Hilton on Cruddas
I don't share Jon Cruddas' politics but I was shocked to see the way Alex Hilton - a Labour Parliamentary Candidate - has described him in a comment here on Labour Home.
The attacks on Cruddas' political opinions are fair comment, but for Alex to say this
"In fact, I think Cruddas is the Labour politician most reminiscent of Oswald Mosley, he is dangerous, and should be kept away from power at all costs"
is not acceptable and profoundly un-comradely and insulting, particularly to an MP who is in the front line of the battle against the far right. I think Alex should retract it. In the mean time I'm intrigued to know what Jon has said or done to provoke this.
posted by Luke Akehurst at 6:31 pm
27 Comments:
I once had the misfortune to be sat next to Alex Hilton during a Labour Party meal. It was possibly the longest 90 minutes of my life.
Alex is a loathsome careerist and his comment is disgusting. Apparently he is now a PPC somewhere? If anyone needs keeping away from power it is probably him.
7:12 pm, August 28, 2008
Despite Cruddas' supposedly left-wing credentials, I think he is a typical 'blokey' workerist with some decidedly populist opinions on some issues.
Don't like these illiberal economic leftists myself.
7:43 pm, August 28, 2008
Hilton is obsessed with Jon Cruddas. In a very weird way.
9:11 pm, August 28, 2008
Merseymike is weirdly obsessed with 'wokerists'. Don't get worked up about it!!
On topic: further evidence that Alex Hilton is simply a prize shit.
9:59 pm, August 28, 2008
Hilton does have connections with people high up in the party. So maybe they see Crudas as a threat to their power bid against the present leader. It is a Machivellian reason why I think Crudas should be brought into the cabinet, the Blairites would get behind the PM if they thought the left was stronger, and could win a leadership election. So it would improve unity, and improve our chances in an election.
10:26 pm, August 28, 2008
Obsessed, no - but one aspect of NL which I did approve of was moving away from over-reliance on the unions - sadly, they then looked towards individual benefactors instead rather than larger memberships, state funding and down sizing.
In addition, I'm not really very much in tune with the sort of view which seems to eulogise horny-handed sons of toil, or White Van Man/'aspirational' working-classes (read right-wing) for that matter.....usually its coupled with comments about 'identity politics' (translation: pity we had to do all this stuff about gays, blacks and women).
11:20 pm, August 28, 2008
Cruddas seems to me as just another politician saying what (much of) the grassroots wants to hear. I've been around enough to have heard similar before.
I'd be more impressed with his abilities to unite and campaign if he had a website which wasn't over a year out of date. A deputy leader, or heavens above, a leader without any understanding of the Internet we don't need. At least Gordon can use a browser, even if he still doesn't (quite) get it yet.
The next battle will be fought online as much as off and sadly Cruddas doesn't have a clue.
11:50 pm, August 28, 2008
dan - sorry to have ruined your meal.
dirty euro - i don't think you need to worry about my "connections".
I'm pretty thick skinned and am perfectly happy to accept criticism -it's just part of being in politics I suppose. If Jon cares what I think then he knows and if he doesn't know, he probably doesn't care what I think of him.
However, I don't use Labourhome to write articles attacking him - in fact he got a pretty good showing including a positive video interview during the deputy leadership election, which I recorded in person. The piece on which I commented, however, was a complete pile of tosh that virtually deified the guy.
If I were truly careerist I would have posted the comment anonymously. There are lots of people in the Labour Party saying the meanest things about each other. I actually do so rarely, though when I do - I do so openly.
I did explain my Mosley comment, from which you selectively quoted, and I stand by the view that Labour MP's should not be in the business of making excuses for racists in order to save their seats.
Alex Hilton
07985 384 859
alexhilton@gmail.com
www.labourhome.org
11:54 pm, August 28, 2008
Actually, I wouldn't compare Jon to Mosley because Jon is not some messanic figure driven by ego.
But I do understand why the comparison was made, even if it is OTT.
9:50 am, August 29, 2008
Moseley is a left winger. He was supported by Hatterlsey and Livingstone hardly a Mosleyite.
Mr Hilton does allow alot of anti PM posting on labour home, and I got banned off it for being too pro the PM. So what is his agenda?
Cruddas would be good way to unify the party and is good working class voice.
10:11 am, August 29, 2008
Sorry I meant Cruddas is a left winger. LOL. I And that Hatterley supported Cruddas not Moseley. I wrote Moseley at the start LOL instead of Cruddas See Hilton has given me the subconcious ideas that Cruddas is Moseley.
10:26 am, August 29, 2008
dirty euro
Mosley was also on the "left" of the PLP and when he broke away to form the "New Party" it was left members of the PLP who followed him. Indeed Bevan was somewhat in his orbit for a while.
They also realised, pretty quickly, the Mosley was a class A loon and parted company before the New Party became the BUF.
11:25 am, August 29, 2008
Of course Nick Cohen got there first, lining up George Galloway and Sir Oz.
Dirty Euro - did LH really ban you for being pro-Brown?
11:53 am, August 29, 2008
Acvtually Moseley was elected as a tory MP. He joined labour when it came to power to get in the cabinet. He was a opportunist. He was a tory but used labour to get power.
