[Archived] Blackburn's Prospective new MP

[dave birch]

Anyone offering any thoughts?

I might add, that the Labor (yes it's spelt right) Party in Australia now offers the community the opportunity to say who they want to represent them via a pre poll.

Anyone can nominate, anyone can vote, though the party apparachik has a say also, but not one that can overrule.

[thenodrog]

A total stitch up. Not what is best for the citizens of Blackburn but unashamed political shennanigins designed to get Jack Straw's lad into Conservative Jake Berry's Darwen seat (I believe that Hollern lives in Darwen and holds much influence). So that will then be two generations from the Straw family who presume to represent us and who have never done a days work in their lives. I've also been led to believe that her victory owed much to 400 or so of those dodgy postal votes. Also as a sop to the town's Mohammedan masses I'm led to believe her replacement as Labour leader on the council will be Councillor Mohammed Khan from Wensley Road.

Politics is a dirty game as they say.

My own personal opinion is that she is not an inspiring choice. Old embittered Labour type of Scottish descent and with an embittered persona. Could rebound on Labour big time. I cant see it happening but the best move would be for the Tories to stand aside and allow UKIP a free run in the town. If their claim to be attracting much new support from the Tories, Liberals, Old Labour and BNP then it makes perfect sense.

[dave birch]

I'd agree with you to a certain extent, Theno.

The best thing that could happen to an electorate is for it to become "marginal", swing one way, and then the other. That way it has the attention of the political heavyweights.

[jim mk2]

Blackburn has traditionally had high-profile MPs. Barbara Castle - who should have been Britain's first woman PM - and Jack Straw served the town diligently for more than 50 years. I met Straw on a couple of occasions - he's a football man and Rovers mad, which endeared me to him greatly. Ukip are a one-trick pony as a political party and their supporters generally swivel-eyed loons. The prospect of Farage in the Commons is frightening to say the least.

[dave birch]

WB, I'm left leaning, but can you give me any long lasting benefits that the two MP's you mention brought to the town of Blackburn?

[jim mk2]

Support for investment in infrastructure and jobs and trying to keep the town actively economically after the assault on its very foundations by a partisan government in the 1980s and general disinterest by Westminster of anything north of Watford over the past 50 years or so. It's work that goes on in the background and generally don't see that is the most important.

[thenodrog]

Whilst Wilpshire Blue is attemting to re=write history allow me to put the record straight.

Castle and Straw have presided over the once proud town from my youth that has gone from a hive of industry to a depressed, dirty northern sh1thole under their governance. They have never come close to representing their original electorate as duty demanded. Instead they have presided over a town that has seen 50% of their original electorate leave through job losses and white flight as thousands and thousands of IndoPak immigrant workers were brought / allowed in after all the work had gone... ironically to the Indian sub-continent. Not all their fault of course but they've done absolutely nothing to fight it other than curry favour and cheap votes from the newcomers.

Only plus side to big Jack Straw up was when he persuaded the mighty US Sec of State Condoleeza Rice to come. Unfortunately it turned out to be his political Waterloo when she saw how Blackburn was, and how weak and dependent Straw had become, went home and instructed Tony Blair to sack him from Foreign Secretary within the week.

Put a red rosette on a pig and it'd get elected in Blackburn. As DB says it has been too safe a Labour seat for it's own good.

btw do you deny the holocaust too WB?

[Jock]

Ive got an MP that's into methedrone, Brazillian rent boys and fracking. Couldnt get much worse.

I cant see what Castle and Straw-man have done for Blackburn when I walk round the town. But we all know who jack @rse licked.

[Guest Norbert]

Well in Coventry we have 2 very safe Labour seats occupied by Geoffrey Robinson (famed for giving a loan to Peter Mandelson and overseeing Coventry City's decline), and Bob Ainsworth (who wants to legalise drugs) and a more evenly contested seat occupied by Jim Cunningham (also Labour). Before I moved here I have ended up living in equally safe Tory seats, one of which is represented by that barmy Nadine Dorries.

None of those seats have any risk of changing hands between the parties, and it doesn't matter who the party put up, even if they get caught eating a live cat whilst off their knockers on PCP. The party will quietly drop them and put in another stooge.

[Stuart]

I can see where Gordon is coming from but it's too lazy to simply blame Castle and Straw.

