Jon Trickett's Blog
July
I bumped into Bill O'Brien the former MP for Normanton. Normanton is one of only a handful of parliamentary seats which has been held continuously by the Labour Party since the 1880's well before the formation of the Labour party itself.
I think I am right in saying that every fromer MP was a miner before being elected to office. Bill was the last in this continual line which has ended largely because the mining industry was decimated by the tories and there are now so few working miners left in the country.
Bill has a long record of serving first as a councillor and then for over twenty years as the MP for Normanton. I was delighted when his services were finally recognised with a knighthood by Gordon Brown as he left office.
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After a break of several weeks since the election, this blog now re-commences.
I had a chat today with Walter Harrison whose MP I have been over the last 14 years. Walter- who is now 89 - is a living legend. He was the assistant chief whip under James Callaghan.
We governed for a considerable time without a majority in the late 1970's and Walter above any other person was responsible for keeping Labour in power. Many an MP responded in trepidation to his call "meet me now in my office now". This would mean that you had to go immediately to the strangers bar where Walter would be waiting for you with some instruction as to what was required. Extraordinary and indeed heroic efforts by labour MP's at Walter's direction to hold the government together. In the end - as we know - the government fell to a vote of confidence in the Commons and Thatcher was then elected. The rest, as they say, is history.
I wonder whether at some time in this parliament there will be another vote of confidence which brings down the coalition. Walter's advice was that we should keep our discipline in the party and put pressure on the LibDems who are clearly a weak link but not to underestimate the disaffection on the Tory Right.
Wednesday 12th may
The last few tumultuous days have all blurred into a single stream of events culiminating with the departure from Downing St, Gordon's resignation and the new government. It will take a few days to absorb all that has happened and to recover from the tiredness which I am sure all politicans are suffering from. I came up from London to Yorkshire this morning, leaving at 5.30 am. I have been removing 'Vote Trickett' posters from lampposts and more than one person said to me "Leave them up, Jon. There'll be another election shortly we hope, when we can get the Tories back out". The fighting spirit is still there!
Friday 7th May 10.30 am
I receive a call whilst in the car to say that we have won every single ward in my constituency except Wakefield South. Particularly pleasing was the result in Featherstone where our candidate Dick Taylor romped home with an enormous majority against the independent candidate.
Whilst grabbing a coffee on the M1 at the Watford Gap service station I bump into Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper. Like me they have not slept but are on the way to London.
The rest of the day is to be taken up with meetings and given the election result overall, there can be no doubt that the current political situation will not be resolved quickly.
Friday 7 th May 5.30 am
The count has been interminable. At last we have a result. An increased turn out means that our constituency has been engaged in the political process to a high degree which is obviously good news. As I predicted, the result showed a straight two way fight between Labour and the Tories. Our majority is just short of 10,000. Party workers are delighted when the result is announced even after being awake without pause for 24 hours. Oddly the Independent Candidate Mr Womersly who has been here most of the night fails to show up to hear the result. At just over three thousand votes, he receives not that many more from the whole constituency than he had obtained in a single ward when he was elected Councillor. More concerning is the vote for the BNP and makes me determined to campaign against them in the coming months.
I must now drive to London.
Friday 7th May 12.30 am
Election day is always fraught and yesterday no different than any other. We had teams of activists working hard in every area of the constituency. A plea for help from a nearby marginal seat meant that we were proud to loan a team of four for several hours in the afternoon to help out.
Our campaign has been amazing - we put out over 100,000 leaflets, and called or knocked on the doors of thousands of houses.
Tuesday 4th May
A casual conversation with a local Conservative activist led to a very interesting revelation. The Tories think they can win Hemsworth because the Labour vote will be split by the Independent candidate. Leaving aside the fact that the Independent has been absent from all debates, and that our canvassing has shown negliglible support for him so far, it is fascinating that the Tories want to win the seat not on their own merits but by default. More important though is the fact that the Independents can help the Tories in this way going to prove what I have always thought - they are Conseratives who dare not say so because the Conservatives are so unpopular in our area. Local Labour councillors are playing with fire if they can rely on the Independents on the Council to keep our party in office.