Macmillian and Bevan were in his orbit because he was a manipulative when they worked out what he was they left him.
12:00 pm, August 29, 2008
I think he banned me cos I was. I put a view pro PM comments and got banned while people who were basically abusing the labour supporters were kept on. I don't get labour home. It is one of those left wing websites which ban people if they are rude to tories, or too pro the PM, but tolerate right wing trolls. And he does seem to be rude about Cruddas. Who is supported by moderate left wing peoplem he is a moderate member of the party.
I am conspiracy nutter. Maybe Mr Hilton is on some faction of the party that wants rid of the PM and wants a new centre right leader. If you want to get up the ladder you have to work for someone. Maybe he is someone's protege, and is helping is mentor to keep Crudas down. That is how you get to the top. Prime Minister Hilton in 15 years time.
2:20 pm, August 29, 2008
I think you Luke are displaying all the subtlety of Iain Dale in one of his more helium-like moments in selectively posting from Hilton's comment. Alex absolutely explained his thinking in the paragraph immediately before the one you quote. For the benefit of those giving these blogs a cursory look, it went...
"As an East Londoner, it worries me that he has a fake East London accent. It worries me that he opposes comprehensive education. It worries me that he says people who vote BNP do so primarily because of housing rather than because of race and it worries me that he voted for 42 day detention and a whole host of the Blairite reforms that the author clearly opposes."
2:41 pm, August 29, 2008
dirty euro
can you contact me direct because no-one has been banned for being pro-pm.
If I have made a mistake, get in touch and I'll restore you to full writing glory.
I'm amused by the references in these comments to my personal ambitions. I shall have to avoid boring people at dinner if i'm to get anywhere
:)
4:13 pm, August 29, 2008
I still don't understand how Alex gets from his position about Cruddas having an allegedly fake accent, a particular view on what drives people to vote BNP, and support for 42 day detention (on a 3 line whip!) to him being "reminiscent of Oswald Mosley" a man who aspired to be Britain's Mussolini... In what sense does any of the critique of Cruddas justify this comparison? Did Mosley have a "fake" accent?
Nick Griffin is today's Mosley - Jon Cruddas is just a blokey soft left MP with a mixture of good ideas on campaigning and often flawed ones on policy.
4:32 pm, August 29, 2008
rofl at hilton's attempt to play the prolier-than-thou i'm just an ever so 'umble eastender card - this is a guy who puts the ass in to political class
4:41 pm, August 29, 2008
Alex Hilton is a self-described "poetic womaniser".
I joke not!
5:27 pm, August 30, 2008
"It worries me that he says people who vote BNP do so primarily because of housing rather than because of race."
This particular point wants further discussion, I think. Because while many of the BNP's voters are irrational dyed-in-the-wool racists, a good number are not, and if we don't understand how the BNP capitalise on people's concerns about housing (and more importantly address them by allowing more social and affordable housing to be built) then we're not going to drive the BNP out. I've got plenty of criticisms of Cruddas (ie that he talks the talk but rarely walks the walk) but he's been on the right lines in taking on the BNP in his constituency.
6:25 pm, August 30, 2008
I agree with some of Alex's criticisms of Cruddas (indeed have probably levelled a few myself - of course arriving at a Moseley comparison after that is fairly absurd and quite offensive. But we all have to take a bit of it from time to time (I´ve been accused of fascism by some labour right-wingers and peculiar Trotskyists for being anti the occasional war over the last few years, and I was justifiably full of righteous indignation, but wouldn't expect others to take up arms in my defence (though I would have appreciated it, Luke!)
So - I think Luke was right to be critical of Alex's comparison (though selective quotations do make dodgy blogging) but some of the other attacks on Alex in the comments have been pretty much as unjustified and offensive as his original sin.
7:55 pm, August 30, 2008
Is it not the case that Hilton and Cruddas are merely on opposing sides in the internecine feud that's torn apart Barking and Dagenham Labour Party for the best party of a decade now?
Between Cruddas and Hodge and the various race and homophobic disputes locally, Hilton calling Cruddas a fashist pales into insignificance.
11:48 pm, August 31, 2008
"So - I think Luke was right to be critical of Alex's comparison (though selective quotations do make dodgy blogging)"
Well, the full context hardly makes the remarks seem significantly more sane or, for that matter, any less libelous.
Cruddas may or may not be correct in his belief that economic factors are more important than racism in garnering votes for the BNP.
But to jump from that to a comparison with a bloke who consorted with Hitler and Mussolini shows pretty desperate deficiencies in both political analysis and judgment.
12:34 pm, September 01, 2008
OK sorry to Hilton there for my jokey comments although.
But I do think Cruddas should not be classified as loony left or in any way a Moseley type guy. He was a Blairite researcher. Yet was a loyal supporter of the party under Michael Foot. He is a party loyalist. Moseley was more like UKIP or more likely the BNP.
Facists tend to be oppurtunistic and do anything to get power.
Cruddas is quite principled for a politican.
1:44 pm, September 01, 2008
Surely it would have been worse if Alex had compared him to MAX Mosley! ;)
5:54 pm, September 01, 2008
I agree, David.
9:16 pm, September 01, 2008
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