More Admin, plus Sizing Up The Competition
Setting up the web giving page for my sponsored run for QueerUpNorth Festival is not too difficult, achieved thanks to a request for sponsorship from another runner, and blog readers who consider the world's leading Queer arts festival worth supporting will be very welcome to inaugurate the page with your pledges. I have added in the gimmick of a 'guess the finishing time' contest for bubbly and chocs.
The page, with full explanation and link back to SNWDWVF is at :
http://www.justgiving.com/sponsorCP
The other thing I do this morning is to have a quick read of the other SNWDWVF blogs. Which is an eye opener.
I am writing way more than anyone else.
Our Green is worrying about calling human beings canines. I have already done it do our own Alan Milburn!
Our Lib Dem is very exercised about tree posters and the like. I will be able to provide some good news and some bad news in my next post.
Plaid have found a good reception at a mosque. This is to be expected. Even at the a terrible point in the war in late April 2003 Tony Lloyd and I were afforded a very polite and warm welcome. As we sat in the room behind the Imam's chair we were surrounded by coffins. Not a protest. The mosque is also the Funeral Directors!
There was heated preaching as we talked with Tony's friend, the chair. Next we were brought in and Tony recited a fulsome greeting in Arabic and explained carefully what his own position was and the messages he was taking to Blair. AS even the first question seemed edgy the Imam expertly asked for a show of hands. "Who says Tony Lloyd should tell Blair this war is bad?" 1500 hands in the air.
The good reception is a given. The votes may be another matter.
And the SNWDWVF blog itself makes much of some of the neo-liberal content of the manifesto launch and Mr Brown's part in that. I think there is a difficulty here. There are several difficulties.
1. Labour have already announced an increased participation by privateers in health and education. Sometimes they suggest this is de minimis and always will be.
2. Labour as other governments often announce things over and over. I just don't think this is a new idea or a new commitment. Some increase in privateers is on the cards, perhaps some quantum can be put on the ceiling for this, but the increasing is already going on. From 1% to 2% is an increase. Purists and leftists don't like it one little bit but it is no great shift in the Labour 'offer' since 2001.
3. What is more no-one expects Tories NOT to carry on NHS and schools privatisation and many expect more of a rabid dismantling effort. We certainly know there is a fast track with 50% refunds for immediate private work in their scheme of things.
4. Despite 3. above many of the commentators at the time of the Lib Dem conference believed that Orange Book or no Orange Book the Lib Dem party looked like they were prepared to go beyond even the Tories in these matters. As if to prove this they passed a resolution to completely privatise the Post Office - Counters, Royal Mail and Parcelforce. In the Warwick Agreement the Labour Party reject that.
And finally. Let's consider the overall position. What the parties are doing is trying to optimise the support not of an electorate of 40 million or whatever. Oh no. There are focused on just three-quarters to one million people. The ones most likely to cause seats to change hands. If demographics experts tell them the key issues for that group they are absolutely honour bound to woo those people.
At this moment they are not even really MPs these people. They are PPCs and the task in hand is to win the next election, and if possible lay the foundations for the one after that.
As I've said before I think real Gordon is the one who is passionate about defeating poverty here and worldwide. And the one who has an absolutely remarkable record of economic success and prosperity for the country.
PS : Where is the Respect blog? I think we should be told! I will put feelers out.
The page, with full explanation and link back to SNWDWVF is at :
http://www.justgiving.com/sponsorCP
The other thing I do this morning is to have a quick read of the other SNWDWVF blogs. Which is an eye opener.
I am writing way more than anyone else.
Our Green is worrying about calling human beings canines. I have already done it do our own Alan Milburn!
Our Lib Dem is very exercised about tree posters and the like. I will be able to provide some good news and some bad news in my next post.
Plaid have found a good reception at a mosque. This is to be expected. Even at the a terrible point in the war in late April 2003 Tony Lloyd and I were afforded a very polite and warm welcome. As we sat in the room behind the Imam's chair we were surrounded by coffins. Not a protest. The mosque is also the Funeral Directors!
There was heated preaching as we talked with Tony's friend, the chair. Next we were brought in and Tony recited a fulsome greeting in Arabic and explained carefully what his own position was and the messages he was taking to Blair. AS even the first question seemed edgy the Imam expertly asked for a show of hands. "Who says Tony Lloyd should tell Blair this war is bad?" 1500 hands in the air.
The good reception is a given. The votes may be another matter.
And the SNWDWVF blog itself makes much of some of the neo-liberal content of the manifesto launch and Mr Brown's part in that. I think there is a difficulty here. There are several difficulties.
1. Labour have already announced an increased participation by privateers in health and education. Sometimes they suggest this is de minimis and always will be.
2. Labour as other governments often announce things over and over. I just don't think this is a new idea or a new commitment. Some increase in privateers is on the cards, perhaps some quantum can be put on the ceiling for this, but the increasing is already going on. From 1% to 2% is an increase. Purists and leftists don't like it one little bit but it is no great shift in the Labour 'offer' since 2001.
3. What is more no-one expects Tories NOT to carry on NHS and schools privatisation and many expect more of a rabid dismantling effort. We certainly know there is a fast track with 50% refunds for immediate private work in their scheme of things.
4. Despite 3. above many of the commentators at the time of the Lib Dem conference believed that Orange Book or no Orange Book the Lib Dem party looked like they were prepared to go beyond even the Tories in these matters. As if to prove this they passed a resolution to completely privatise the Post Office - Counters, Royal Mail and Parcelforce. In the Warwick Agreement the Labour Party reject that.
And finally. Let's consider the overall position. What the parties are doing is trying to optimise the support not of an electorate of 40 million or whatever. Oh no. There are focused on just three-quarters to one million people. The ones most likely to cause seats to change hands. If demographics experts tell them the key issues for that group they are absolutely honour bound to woo those people.
At this moment they are not even really MPs these people. They are PPCs and the task in hand is to win the next election, and if possible lay the foundations for the one after that.
As I've said before I think real Gordon is the one who is passionate about defeating poverty here and worldwide. And the one who has an absolutely remarkable record of economic success and prosperity for the country.
PS : Where is the Respect blog? I think we should be told! I will put feelers out.
posted by Chris Paul at 4:04 PM
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