Monday 3rd May
The papers today are full of claims by David Cameron about what he will and won't do
"when I get into No 10". Well, the British people don't like that kind of talk. Until the votes are counted, no politician should make assumptions. What we do know from these headlines is two things. First that Cameron was basing his comments on Friday and Saturday opinion polls which he believed were putting the Tories on a winning trajectory. But today's polls make the election too close to call. Secondly, they reveal that the Tories believe that their emergency budget is now only 54 days away.
Be afraid; be very afraid. There is still plenty of time to stop them. Almost three campaigning days before the polls open.
Saturday 1st May
Today I took part in the Debate with the other candidates at Hemsworth Community College. The event was organised by Churches Together and was chaired by the Bishop and it was an honour for us all to have him present here in the constituency.
I thought the debate was of a high standard and the other candidates no doubt spoke well for their own parties. The people who came to listen, gave a courteous reception to us all and listened carefully to the responses of each candidate.
There was one question which has started to be asked at each of the meetings we have held. That question is 'Where is Womersley?' This is because the Independent candidate has failed to turn up at any of the events where the debates took place. If he can't even come to the college for a debate in the town where he lives, then how does he expect to ever find his way to parliament
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One of the more curious questions which was asked at the meeting this morning was about war memorials where the country remembers those who died in combat. We were asked if we agreed that the names of companies or individuals who contributed to the costs of the memorial should be advertised alongside the names of the deceased. I do not fully know what the questioner was referring to but surely no honourable person or company should put their name alongside the names of those who gave their lives?
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Today Campaign Hemsworth was joined by Mary who has flown all the way from Pittsburgh in the USA in order to help us fight for our progressive values. It's fantastic that she - a long time friend - has travelled all this way in order to help.
Friday 30th April
My visit to Minsthorpe College was especially interesting. Although I have been there many times, I still vividly remember the first time I went which was with Tony Blair in Jan 1996. The College has changed beyond all recognition. Three hundred staff make it the biggest employer in the area, and with students aged from 3 months to 84 years old, it seemed that everyone I met was committed to the project. Labour's investment has enabled a talented staff and an energetic and intelligent set of students to begin to allow local talent to flower. It's hard not to feel depressed as you leave the college at the thought of what another government might do to stifle the flow of much needed investment into areas like this when our own government's policies are now really beginning to pay dividends. It makes me more determined than ever to work for Labour's victory.
Thursday 28th April
A cold day and wet, too. Team Hemsworth seem to be getting more energy rather than less as the campaign goes on. Maybe they just are not being pushed hard enough (joke). Actually we are all working incredibly hard. I visited a lady of 89 years youth. Vigourous, a mind as clear as anyone's and enchanting company. A real privilege. I also went to meet some of the community outreach team at Featherstone Rovers. They are doing a really excellent job in helping a whole range of organisations and individuals over an extended area. Harnessing the players to give a lead to the community is a great idea and hopefully they are especially providing role models for young boys and men who might otherwise be getting into bad company.
In the afternoon I was campaigning in Sandal.
Tuesday 27th April
I visited Hemsworth College for a debate with the other main party candidates in front of the 6th form. The students - many of them first time voters - asked a wide variety of questions. The whole group, which consisted of perhaps a hundred students, seemed to me to be very connected with a wide variety of issues. Don't let anyone tell you that young people are not interested in the world around of them. Maybe their generation will build a better world than the older generation. Let's hope so.
Monday 26th April
A curious day with a breakfast broadcast debate on Radio Leeds on the subject of health. The truth about the health service is that it can always be improved and yet the improvements in local provision are staggering. Not one suspected cancer patient in our area has to wait more than 14 days to see a consultant. That is a remarkable achievement and we know that early identification of cancer is the single most important factor in effective treatment. Any politician who appears to criticise the health service is dicing with a quick end to their career.
Later we did a large amount of door knocking in North Featherstone where we received a warm reception.
