Chris from Brum
Lib Dem
What I need is a strong drink and a peer group.
Posts: 9,732
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Post by Chris from Brum on Apr 24, 2020 9:23:08 GMT
Does anyone remember Clare Short when she spoke differently? A late colleague said that she had a posher accent (RP?) before she went into politics. He also said that she was ferociously clever. It sounds plausible - the Brummie accent that she affected did seem somewhat, shall we say, overdone. Compare and contrast with, say, Jeff Rooker, whose accent sounds like the real thing, possibly moderated to be better understood by the outside world. |
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Post by Merseymike on Apr 24, 2020 9:29:59 GMT
Does anyone remember Clare Short when she spoke differently? A late colleague said that she had a posher accent (RP?) before she went into politics. He also said that she was ferociously clever. Could say the same about William Hague, who is definitely more Yorkshire now than he was aged 15 at the Tory conference I think its likely that her accent is strongly Brummie. but that she modified it when she bacame a fast track graduate entry civil servant, but it lapsed back to the broader version over time. She was a Birmingham MP and always kept close ties with the city anyway I have an acquaintance who is a senior civil servant. Politically he's a High Tory from a wealthy background. But he says that Clare Short was by far the best minister he ever worked for, and was one of the only ones who knew more about her brief than her advisers. He holds her in very high regard. |
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Richard Allen
Banned
Four time loser in VUKPOTY finals
Posts: 19,052
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Post by Richard Allen on Apr 24, 2020 10:33:31 GMT
It was briefly a Liberal seat, 1969/70, when the demographics of the seat were very different, and Cllr Wallace Lawler was one of the pioneers of the "community politics/ Liberals work hard for you locally" approach. In the late 60s, when of course things were bad for Labour, the Liberals won all three council wards within the seat regularly. We clung on to some wards in the area right up to the reorganisation in 1982 - long running Lib Dem councillor Paul Tilsley originally represented Aston I think By the late 70s a lot of the inner wards were very small which obviously made it easier for the "community politics" approach to succeed. At the 1981 West Midlands County Council election, the last fought on the old ward boundaries, the size of the electorate ranged 5,784 in All Saints to 32,902 in Weoley. The Liberals won Aston every year from 1968 to 1978, Labour gained it 1979 and 1980 but Paul Tilsley held the WMCC seat in 1981. He came fairly close to holding in the vastly expanded Aston ward at the all outs in 1982. Duddeston was won by the Liberals in 1968 and then every year from 1972 to 1981. Even at the end Sue Anderson was winning with 50% in 1980 (city council) and 64% in 1981 (WMCC). Lawler's base was Newtown and that ward flipped between Liberal and Labour many times during the 60s and 70s. Lawler himself was very popular taking 75% of the vote in 1968. Rotton Park was also in the Liberal column in 1977 and 1981 (WMCC) and 1979 and 1980 (city council) as well as one seat in 1973 all outs. At the 1982 all outs the Liberals did manage to win 2 of the 3 seats in the new Ladywood ward (now containing Rotton Park) but they never come close to winning there again. Paul Tilsley, Sue Anderson, William Doyle and David Luscombe were all Liberal councillors in this part of the city who would by the later serve as councillors for either Sheldon or Yardley. |
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Chris from Brum
Lib Dem
What I need is a strong drink and a peer group.
Posts: 9,732
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Post by Chris from Brum on Apr 24, 2020 10:50:50 GMT
Paul Tilsley, Sue Anderson, William Doyle and David Luscombe were all Liberal councillors in this part of the city who would by the later serve as councillors in either for Sheldon or Yardley. Bill Doyle was a work colleague of mine when I worked at West Midlands Travel. Sadly missed. |
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Post by greenhert on Apr 24, 2020 10:52:13 GMT
Probably the best description for Lawler's general worldview would be Urban Poujadism. Pretty much the entirety of that version of Birmingham Ladywood was demolished in the 1960s: it covered a really tiny area, but when first drawn (for the 1955 election) was still densely populated. The electorate was below 20,000 by 1970. It was as low as 18,725 according to F.W.S. Craig. Portsmouth Langstone's electorate was nearly six times as high in 1970 by comparison! |
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iang
Lib Dem
Posts: 1,814
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Post by iang on Apr 24, 2020 13:20:07 GMT
