Monthly Archives: November 2009

November 21, 2009 · 2:35 pm

Bloomsbury Ward Stall

Elected on a regional basis and therefore covering the whole of London, it’s not often I get the opportunity to do campaigning in my own ward.  I did manage it today and spent some time at the stall in Goodge Street, just over the road from such central London landmarks as Heals and Habitat, not to mention the flagship Paperchase store.  It was good to spend time giving out leaflets and talking to people with Labour Party members from my own area.  Should really try and do more of it.

Two of the our real  stars were there  – Councillor Penny Abraham who will be standing down at the London borough elections in May after long and sterling service to the people of Bloomsbury and Camden, and Milena Nuti who is a candidate in those very same elections.

Since Bloomsbury is one of the split wards on Camden Council we always work hard, trying to increase the two Labour councillors to three and oust the Conservative.  In addition to Milena, the other two candidates are Dave Horan and Abdul Quadir.  The other sitting Labour councillor, Fazlul Chowdhury, is not standing again in Bloomsbury.

We are, of course, campaigning for the General Election as well as the council.  MP Frank Dobson is highly regarded and very well liked with a safe majority, so I confidently predict Holborn and St Pancras will return a Labour MP again.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Labour Party

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

November 20, 2009 · 1:24 pm

A Good Day for Europe

So we now have a result.  Mr Van Rompuy was in the end not much of a surprise.  He will, I am sure, do a competent job and be respected by his fellow heads of government.

Cathy Ashton was, it has to be said, less of a surprise to those of us involved in European politics than to many of the pundits back home.  She proved to be an excellent Commissioner.  In addition to her obvious intelligence, Cathy is hardworking and possesses a rare ability to bring people together and achieve consensus.  If you heard her on the Today programme this morning you will know exactly what I mean.  Congratulations Cathy and all the very best in your new role.

Although I made no secret of my support for Tony Blair to be appointed to one of these major posts, I am nevertheless cheered by the outcome.  Although it is certainly a stitch up, it is one which makes sense and will use the talents of both individuals to good effect.  We have one small member state and one of the larger ones, one man and (at last) one woman, one centre-right and one centre-left   We also have a Briton in one of the highest posts.  At last, we will be at the heart of Europe in reality, holding a top post and therefore having to fully engage with the EU agenda.

And this agenda, it is clear, is no longer working to bring about further European integration.  There is little doubt that although the appointment of a  British woman to the High Representative position signals the acceptance that while the EU fully intends to make its presence felt on the world stage, there will be no further significant moves towards integration across the member states.  Europe will undoubtedly grow wider with the accession of more Easter European countries such as Croatia, but no deeper for the foreseeable future.  Whether or not Turkey will be admitted is, of course, another matter.  If Mr Van Rompuy has his way, the answer will be no.

It is a new chapter for all of us, within the EU institutions and the member states.  I just hope my optimism will be justified in the longer term.

1 Comment

Filed under Labour Party

Tagged as , , , , ,

November 19, 2009 · 1:40 pm

Croydon Labour Parties Gala Dinner

I was delighted to go to the Croydon Labour Parties Gala Dinner yesterday evening.  Held at the Hilton Hotel in Croydon it was, as ever, a delightful occasion, a chance to catch up with old friends and enjoy a really good evening.  Thanks to Tim Godfrey, the Labour Party organiser in the area, and everyone else who worked so hard to make the event such a huge success.

Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, did us all proud as the guest speaker.  A former Croydon Labour Party Member and CWU supremo, he was totally at home with his audience.  Alan also filled a table with old CWU colleagues. including Billy Hayes. 

You will see me here pictured with Croydon North MP Malcolm Wicks who gave his own inimitable after dinner speech as did Gerry Ryan, the PPC for Croydon Central.  The local line up was completed with Councillor Jane Avis who acted as Master (or should I say Mistress) of Ceremonies.  Also pictured are GLA Member and former Leader of Croydon Coucil, Val Shawcross, and current Leader of the Labour Group on the Council, Tony Newman.

