dAVe80 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 (edited) Putting Williams in as the candidate is a risk, especially as it is such an important seat for Labour to win. If you look at all the constituencies that make up the Tees Valley, and how many elections the party has lost over the last 4 or 5 years, this is one Labour has to win. Otherwise you're looking at 5 Tory MPs, a Tory Mayor, a handful of Tory councils, and quite probably now, a Tory PCC. This is an area of the world, in the past where being a Tory wasn't far off being a paedophile at one point. I sincerely hope Keith has a master plan here, and I'm waiting to be wowed. Not likely though. Edited March 18, 2021 by dAVe80 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ml1dch Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 The rigorous process is at an end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenm Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 3 hours ago, ml1dch said: The rigorous process is at an end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted March 18, 2021 Moderator Share Posted March 18, 2021 32 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said: Now I know things can get taken the wrong way on social media but that tweet honestly reads to me like he's complaining about someone else initiating that conversation and not him having that conversation. It reads like a complaint to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 23 minutes ago, bickster said: Now I know things can get taken the wrong way on social media but that tweet honestly reads to me like he's complaining about someone else initiating that conversation and not him having that conversation. It reads like a complaint to me I think it is too, but it made me laugh. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dAVe80 Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 Excuse me Sir, are you a doctor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 Why don't they delete these old tweets when they get selected? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted March 19, 2021 Moderator Share Posted March 19, 2021 32 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said: Why don't they delete these old tweets when they get selected? Quote • President Obama warned in a televised statement supporting the UN resolution against Libya's Gaddafi regime: "Let me be clear: these terms are not negotiable. These terms are not subject to negotiation." • Gaddafi's forces continue to close in on Benghazi, while fighting continued to be heard in and around Mizrata, despite statements by Libyan ministers saying that government forces were abiding by a ceasefire announced earlier. Guardian 18th March 2011 Seems like an Anti-war tweet to me, what's the issue with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 6 minutes ago, bickster said: Guardian 18th March 2011 Seems like an Anti-war tweet to me, what's the issue with it? I don't think it's possible to tell with this one whether it's anti-war or not. But regardless, I think it would be easy to twist; my question therefore is why don't they just delete all their old tweets? Especially since he's already deleted dozens of tweets demanding a People's Vote. Might as well just do the job properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentVilla Posted March 19, 2021 Moderator Share Posted March 19, 2021 Is Labour still a thing? I thought they had split up like a 90’s boy band.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted March 19, 2021 Moderator Share Posted March 19, 2021 2 minutes ago, HanoiVillan said: I don't think it's possible to tell with this one whether it's anti-war or not. But regardless, I think it would be easy to twist; my question therefore is why don't they just delete all their old tweets? Especially since he's already deleted dozens of tweets demanding a People's Vote. Might as well just do the job properly. Philosophically speaking there's a kind of thing I don't like somewhere in this discussion. It's this. I completely get that "because politics/electoral campaigning" he or his bosses may see it as a good idea to delete tweets where he put out his view on leaving the EU. But if a politician is to be and be seen to be "true", then erasing past statements of belief about issues is the opposite of that - quick, erase any evidence that I think/thought War /Brexit / whatever was right or wrong. I mean what's wrong with having held a particular view on an intervention or an electoral referendum campaign? If you believed it, then it's part of your history, your make up, your world view and you should be able to say "yeah, that what I thought, and still do" or "that's what I thought, but as Brexit/War/whatever" has now happened we're in a new set of circumstances and it turns out that...." 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 25 minutes ago, blandy said: Philosophically speaking there's a kind of thing I don't like somewhere in this discussion. It's this. I completely get that "because politics/electoral campaigning" he or his bosses may see it as a good idea to delete tweets where he put out his view on leaving the EU. But if a politician is to be and be seen to be "true", then erasing past statements of belief about issues is the opposite of that - quick, erase any evidence that I think/thought War /Brexit / whatever was right or wrong. I mean what's wrong with having held a particular view on an intervention or an electoral referendum campaign? If you believed it, then it's part of your history, your make up, your world view and you should be able to say "yeah, that what I thought, and still do" or "that's what I thought, but as Brexit/War/whatever" has