The test would be to compare who Blackburn compares with other former mill towns - or towns where the local industry has been torn out. Merthyr Tydfil springs to mind.

There has been a lot of investment in the town in recent years. It will take time for that to deliver benefits.

[jim mk2]

Lazy indeed. The fact is manufacturing in the north of England was decimated in the 1980s by a vindictive Conservative administration intent on smashing the unions. Blackburn was not immune but because of its diverse economic base thanks to the efforts of Castle and Straw did not suffer quite as badly as other northern tows and cities such as Liverpool. Looking around the town I see alot of small and medium sized enterprises doing well as a result of investment over the past 15 years or so. The shopping centre has improved and although money is tight after 4 years of unnecessary austerity people are spending money. Blackburn folk aren't daft - they're never going to vote for a load of southern Old Etonian toffs or a Ukip leader who is nothing more than a caricature of a small-minded Little Englander.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

I can see where Gordon is coming from but it's too lazy to simply blame Castle and Straw.

The test would be to compare who Blackburn compares with other former mill towns - or towns where the local industry has been torn out. Merthyr Tydfil springs to mind.

There has been a lot of investment in the town in recent years. It will take time for that to deliver benefits.

You could live in Rochdale. The town has had the happy knack of electing MP's from the party not in power. The awful Cyril Smith who was elected in the 1970's when Labour was in power. Liz Lynne ( not a bad MP but one with no influence at all ) from the Lib-Dems when the Tories where in power. Ok we had the careerist Lorna Fitzsimmons from Labour during the Blair era for a while who did actually get some investment sent our way leading to the tram line coming from Manchester.

When the Con Dems came to power Rochdale bucked the trend by electing a Labour MP in Simon Danzuk. So you can be sure we won't be seeing much investment in the near future

[Guest Norbert]

Cyril Smith was that really fat paedo wasn't he?

[thenodrog]

Blackburn folk aren't daft - they're never going to vote for a load of southern Old Etonian toffs or a Ukip leader who is nothing more than a caricature of a small-minded Little Englander.

Thanks to postal voting lots of Blackburn folk will vote for whoever they give their forms to decides.

'...... The rest will use them to roll spliffs.

[thenodrog]

I can see where Gordon is coming from but it's too lazy to simply blame Castle and Straw.

.

If you need to make a complaint you can only make it to the person whose name is over the door. They were both desperate to be given the mandate to represent the citizens of blackburn .... until they were given that mandate and then the priorities changed to keeping that mandate. You know the rest Stuart.

[T.J.Newton]

Thanks to postal voting lots of Blackburn folk will vote for whoever they give their forms to decides.

'...... The rest will use them to roll spliffs.

You really do seem out of touch with the people of this town and make your judgments from the kind of ott dribble thats used to sell papers etc.. Or gossiped about in the pub by other out of touch bitter old men(and other like minded souls)

[ABBEY]

which bit is wrong?

[jim mk2]

You really do seem out of touch with the people of this town and make your judgments from the kind of ott dribble thats used to sell papers etc.. Or gossiped about in the pub by other out of touch bitter old men(and other like minded souls)

........sounds like a typical Ukip voter.

[Biddy]

Hi Jim. Back again?

[T.J.Newton]

If what he's saying about postal voting fraud is true then you should all really go down to the policee station with your evidence

[perthblue02]

If what he's saying about postal voting fraud is true then you should all really go down to the policee station with your evidence

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/lancashire/4425519.stm

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-03667.pdf

Sad state of affairs for the town but par of the course when a Town council see's fit to appoint a benefit cheat as mayor.

[yoda]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/lancashire/4425519.stm

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-03667.pdf

Sad state of affairs for the town but par of the course when a Town council see's fit to appoint a benefit cheat as mayor.

You nailed that one

[Al]

Might have known it would happen in Blackburn but surely in Bastwell there was no need to cheat.

[thenodrog]

You nailed that one

Nailed T J Newton too!

[T.J.Newton]

really?

corrupt local politicians, well I never! and they only exist in Blackburn you say! Wowzers, id never have known, there I was thinking it was something that happened in pretty much every government and council in the democratic world(to varying degrees) but you say its only an issue in Blackburn(and not only that but its only been an issue in recent years/decades since we've had a relatively large Asian community here) what a revelation, get Michael moore and david icke on the blower, have we a got a story for them.

p.s. cheers for those links Perth-pal