In the afternoon I attended the opening of the 'green bag' shop at south elmsall and then Sharlton Cricket Club in the evening.
Sunday 25th April
This afternoon I went to the Salvation Army centre in Bush Centre, Hemsworth. The event was to allow the Frickley Boxing Academy to donate food parcels to the Salvation Army. They then intend to distribute the parcels to the needy in the area. Obviously I was keen to be involved but especially because the parcels were donated by young people engaged in learning martial arts and boxing. How wonderful that people still care enough to give to others in this way. Never ever again will I let anyone say that young people today don't care!
Saturday 24th April
The postal votes are now arriving through people's letterboxes. At just before 7 am I received a phone call telling me that one of our supporters had already voted for me. Is it a record? The fastest voter in Hemsworth! There are something like 12,000 registered postal voters in the constituency and they have a much higher propensity to vote than the rest of the population usually. This is why our team has delivered a special letter to about 10,000 of the postal voters in the last 3 days.
The papers and the media are full of pundits talking about the polls. All I can say is that the Labour voters in our area seem to be strong and ready to vote. I have noticed a larger number of people than usual saying they they are undecided. I suspect that this is the same nationally and that the election will not actually be decided till the last 48 hours. It is all to play for.
Friday 23rd April
The ramifications from the attack on me by the Tory leadership have run on all day. Extraordinary that Conservative Central Office had an open line on Google into this website for a period of 13 hours yesterday. Extraordinary too that the press have continued to report this story even though it is based on a private letter which I wrote in January to a person who chose to leak it. Quite a few of my constituents called me to say well done - if the Conservatives are attacking me then I must be on the right track.In addition, a number of people turned up as volunteers to help distribute leaflets.
It feels like there are two elections with the national opinion polls and the press on the one hand and the local population are (so far) very supportive.
Thursday 22nd April
There I was having a quiet night watching telly when suddenly the BBC reporter said that I had once again been accused of lying by David Cameron. How stupid. It is completely phoney outrage on behalf of the Tories, designed to distract attention from the fact that they were briefing heavily against Nick Clegg for yesterday's newspaper attack on the Liberal Leader.. This all relates to a letter I sent to someone in January. The letter has not been used at all during the election campaign. When I wrote the letter, the Tories' policies showed that they were looking at all items of spending to achieve cuts. They weren't prepared to say what they ruled in and what they ruled out. The fact that they didn't rule them out, left doubt in people's minds as to whether they were safe in Conservative hands. My letter said they "COULD" cut a number of items, not that they "WOULD". The public had the right to know and I made the information available.
Here is what I said.
That the tories are going to cut public expenditure but won't say what cuts they are going to make. TRUE. “We were against the fiscal stimulus.” David Cameron April 2009
That the Tories could cut winter fuel payments. TRUE."I will not make any commitments two years from an election about what we are going to do;" - Tory Pensions spokesman in House of Commons answering a point about winter fuel payments.
That the Tories could cut free bas passes and TV licenses. TRUE. Ken Clarke speaking on TV said free TV licenses and free bus passes "ought to be looked at". And the Welsh Conservatives have said that free bus passes are "eating up far too much of the transport budget and not allowing us to develop other public transport networks."
At the time I wrote my letter, every point I made could be substantiated. If the Tories then began to panic and change their policies (as they have) then that makes me very pleased because they have adopted Labour policies. But they still need to say where their cuts are coming from. Who will be in their firing line?
Monday 19th April
Elections consist of the Air War and the Ground War. The Air war is what happens on tv and radio. The ground war is what happens locally in the villages and towns of Great Britain. I am most fascinated by what is happening on the ground here in the heart of Yorkshire. The local election is now in full swing. Today our team has: received a number of very generous donations from local people;been door-knocking in Havercroft; made over 200 calls before 1 pm; printed several thousand leaflets; finally received our first delivery of printed posters; and, finalised the arrangements for my adoption meeting. Huge areas of the constituency tell me that they have not seen hide nor hair of either the Liberal or the Tory candidate.