3 Comments

Filed under Labour Party

Tagged as , , , , ,

November 18, 2009 · 11:27 am

Crunch Day for Europe President

This is it.  All will be decided later today or perhaps tomorrow if the deliberations in the European Council of Ministers about the position of President of the Council and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs continue late into the next day.  We are already hearing stories about participants taking one, two or even three shirts to see them through.  (They are almost all men – hence the shirt question).

Well, will our very own TB make it?  Tony’s chances do seem to have revived during the past two days, but whether he can overcome the “small country” challenge is still not certain.  Some of the tiniest EU states don’t want a large country holding the post as they fear this will smother them.  So we are now seeing an attempt at a classic EU fudge – find the lowest common denominator and go with that regardless of whether or not that is the best and most effective decision for Europe as a whole.

This mindset has led to Belgian Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy emerging as the front-runner.  I hardly think Belgium is a shining example of how to run a country.  A population of about 10 million is split into two linguistic groups with three federal regions, a system which is so unworkable that Belgium was recently without a federal government for nearly two years as the various parties were unable to agree on a coalition.

The other two small countries who are realistic contenders aren’t much better.  Peter Balkenende from Holland verges on the Thatcherite.  Luxembourg has, as ever, staked its claim.  Yet can anyone take Jean-Claude Junker seriously when the entire population of Luxembourg is only 488,000.  Yes 488,000 compared to over 60 million in the UK and Germany’s 82.5 million.  I am tempted to use that dreadful Americanism – “give us a break!”

There are two other factors working against our Tony.  Most importantly, the Socialists do not have a majority in the European Council.  The system of qualified majority voting used gives that to the EPP.  Moreover, the Socialist governments do not always all vote the same way.  Just to muddy the waters further, the Socialist and Democrat Group in the European Parliament has waged a strong campaign, which some Socialist governments have bought in to, that the Socialists should let the EPP have the President while the Socialists make a concerted bid for the High Representative.

The small country and/or EPP bid for the President position may well be the way it goes today.  I understand that there is everything to play for, and unusually in the EU the result has not been fixed in advance.  Since the Socialists are going for the High Representative, could this be what Tony ends up with?  I gather he may not be averse to the idea.  The job will, after all, be to act as the face of the EU across the whole globe and the post holder will also control the world-wide network of EU missions (embassies).

Crunch time indeed.

7 Comments

Filed under Labour Party

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

November 17, 2009 · 2:09 pm

Mushtaq Qureshi – a remarkable man

wnews103009_04[1]It was a sad day when Mushtaq Qureshi passed away at the end of last month.  Mushtaq was one of those truly great people who spent his life working for others – for the Labour Party, for the Bangladeshi community of which he was such a prominent member and, of course, for his family.  A councillor in Queen’s Park Ward for the past 15 years up until his death, Mushtaq was the first Bangladeshi to be elected to Westminster Council.  He had been active in the Labour Party since coming to Britain over 50 years ago, having previously served as Vice-Chairman of the Awami League in his native Bangladesh.  It is a measure of his desire to help others that when Mushtaq retired from the restaurant business he worked at the Paddington Citizens’ Advice Bureau in Harrow Road. 

I was privileged to know Mushtaq and spend time at his family home in Maida Vale.  His daughter Papya, who is now also a Westminster councillor for Westbourne Ward, worked for me in Brussels for nearly a year.  I know his son Murad as a hard working member of the Greater London Assembly, having also been a Westminster Councillor  representing Church Street Ward.  The Qureshis are a truly remarkable family.

Many condolences to the Qureshi family.  All of those many people who knew Mushtaq will miss him for himself and for his very real commitment to those around him and to the causes in which he believed.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Labour Party

Tagged as , , , ,

November 16, 2009 · 5:44 pm

Iranian Woman sentenced to Death by Stoning

Kobra Babaei, an Iranian woman, is feared to be at imminent risk of stoning to death after her husband Rahim Mohammadi was hanged for “sodomy” on 5 October.  According to an interview given by the couple’s lawyer Mohamad Mostafaei, earlier this year, they had turned to prostitution to support themselves financially after a prolonged period of unemployment.

