Caroline and I went to Durham and attended the pre-Gala dinner. Also there were Harold Wilson, Frank Cousins, Will Paynter (NUM) and Sam Watson(NUM).
At dinner I could hear Sam asking Harold who would be doing what in the Labour Government and I could just hear Harold giving some names. Afterwards when I was alone Harold came up to me and said, I thought it would be helpful if you knew that I want you to be Postmaster General in the Government..
Labour won the October 1964 Election with an overall majority of 4.
According to one traditional measure of General Elections the Labour vote represents at its most basic a class vote- primarily working class voters. Labour got 412 seats on July 4th but less votes than Jeremy Corbyn got in 2017 (by some distance).
According to a survey if the entire UK population is taken as the base then the turnout was around 50% as opposed to the 60% of those registered to vote. Neither figure suggests Parliamentary democracy is in good shape. There are of course other means of democratic expression available. Sometimes protests work when Parliament doesnt.
One reason for the low turnout is likely to be the requirement of voter ID, which the Tories introduced to suppress voting. It did, but it didn’t help them. Democracy can be ironic.
The survey suggests that voting was highest in Constituencies with higher numbers of those over 64 and homeowners (that’s me and I voted in Tottenham, in person). That is perhaps those with some investment not perhaps in society as it exactly is but not alienated from. On the other hand numbers of those may have vote for Reform which suggests a different picture.
The vote for the two main parties combined was also amongst the lowest for years. Those who are alienated from ‘official’ politics did have somewhere else to go the Greens won four seat and candidates focused in part on Palestine won five seats. That is historically unusual too.
Further while Labour got a resounding majority senior figures in the Government such as Keir Starmer himself and Foreign Secretary David Lammy saw their majorities significantly reduced. That too is unusual
We might conclude that the times they are a changin’ but also protest and survive remains a good democratic principle
While Tony Blair has been making quite a few of his rare interventions recently advising the new Government on various issues including a re-run of his digital ID cards nostrum, he also has other matters in hand.
While Keir Starmer will be in Berlin for the football on Sunday, Blair is in Mumbai attending the wedding of the son of Asia’s richest man. Anant Ambani is the son of the chair of Reliance industries. He is marrying Radhika Merchant the daughter of pharma tycoons.
No doubt Blair is there on personal business and probably looked for contacts for the Blair Institute. That of course is fine (allowing for the rich v poor issue) but doesn’t fit too well with someone offering thoughts on how to improve life for ordinary people in the UK.
The BBC reports that the partying will go on all weekend. At the same time the Durham miners gala will be taking place, an event Blair never attended even when he was a local MP.
Jeremy Corbyn the Independent MP for Islington North has told the Morning Star that being named the Beard of the new House of Commons is really a victory for the barbers of North London. He has won the Parliamentary Beard of the Year Award more often than any other MP and the credit for this must go the beard friendly barbers of North London.
Jeremy Corbyn narrowly missed being named Father of the House, the longest serving male MP, by the perpetually clean shaven Edward Leigh.
Even though the new Commons has more beards than at any time since the 1920s Corbyn’s beard leads the way in terms of impact and gravitas.
BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we expect Jeremy Corbyn now as an independent socialist MP to make opponents bristle…
The Beard Liberation Front the informal network of beard wearers has given emergency advice to Joe Biden on how to distinguish between a clean shaven and a hirsute politician
BLF organiser Keith Flett said that while the distinction is not always straightforward Putin clearly does NOT have a beard
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has said that on the occasion of his last Test Match for England at Lords, England bowler Jimmy Anderson has joined the Beard Hall of Fame.
The Beard Hall of Fame is a constantly updated list of hirsute individuals whose beards have made a positive impression in the public eye and have assisted their particular achievements.
While Jimmy Anderson does not always wear a beard the BLF says that his range of facial hair styles from clean shaven to stubble to bearded, is clearly carefully calibrated to maximise the impact of his bowling in specific conditions.
The Beard Hall of Fame includes a wide range of hirsute public figures including well known sportsmen such Moeen Ali and Harry Kane.
BLF Organiser Keith Flett said,Jimmy Anderson’s place in the Beard Hall of Fame is well deserved. He has provided a positive image of the hirsute over many years
Jeremy Corbyn named Beard of the new House of Commons
The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has named Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn as the Beard of the new House of Commons.
Corbyn was elected as the MP for Islington North for the eleventh time on July 4th on this occasion as an Independent. However he was narrowly pipped to the title of Father of the House by Tory MP Edward Leigh who signed on just before him when first elected in 1983.
Nevertheless Jeremy Corbyn has been voted the Parliamentary Beard of the Year more often than any other MP and easily qualifies for the coveted title of Beard of the House
BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, when Jeremy Corbyn was first elected beards in the Commons were rare indeed and his appearance provoked comment. The current House has more hirsute MPs than have sat since the 1920s but Corbyn is without question Beard of the House.
The Magistrate who gave the order to send the Yeomanry in at Peterloo in Manchester in August 1819 was William Hulton (1787-1864).
In a review of books published to mark the 150th anniversary of Peterloo in 1969 EP Thompson noted that Hutton’s mother had a prize horse called ‘Church and King’ providing a flavour of what the family was like. He noted that when it came to events like Peterloo it was not so much that Hulton would lie about what took place (he did) but that he was simply not interested in what the ‘plebs’, those fighting for the vote, said or did.
Hulton left another legacy aside from Peterloo. As EP Thompson notes in 1832 the Reform Act, a result of Peterloo in 1819, saw the Tories lose South Lancashire. Hulton was one of those who met in a beer house in 1834 to form the South Lancashire Conservative Association dedicated to defending, like the family Horse, Church and King.
That organisation was one of the forerunners of the modern Tory Party.
After 4th July 2024 it looks like the work needs to start again, not in Westminster but in what E P Thompson again called ‘those shadowy parts, the provinces’ (where he lived himself being no huge fan of London)
Along with other MPs (including Jeremy Corbyn) Keir Starmer was sworn in on 9th July. As Tom Baldwin’s biography notes Starmer follows the Arsenal way, with a 1-0 win being fine and 0-0 being OK. No doubt Starmer’s allegiance will continue to be Arsenal where he is season ticket holder