It was briefly a Liberal seat, 1969/70, when the demographics of the seat were very different, and Cllr Wallace Lawler was one of the pioneers of the "community politics/ Liberals work hard for you locally" approach. In the late 60s, when of course things were bad for Labour, the Liberals won all three council wards within the seat regularly. We clung on to some wards in the area right up to the reorganisation in 1982 - long running Lib Dem councillor Paul Tilsley originally represented Aston I think By the late 70s a lot of the inner wards were very small which obviously made it easier for the "community politics" approach to succeed. At the 1981 West Midlands County Council election, the last fought on the old ward boundaries, the size of the electorate ranged 5,784 in All Saints to 32,902 in Weoley. The Liberals won Aston every year from 1968 to 1978, Labour gained it 1979 and 1980 but Paul Tilsley held the WMCC seat in 1981. He came fairly close to holding in the vastly expanded Aston ward at the all outs in 1982. Duddeston was won by the Liberals in 1968 and then every year from 1972 to 1981. Even at the end Sue Anderson was winning with 50% in 1980 (city council) and 64% in 1981 (WMCC). Lawler's base was Newtown and that ward flipped between Liberal and Labour many times during the 60s and 70s. Lawler himself was very popular taking 75% of the vote in 1968. Rotton Park was also in the Liberal column in 1977 and 1981 (WMCC) and 1979 and 1980 (city council) as well as one seat in 1973 all outs. At the 1982 all outs the Liberals did manage to win 2 of the 3 seats in the new Ladywood ward (now containing Rotton Park) but they never come close to winning there again. Paul Tilsley, Sue Anderson, William Doyle and David Luscombe were all Liberal councillors in this part of the city who would by the later serve as councillors for either Sheldon or Yardley. Sue is still the chair of the Yardley party and still active in the city. She taught in Great Barr (Sandwell) and was a Birmingham councillor when I taught in Birmingham and was a Sandwell councillor |
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Post by November_Rain on Apr 24, 2020 16:20:03 GMT
My late grandparents resided in the constituency in the Soho Ward and although they didn't always agree with Claire Short (both were Labour voters and my Grandfather used to always read the Socialist Worker paper!), they felt she was a strong MP who sticks to her principles and gets money spent in the area! To me, that is what an MP should be. Stand up for their people whether they vote for them or not and fight to listen to them.
One thing to add - during the late 90s and early 00s in Soho ward, you had strong showings of Independent Labour and Socialist Labour Party candidates usually finishing second. I'd say it's a very left-leaning area of Birmingham. My late Grandfather did back the Ind.Labour and SLP candidates some years due to dissatisfaction with New Labour.
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Post by iainbhx on Apr 24, 2020 16:28:41 GMT
One thing to add - during the late 90s and early 00s in Soho ward, you had strong showings of Independent Labour and Socialist Labour Party candidates usually finishing second. I'd say it's a very left-leaning area of Birmingham. My late Grandfather did back the Ind.Labour and SLP candidates some years due to dissatisfaction with New Labour. Gurdwara politics in the main, I'm afraid. |
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Post by November_Rain on Apr 24, 2020 16:33:19 GMT
One thing to add - during the late 90s and early 00s in Soho ward, you had strong showings of Independent Labour and Socialist Labour Party candidates usually finishing second. I'd say it's a very left-leaning area of Birmingham. My late Grandfather did back the Ind.Labour and SLP candidates some years due to dissatisfaction with New Labour. Gurdwara politics in the main, I'm afraid. I gathered there's a local factor involved. I lived there (after co-inheriting and then my Dad selling the house) 2009-2012 and I will say identity is a big thing there - the street they (and I) lived on, it was a mish-mash of ethnicities and a lot were legacy families (and a sizeable White British population) carrying on the tradition in these homes. It was like one big happy family, as we knew each other! |
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Post by hullenedge on Apr 24, 2020 19:47:37 GMT
Does anyone remember Clare Short when she spoke differently? A late colleague said that she had a posher accent (RP?) before she went into politics. He also said that she was ferociously clever. I saw her on Question Time before she was an MP, working for YouthAid I think it was, and her accent was the same as we know it now. She was I think engaged to Alex Lyon by this time, but while she entered parliament in 1983 he lost in York and died not that long afterwards. Alex Lyon was ill in 1983. He had great difficulty in walking. (Just read that he died in 1993). He wiped the floor with Conal Gregory at the candidates' debate and got the better of Vince Cable but it had no effect upon the result. |
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Post by Robert Waller on Dec 8, 2022 17:44:44 GMT
2021 Census
Owner occupied 27.2% 567/573
Private rented 37.7% 21/573
Social rented 35.1% 10/573
White 23.4%
Black 25.9%
Asian 38.6%
(South Asian 32.5%)
Mixed 5.1%
Other 7.1%
Muslim 43.1% 7/650
Managerial & professional 19.9% 556/573
Routine & Semi-routine 21.8% 363/573
Degree level 32.9% 262/573
No qualifications 23.5% 76/573
Students 22.3% 16/573
2011 on same criteria
Owner occupied 29.8% 563/573
Private rented 32.0% 30/573
Social rented 38.2% 10/573
Degree level 24.9% 314/573
No qualifications 26.3% 162/573
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Dec 8, 2022 20:00:39 GMT
Notional result 2019 on the proposed new boundaries | Lab | 41960 | 80.5% | | Con | 5186 | 10.0% | | LD | 2341 | 4.5% | | Grn | 903 | 1.7% | | BxP | 793 | 1.5% | | Oth | 917 | 1.8% |
| | | | Majority | 36774 | 70.6% |
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