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Post by batman on Jan 19, 2023 18:56:33 GMT
Kaufman belonged to the Right of the Party, and largely remained there, although he became transformed from being one of the most pro-Israel of all Labour MPs to becoming one of the country's sternest parliamentary critics by the time of his passing in 2017, thus thwarting his ambitions of becoming Father of the House. Kaufman was Father of the House from 2015 onwards. It was Michael Meacher who died whilst next in line though I don't know if he had ambitions for the honour. Was Kaufman's position on Israel in any way a reflection on the decline of Labour and rise of Likud there? Kaufman experienced multiple attempts to deselect him, including one in the mid 1990s where his would be replacement was rather to blatant. Brian Sedgemore's book "The Insider's Guide to Parliament" used the incident to produce a list of the dos and don'ts including (from memory): - Only sign on people who actually live in the constituency.
- Forget the dead.
- Sign the new members on in dribs and drabs. The sudden arrival of 100 new members in a constituency party with only 40 members might arouse suspicions.
- Don't make names up.
- Don't sign the cheques yourself.
- Don't do it in Gerald Kaufman's constituency. Not for nothing did Spitting Image portray him as a psychotic from Silence of the Lambs.
thanks Tim, have edited out that bit. Why Kaufman went from being very pro-Israel to being bitterly critical (even coming close to crossing the line of what I would normally find acceptable on one occasion), I can't really speculate. I doubt it was just fear of deselection, I think he was genuine, if somewhat wild at times in the way he expressed his views. I didn't disagree with him fundamentally though, by any means. |
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Post by batman on Jan 19, 2023 18:58:20 GMT
Levenshulme was never ever won by Labour, including pre-1974, in municipal elections although of course it was frequently in a Labour constituency. I had it explained to me by a relative who was a councillor there long ago but retired eventually to Hove.
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Post by Pete Whitehead on Jan 19, 2023 19:07:36 GMT
I thought the meaning of the sentence was perfectly clear
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Post by where2travel on Jan 19, 2023 19:52:15 GMT
Levenshulme, the first stop on the railway line between Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly Strictly speaking that may be true, but it's really the other way round, as it's the first stop as you come from Piccadilly (Heaton Chapel being closer to Stockport). |
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Post by finsobruce on Jan 19, 2023 21:06:27 GMT
Kaufman belonged to the Right of the Party, and largely remained there, although he became transformed from being one of the most pro-Israel of all Labour MPs to becoming one of the country's sternest parliamentary critics by the time of his passing in 2017, thus thwarting his ambitions of becoming Father of the House. Kaufman was Father of the House from 2015 onwards. It was Michael Meacher who died whilst next in line though I don't know if he had ambitions for the honour. Was Kaufman's position on Israel in any way a reflection on the decline of Labour and rise of Likud there? Kaufman experienced multiple attempts to deselect him, including one in the mid 1990s where his would be replacement was rather to blatant. Brian Sedgemore's book "The Insider's Guide to Parliament" used the incident to produce a list of the dos and don'ts including (from memory): - Only sign on people who actually live in the constituency.
- Forget the dead.
- Sign the new members on in dribs and drabs. The sudden arrival of 100 new members in a constituency party with only 40 members might arouse suspicions.
- Don't make names up.
- Don't sign the cheques yourself.
- Don't do it in Gerald Kaufman's constituency. Not for nothing did Spitting Image portray him as a psychotic from Silence of the Lambs.
My usual reminder here to recommend getting hold of a copy of Kaufman's excellent "How to be a Minister". |
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Post by andrewteale on Jan 20, 2023 1:08:20 GMT
MANCHESTER RUSHOLME Manchester is an ancient city, known to the Romans as Mamucium (apparently, meaning "breast-shaped hill"), although somehow this name got modified so that the adjective now used to describe the city and its inhabitants is not Mamucian but Mancunian. My theory is that the name got mistranscribed at some point. In blackletter script, "Mamucium" and "Mancunium" are both very similar to each other and not that easy to read. |
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Post by batman on Jan 20, 2023 8:37:39 GMT
that's a very plausible theory, thanks Andrew. I look forward to Mancunian Way being renamed Mamucian Way in our lifetimes
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Post by No Offence Alan on Jan 20, 2023 9:46:24 GMT
that's a very plausible theory, thanks Andrew. I look forward to Mancunian Way being renamed Mamucian Way in our lifetimes When I was a kid, I read the "Sparky" comic. They had a regular comic strip called "Tall Tales". In one they had, as a touch of reverse colonialism, a young black boy called Chester arrive in Britain. He arrived in Liverpool, then discovered another city at the other end of the Mersey Canal. So he decided to name it, after himself and his mum. Hence Ma'n'Chester. |
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john07
Labour & Co-operative
Posts: 15,774 
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Post by john07 on Feb 2, 2023 21:07:51 GMT
Levenshulme, the first stop on the railway line between Stockport and Manchester Piccadilly Strictly speaking that may be true, but it's really the other way round, as it's the first stop as you come from Piccadilly (Heaton Chapel being closer to Stockport). The closest to Stockport used to be Heaton Norris Station until it was closed in 1959. From the other direction there was a Station at Longsight that was closed in 1958 and also a still open (just) station at Ardwick that the trains go past but never stop (very little does). |
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