission to boundary commission to keep Whalley Range in Manchester Central (with Tony Lloyd) and avoid transfer to Gorton (Rt Hon Sir Gerald Kaufman OBE). Important stuff.
Later - 45 minute speaker phone call with the bank. We two doing a double act to persuade this brand new bank manager to vote us in. We will go and meet him next week. He has transferred in from Nat West and so far is finding that things at the Co-op move at a rather more leisurely pace.
Later still - hooting for peace and justice x 3, ASDA being sure to buy celery from Spain rather than Israel - better for food miles if nothing else, and drop keys to Salford team so they can add another ten uber-posters to the display on IDEA's building.
They're going to the pub and again invite me to their fundraiser tomorrow night. But I think I've probably put enough cash in the coffers for now. I have to regretfully decline that. And all the offers from HQ to back them centrally while we have Blair at the helm.
I still haven't got round to checking the party manifesto for the commitment to renationalise the rail as agreed by conference. Or the commitment to restore the earnings link on pensions. They have been boosted at a far greater rate than an earnings link would have provide since 1997 but we would still like the earnings link. We can assure the Chancellor that this would not prevent bonuses and boosts when the robust economy allowed.
Manchester Central had played an important part in that debate. Joining with Rodney Bickerstaffe in refusing to be faced down by the control freaks. With our delegate making the seconding speech, after Rodney, with Barbara Castle putting the icing on.
Until conference decisions like these are acted on the powers that be cannot expect ordinary members to send fat cheques to them. Until there's no manipulation of Trade Union block votes to spike even the timetabled withdrawal from Iraq idea. But many people divert the money to local wards, constituencies and area parties. And some of us make it to all sorts of fundraisers. Sometimes averaging more than one a week.
I take the dogs for a run on the fields just down the Crescent from the campaign HQ and then back for blogging and TV.
Newsnight review guests include Mark Kermode and James Brown. Both of whom got a boost from our City Life Magazine in the 80s.
Yesterday and all day - collecting snippets from Radio 5. And researching the Lib dems vile cancer scare in the neighbouring constituency.
Reports soon.
Blog-wise this is a holding post. I have spent my limited blog time today repairing some of the lost posts of the past fortnight. Most posts have been revised since I first posted them. There are still plenty of typos and grimmatical errors. Never mind.
But in particular I have finally re-entered the story of Sunday 3 April. When our most excellent chancellor and de facto "Home PM" Gordon Brown came to town.
Please take a look at this. Particularly 'Untying the Gordian Knot'.
Mr Brown has taken some flack in the papers for his supposedly craven New Labour performance on the manifesto launch. Not sure that criticism is quite on the money.
But on Sunday 3 April he broke clear from all that and instead of appealling to some key demographic to Blair's orders he just spilled his guts about world poverty. And more than that what he wants to do about it. And when can we start.
Which we liked. And which we think is true Gordon.
Posts exceed 30 and wordcount reaches 'already utterly ridiculous'.
Other happenings today were :
First thing - collect parcel (beautiful United Nations art print from USA via eBay) from GPO and meet Tony Lloyd there by chance. He will join in locally if anything comes up but otherwise will go and campaign in marginals like Oldham and Saddleworth.
Our constituency is twinned in fact with Rochdale (Lorna Fitzsimmons) but I believe more members will be more interested in helping in Oldham area or Ashton where BNP are most likely to compete, or Bury North where David Chaytor seems to be recognised as mostly-loyal-pragmatist-but-socialist-really.
Next - start long day producing reports for bank and government to secure monthly salary run at IDEA and increase momentum of our regeneration project.
Lunch - discuss politics with my 100% Labour accountant who is nonetheless overly impressed with some Lib Dem proposals. Cast doubts on all these one way or another. They can say anything and do nothing.
Afternoon - finish submission to boundary commission to keep Whalley Range in Manchester Central (with Tony Lloyd) and avoid transfer to Gorton (Rt Hon Sir Gerald Kaufman OBE). Important stuff.
Later - 45 minute speaker phone call with the bank. We two doing a double act to persuade this brand new bank manager to vote us in. We will go and meet him next week. He has transferred in from Nat West and so far is finding that things at the Co-op move at a rather more leisurely pace.
Later still - hooting for peace and justice x 3, ASDA being sure to buy celery from Spain rather than Israel - better for food miles if nothing else, and drop keys to Salford team so they can add another ten uber-posters to the display on IDEA's building.
They're going to the pub and again invite me to their fundraiser tomorrow night. But I think I've probably put enough cash in the coffers for now. I have to regretfully decline that. And all the offers from HQ to back them centrally while we have Blair at the helm.
I still haven't got round to checking the party manifesto for the commitment to renationalise the rail as agreed by conference. Or the commitment to restore the earnings link on pensions. They have been boosted at a far greater rate than an earnings link would have provide since 1997 but we would still like the earnings link. We can assure the Chancellor that this would not prevent bonuses and boosts when the robust economy allowed.
Manchester Central had played an important part in that debate. Joining with Rodney Bickerstaffe in refusing to be faced down by the control freaks. With our delegate making the seconding speech, after Rodney, with Barbara Castle putting the icing on.
Until conference decisions like these are acted on the powers that be cannot expect ordinary members to send fat cheques to them. Until there's no manipulation of Trade Union block votes to spike even the timetabled withdrawal from Iraq idea. But many people divert the money to local wards, constituencies and area parties. And some of us make it to all sorts of fundraisers. Sometimes averaging more than one a week.
I take the dogs for a run on the fields just down the Crescent from the campaign HQ and then back for blogging and TV.
Newsnight review guests include Mark Kermode and James Brown. Both of whom got a boost from our City Life Magazine in the 80s.
Yesterday and all day - collecting snippets from Radio 5. And researching the Lib dems vile cancer scare in the neighbouring constituency.
Reports soon.
posted by Chris Paul at 11:34 PM
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