Saturday 17th April
We spent a large amount of the morning in Streethouse and got a reasonable response. Many of the men had worked at the local colliery which is now in the late stages of being recovered in a large scale environmental scheme. Party volunteers were also active in Upton.
Friday 16th April
I went on a visit to LiteStructures on Langthwaite Grange industrial estate. It is truly inspiring to see the work which is being done here. International stars come from all over the world to South Kirkby. In the last few weeks they have had Peter Kay, Lady Gaga and Whitney Houston. Afterwards we went to South Elmsall town centre and did a walk about. Excellent response.
Thursday night 11.30 pm
Having just watched the Leaders' debates, and the instant reactions by the pundits and pollsters, I hesitate to express an early opinion but here goes. I still believe that this election is about who will govern and that this is a straight fight between the Tories and the Labour party. On that basis, you have to say that Cameron looked distinctly shifty in terms of cuts to the numbers of the police, and of schools and hospitals. In the end, I simply do not believe that the country will vote for these kinds of Tory policies.
Thursday 15th April
Today, I woke in London and left at 4.45 am so that I was in the constituency at 8 am. I took my car for its MOT, then went to Wakefield in order to become the first nominated Parliamentary candidate in the area. I went to the Labour party office where I had a meeting with local candidate Mary Creagh and also the Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham. I then visited two ladies who needed help in Kinsley and it still only 1 pm!! This afternoon - out campaigning.
Tuesday 13th April
The Conservatives have launched their campaign manifesto. David Cameron says "We are all in it together". Well, I can tell him from my discussions with people in South Elmsall today that when it comes to the tories we are definitely NOT all in it together. I met a man who is 81 years old. He said that he would personally knock on the doors of all his neighbours to tell them to vote Labour. He told me that "if the Conservatives get elected anywhere in our area, I personally will go to the High Street and hang myself." After a brief talk when I suggested that this was a bit extreme, he agreed that the best thing was to persuade everyone to go out and vote Labour.
I also met a man who had worked at Frickley and stuck with the Union till '85 when he was laid off. He told me that when he went to claim dole money that the man behind the counter had said he would never work again and that he might as well go on long term sick as then he wouldn't have to be on the dole queue every week. This ex-miner said to me 'If that lot get in again then my grandkids might have to face the same thing all over again. I'm really worried what will happen to the country.'
Monday 12th April
Labour's campaign for Hemsworth is now in full swing. We have a team delivering in Fitzwilliam and another large team of door knockers out this morning in South Elmsall who are gettingy a brilliant response.
I just received tup ihe following letter from Ms F., who lives in Ackworth: "I wanted to assure you of my vote ....I have received wonderful service from our local hospitals when I thought I had skin cancer. I did not and I was seen and had a minor op within 2 weeks of visiting my local GP surgery. My vote will be for the Labour Party. I have seen the hard work and changes made since the Con party totally ruined our Industry. All this leaves is for me to say good luck and thank you for your continued work for area."
Saturday 10th April
This morning the Labour team received an excellent reception in Purston.
In the afternoon we went to watch Sharlston Rovers play in the semi final. They were playing an excellent team from Slaithwaite (Slawit) and I am pleased to say that our team won! Later in the club house the man of the match from each team had to stand on a chair in the clubhouse and drink a yard of ale without a pause which was a good laugh. I am sorry to say though that none of us won a bet on the Grand National.
I was very honoured to be made the Honorary President for Sharlston Rovers and if the weather is always as wonderful as today, I will be going there regularly. I was presented with the club tie and promised to wear it the next time I am in the House of Commons if I am lucky enough to win the election.
Also at the match were Charlie Robinson and Linda Brattley from Wakefield UNISON who are very generous in supporting local community sports groups. In the crowd, in addition, was Mr Fagge the secretary of BARLA.
On the subject of betting, someone told me today that Ladbrokes are offering odds for Hemsworth at the election as follows 1/33 Labour; 10/1 Tories; 66/1 the rest. My informant told me that the bookies are saying in our area thats it's a straight Labour - Tory fight. He said that a vote for another candidate could make sure that we could have a Conservative MP. I agree with this analysis.
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