now happened we're in a new set of circumstances and it turns out that...." Well, *if* his view in 2011 was that we should begin an aerial bombardment of Zimbabwe, I think that's an extremely dumb opinion that people should weigh very heavily against him, but it's not clear whether that's what he was suggesting. On the broader point, I have some sympathy with your point that frantically deleting tweets is the opposite of being 'true'; but really this comes back to my question of why you would want to rig selection in favour of a candidate who has a social media history that might well pose a liability. To be clear, and state again, my objection to this candidate is more his anti-democratic selection than his views. His views are not aligned with mine, but I can get behind people with different politics if they fit a particular constituency well and are selected democratically, but in this case at least one of those is not true and there's strong doubt about the other. I guess now he has to prove his doubters wrong. These undemocratic selections are a terrible thing in the Labour party. They are terrible when all factions do it, including ones I'm more sympathetic to. Corbyn generally didn't do it for by-elections, but there were a number of undemocratic selections for the 2019 GE; two of those, Claudia Webbe and Apsana Begum, are about to stand trial. There's no evidence that central office is able to pick better candidates than local members, and given their own quote about this candidate (''It seems clear that the party and Paul aren't quite as well informed as we'd like them to be re. the town and our electorate'') there's some reason to think the opposite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jareth Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 Am enjoying Keir Starmers expectation management on the local elections - saying he expects a vaccine bounce for the tories - he might not be wrong but it reminds me of a Steve Bruce pre-match presser. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davkaus Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 20 minutes ago, Jareth said: Am enjoying Keir Starmers expectation management on the local elections - saying he expects a vaccine bounce for the tories - he might not be wrong but it reminds me of a Steve Bruce pre-match presser. They're an honest bunch of lads, except for most of them. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ml1dch Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 Massive news if true. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted March 19, 2021 Moderator Share Posted March 19, 2021 41 minutes ago, ml1dch said: Massive news if true. Nah, Dem says On! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted March 22, 2021 Moderator Share Posted March 22, 2021 I suspect this story will be a huge story in a few days time... Quote A rumoured government takeover of Liverpool City Council would render winning candidates in May's elections "powerless", an expert has said. The findings of an inspection report launched after mayor Joe Anderson was arrested in a bribery probe are expected to be published this week. The Telegraph reports commissioners could be brought in to run the council. Prof Jonathan Tonge said using such measures in a city the size of Liverpool would be "unprecedented". The government did not comment on reports but said it would soon set out the "next steps" in response to the inspectors' findings. Installing commissioners - an action taken just four times in the past 25 years in England - is among various options available to ministers. BBC It may also be the reason behind Labour's refusal of the first three candidates for the Mayoral Race. The initial three could all be easily caught up in this inadvertantly as two were cabinet or former cabinet members and the other was the Lord Mayor (all effectively appoinments of Chippy Tits). If wasn't the reason I speculated at the time but I think I mentioned it as a possible reason. I can honestly see this resulting in riots this summer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted March 22, 2021 Moderator Share Posted March 22, 2021 19 minutes ago, bickster said: I can honestly see this resulting in riots this summer Genuinely? I mean, I'm expecting riots this summer anyway, but I'm surprised this is such an emotive issue. I get the impression that local politics generally raise the heckles of a very small number of people in comfortable wool. If Andy Street were found to be on the take I'm sure the reaction of a good half of the people in the Midlands would be "Who?". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted March 22, 2021 Moderator Share Posted March 22, 2021 29 minutes ago, bickster said: I suspect this story will be a huge story in a few days time... BBC It may also be the reason behind Labour's refusal of the first three candidates for the Mayoral Race. The initial three could all be easily caught up in this inadvertantly as two were cabinet or former cabinet members and the other was the Lord Mayor (all effectively appoinments of Chippy Tits). If wasn't the reason I speculated at the time but I think I mentioned it as a possible reason. I can honestly see this resulting in riots this summer It’s one thing for a mayor and a cabal of relatives, friends and associates (including a prominent Corbyn supporting Union leader) to be suspected of financial shenanigans, or even convicted (they’re all innocent until..etc). It’s quite another for the Government to annul the city council and take over directly. That would be really worrying. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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