Canvassing in a winter wonderland
Another by-election looms in Hackney because my colleague Jamie Carswell is stepping down as Deputy Mayor and from the Council.
We seem to specialise in mid-Winter by-elections. Not much fun canvassing in these temperatures.
I think I will have a busy Christmas and New Year as I'm Agent for the constituency in question, and the ward is not without interest to the local Green Party.
My job is to ensure Stoke Newington Central (where I also live) is in the tradition of:
South Defoe - Labour hold - 7 November 1996
Clissold - Labour hold - 22 October 1998
North Defoe - Labour gain - 21st January 1999
King's Park - Labour hold - 13th January 2000
Wick - Labour gain - 12th October 2000
King's Park and Leabridge - Labour holds x2 - 12th December 2002
rather than
Queensbridge - 20 January 2005 - Tory gain
or
Springfield (20 December 2007) Tory hold
The terrain will be familiar to veterans of LB Hackney by-elections as parts of the old South Defoe, Clissold, North Defoe, Rectory and Northwold wards - all sites of notable Labour by-election triumphs, were merged to create the new SNC ward in the 2002 rewarding.
Game on.
posted by Luke Akehurst at 3:56 pm
7 Comments:
Enlighten us to why he's leaving politics.
It can't be work commitments. He's not interested remotely in the NHS.
He looked NuLabour material - straight out of central casting, having never having had an original thought in his life.
Perhaps, there's the polls information. Then, there's the realisation that NuLabour has put the country close to bankruptcy.
And, if you read the Red Book closely enough, there's a realisation that in 2010 real spending on the NHS will go down.
His sinecure at the NHS might not exist.
Shouldn't you be thinking along similar lines at Webber Shandwick? As a NuLab flaky, with the wind changing, you would appear to have the longevity of used Durex.
6:34 pm, November 25, 2008
He isn't going to the NHS. His new job is in housing at Tower Hamlets ALMO.
7:18 pm, November 25, 2008
.... and anyone with half a brain knows that such posts are politically restricted
11:19 pm, November 25, 2008
He is well suited for the job ... Jamie Carswell’s specialties include: debt collections, building plan construction verification, nationally recognized construction certifications and knowledge of residential and commercial building codes. As for working in a politically restricted post readers should be aware that our Jamie is Executive Vice-Chairman of Cobb County Young Republicans.
Seriously though, let's hope Tower Hamlets residents have better luck with Jamie and his ALMO than the downtrodden residents of Hackney.
5:42 am, November 26, 2008
Actually it isn't a politically restricted post in law, as ALMOs are not technically local authorities, but they made it a condition of his recruitment that he stepped down as a councillor.
10:14 am, November 26, 2008
Tower Hamlets has a long history of struggle against Tory and New Lab housing policy.
The ALMO was not chosen by tenants - the council never allowed a vote for fear of the result.
4:15 pm, November 26, 2008
Luke,
I remember the South Defoe by-election as I was the agent.
Glad to have been there at the birth of your run of electoral success since then, and at the birth of young Jules as a leading local politician.
Hope all is well.
4:14 pm, November 27, 2008
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