Rahim Mohammadi and Kobra Babaei, who have a 12-year-old daughter, were both unable to find work for prolonged periods and were very poor.  Reports state that “they realised that certain officials were willing to help them in exchange for sexual relations with Rahim’s young wife” and had therefore turned to prostitution in order to support themselves.

They were both convicted of “adultery while being married”, which carries a mandatory sentence of death by stoning.  According to the lawyer, Kobra Babaei is at imminent risk of stoning now that her husband has been executed.

It really is totally unacceptable and completely appalling that both stoning to death for adultery and hanging for sodomy are still around in this day and age.  Please make your views known and try to save Kobra by signing the petition organised by Amnesty International here.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Labour Party

Tagged as , , ,

November 15, 2009 · 10:20 am

“The Complaints” by Ian Rankin

ian rankain complaintsIan Rankin is just about the best crime thriller writer in the UK, if not in the English language. I have always found the Rebus stories – both the novels and the TV programmes – one of the best forms of relaxation. I must have read almost every Rebus book and enjoyed every one.

The Complaints, set as ever in Rankin’s Edinburgh, is not Rebus. It is, however, equally good. Inspector Malcolm Fox on the Complaints and Discipline section of Lothian and Borders Police is asked to investigate a younger colleague, Sergeant Jamie Breck. Inevitably, all is not as it seems, especially after Fox’s sister’s partner, who is also an abuser, is found dead, having been brutally murdered.

 What follows is a complicated tale of corruption in relatively high places and criminal low life, all told in Rankin’s fast, eminently readable style.

This is an absolute must of a book. I guarantee you will not be able to put it down.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Labour Party

Tagged as , , ,

November 13, 2009 · 12:30 pm

Excellent Result in Glasgow North-East

The result in Glasgow North-East can only be interpreted as a massive endorsement for the Government – there is quite simply no other way of looking at it.  Just in case you missed it, here is the actual result:

Labour – 12,231 votes (59.39%)

SNP – 4,120 votes (20%)

Tory – 1,075 votes (5.22%)

BNP – 1,013 votes (4.92%)

Solidarity – 794 votes (3.86%)

Lib Dems – 474 votes (2.30%)

Total votes cast – 20,595

Voter turnout – 32.97%

Although I didn’t manage to get to Glasgow, I did do a couple of stints at telephoning canvassing from London.  It always looked as if we would do well, as indeed we have done.

There is, however, one downside – the turnout.  Despite the well documented fact that turnouts in by-elections are notoriously low, 33 per cent is poor.  I gather from BBC Women’s Hour today that the number of women participating was much lower than that for men.

This is deeply troubling.  Our democracy requires engagement and women will only really make inroads in terms of improving their lives if they take part in the political process.  I hope the Labour Party will now undertake a serious analysis as to why the turnout among women in Glasgow North-East was so low.  We need some answers so that women in future are more encouraged to go out and vote. 

1 Comment

Filed under Labour Party

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

November 12, 2009 · 3:36 pm

O’Leary just doesn’t get it

triumphant

Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary claimed in yesterday’s Telegraph that he had posted one of his ‘calendars’ to me. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the history of this tale, last year I criticised the mindless objectification of women in this article for the Guardian’s Comment is Free after he published a calendar for charity which contained his ‘sexiest airline stewards’ in which they ’bared all’. He said I was ‘anti fun’ and went onto stoke the fire even further by offering ‘beds and blow-jobs’ on economy flights in (as I said then) a nauseating bid for further coverage.

Do I care that O’Leary labels me as anti-fun? Not a bit, because there is a serious point to be made here.

My concern is the message that charities, which align themselves with this calendar, are sending to their supporters. Charities are based on values and aim to improve people’s lives, but by accepting donations of this kind and inadvertently supporting the cause, they risk jeopardising their reputation.

One charity which is set to be a beneficiary of the proceeds is KIDS which aims to develop both the thinking and services that create an inclusive world for disabled children, young people and their families. And yet there is nothing particularly inclusive or progressive about the Ryanair calendar, quite the reverse in fact.

The charity is inadvertently aligning itself with a linear one dimensional idea of beauty that objectifies women in the most nauseating way.

The ethics of charitable funding is a difficult, delicate and complex issue when it comes to instances like this. And in this case charities like KIDS must measure the damage it could do to its reputation against the monetary value of the donation it will receive.

It is not implausible to think they may find themselves in a situation where they accept the money from an organisation or a cause that they may seek to criticise in the future and that goes against its basic principles.

1 Comment

Filed under Labour Party

Tagged as , , ,

· 9:00 am

Some excellent new Women MEPs

In the run-up to the 2009 European Parliament elections, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s selections as female candidates for his People of Liberty party caused a significant stir for their lack of political experience.  Now that the European elections are over, I have been looking at fellow women MEPs who are new to the European Parliament. 

Berlusconi’s list included Angela Sozio, a former contestant in the Italian version of Big Brother; Barbara Matera, a former Miss Italy contestant and TV actress; Camilla Ferranti, an Italian soap star; and Eleonora Gaggioli, also a TV actress.  Berlusconi said “I want young faces, new faces, to renew the image of Italy and the PdL in Europe.”  Maybe that’s why he appointed Mara Carfagna, the former topless model who has been Italy’s Minister for Equal Opportunities since May 2008 despite being an avowed anti-feminist and opposing Gay Pride marches. 

One of the former models and actresses on the People of Liberty list, Barbara Matera (27, Il Popolo della Libertà, EPP) won a seat in the European Parliament. She is joined by Licia Ronzulli (34, Il Popolo della Libertà, EPP), another MEP whose previous experience in politics is unclear, but who was named by Barbara Montereale (who has testified as to Berlusiconi’s alleged use of escorts), as having frequented Berlusconi’s infamous Villa Certosa, and Lara Comi (26, Il Popolo della Libertà, EPP) whose political career has also seen a remarkably rapid rise.

It would appear that Mr. Berlusconi is not choosing these female candidates for their knowledge of and commitment to politics.  His selection of women parliamentarians accurately matches his choice of women companions outside his marriage.  Although I am sure these young women are fine, upstanding citizens, by no stretch of the imagination are they suited for high political office. 

There are, of course, many highly qualified, excellent young female MEPs. marietje-Schaake-763964[1]

Marietje Schaake 31 is a Dutch Liberal who has substantial experience as an adviser and consultant on issues of diversity, integration and Muslims in the West.  She has written several papers on these topics.  She has completed internships at the US House of Representatives (under the Lantos Fellowship) and the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague.  She has also been awarded the Barney Karbank Memorial Prize in 2007 for outstanding leadership on human rights.

EiderGardiazabalRubial[1]

I am particularly pleased to see women like my fellow Socialist Eider Gardiazábal Rubial elected.  She is the youngest Spanish MEP and was previously the Secretary of Education, Administration and Finance of the National Executive JSE-EgazRamón Rubial.  She was also Secretary General of Socialist Youth of Bilbao, and has been a Councillor in the City of Bilbao since 2004 with responsibility for budget, economy and finance. In 2002 she was elected Secretary of the Executive Equality PSE-EE office for which she was re-elected in 2005 and continues today.  She studied at high school in France and holds a French and Spanish bachelor’s degree in Economics with a specialisation in management accounting.

The youngest MEP in the Parliament, Emilie Turunen, 25, is from Denmark’s Socialistisk Folkeparti(SF), part of the Greens/EFA.  She was previously head of SF’s youth organisaimages[2]tion, was a coordinator for Denmark’s Social Forum, Restart Denmark in 2006, and has campaigned against trafficking of women after working in a child crisis centre in Cambodia with DanChurchAid.

It is quite simply disgraceful for the likes of Berlusconi to put forward women who have neither the experience or qualifications to be successful in politics.  It undermines all women when some, even a very few, female colleagues are not up to the job.  Maybe this is what Berlusconi really has in mind.  I am, however, absolutely certain that Marietje, Eider, Emilie and all the other bright young women who have come into the European Parliament with the right kind of background will win through and make an outstanding contribution.  Good luck to all of you.

3 Comments

Filed under Labour Party

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,