What's he got?

Right, so Andy Burnham is elected to Parliament and, assuming there are no unforeseen circumstances, he will be Prime Minister by mid-July. There will be a coronation for King Andy as Labour are unable to find anyone within the 410 Labour MPs elected at the last general election capable of taking on the prime ministerial role. Remember however that a coronation may not be a good thing. Labour had one in 2007 when Blair retired and Gordon Brown took over. It was downhill from then onwards. The same danger lurks now. Without a thorough debate within Labour, no one really knows what Burnham will do in government. Furthermore, once appointed as PM, Burnham will face the same problems as Starmer with the same resources. Just because Starmer is kicked out doesn't mean the going gets easier.

My final point about Burnham is, what has he got that puts him above all others in Labour? When he was in the Blair/Brown government, he was not a stand-out figure. He was mediocre and followed the then Labour government policy of privatising health services. He was also beaten twice in Labour leadership elections. Something better is needed.

St Mary's fair

 

Last Saturday, St Mary's Church in Whickham held their summer fair. Always a good opportunity to buy homemade cakes. Photo above of Councillors Peter and Susan Craig and myself.

Cllr Marilynn Ord chats to stallholders

Wider shot of the fair.

On the tombola where all the prizes were alcoholic, Cllr Marilynn Ord won the mouthwash!

A bargain at 23 guineas?

 

Last year, David and I donated a 1950s record player to Beamish Museum, one of the biggest tourist attractions in the North East of England. Also my favourite museums on the entire planet. Last week we visited the museum to see if the record player was on display. We think we found it, in the electrical shop in the 1950s town. A bargain at 23 guineas.

Reform inadvertently lose their majority

Gateshead Planning Committee met yesterday. Reform, reflecting their overall control of Gateshead Council, have a majority on Planning. Or do they...? Of the 13 Reform members of the committee, 8 were missing yesterday. The combined opposition of 8 could out vote the 5 Reform members who managed to get to the meeting. Reform aren't exactly off to a flying start. 

Could Hitler have won?

 

Could Hitler have won? - that's the title of my next talk to Sunniside History Society. I will be looking at various wartime events and explain how a different outcome to them may or may not have influenced the course of the Second World War. I will be keeping the shocker to the end of the talk when I explain how Hitler could have won control of Europe and then the world.

Away day

 

The term "away day" suggests a meeting well away from home. Gateshead Lib Dems had an away day on Sunday but for me it was not far away. Indeed, it was a three minute walk to get there from my house. Our thanks to Sunniside Club for being the venue. Good and thorough discussions held on the recent local elections and on campaigning over the year ahead.

Back on the campaign trail

 

It feels as though election campaigning is never going to end in Gateshead. We have a by-election in High Fell caused by the resignation of a Reform Councillor after only 11 days in the job. Polling day is on 9th July. Lots to do and my Saturday morning was taken up trudging the streets of High Fell delivering the next leaflet for the Lib Dems. We have 18 patches in the ward. Most were done by lunchtime. The remaining bundles were taken away by those who will be delivering through the week.

High Fell by-election leaflet watch 3: the proof is in the reading

 

Reform's High Fell by-election leaflet fell into my hands over the weekend. Take a look. Anyone spot the error? The text ends abruptly. Always get someone else to proof read drafts of leaflets. Had Reform done so, they would have spotted half their leaflet is missing! (A bit like ex-Councillor Cavanagh.)

High Fell by-election leaflet watch (2)

In the last few weeks, since the by-election was called in High Fell in Gateshead, residents of the ward must be feeling that they have received more leaflets than in the previous 25 years! And not only have the Conservatives produced a leaflet, out pops a second one.

Conservative candidate Mr Flux reports in this latest edition that he is still cleaning road signs. But what is of more interest is his attempt to be the rainbow warrior of Gateshead. Yet again, Mr Flux has used another party's colour on his leaflet. Last time Labour and the Greens found their colours all over the first Conservative leaflet. Now, it is the turn of the Lib Dems to find Mr Flux is exhibiting their colours. But, amazingly, there is a splash of Tory blue as well. Wonders never cease!

Conference booked

 
Lib Dem Conference this September will be back in Brighton on 19th to 22nd September. In addition, on Friday 18th there will be a training conference. I have signed up for both. All I have to do now is book a hotel.

Moving on from Whickham South and Sunniside

My recent prediction that Lindsay Atkinson would be the Reform candidate for the High Fell by-election in Gateshead turned out to be spot on. Mr Atkinson stood in my ward in the local elections last month. He came fifth, about 600 votes behind Jonathan Mohammed, my ward colleague. Jonathan was elected as the 3rd councillor in Whickham South and Sunniside. (Marilynn Ord was first and I was second.) So for Mr Atkinson, May's result was a disappointment. Nevertheless, the resignation of a Reform councillor in High Fell (after a whopping 11 days in the job) opened up the opportunity to fight again for a seat on the council. Were Mr Atkinson to be elected, let's hope his attendance will be a bit better than that of another High Fell Reform Councillor Sidney Laws who, according to Gateshead Council's website, has yet to attend a meeting. Indeed, the council doesn't even have a photo of this person.

High Fell by-election leaflet watch 1: give us a sign!

 

A rare sight indeed! The Conservatives barely exist in Gateshead but unexpected electoral contests can produce some surprising outcomes. High Fell ward is host to a completely unnecessary council by-election. The cause of this return to the polls is a Reform councillor who managed 11 days in the post before chucking in the towel. The Conservatives have chosen a candidate. Good luck (he'll need it) to Barry Flux who, I understand, was until recently a Conservative councillor in Northumberland. Relocation to Gateshead meant he had to wave goodbye to the county council.

The Conservatives managed to field 14 candidates for the 66 vacancies on Gateshead Council in May. The normal pattern of campaigning in Gateshead for the Conservatives is to field candidates who would have no campaign literature. Paperless, rather than paper, candidate. So you have to credit Mr Flux for his current campaign. Yes, we have one of those rarest of items - a Conservative leaflet. The page one header is a shade of red. Is this an attempt to appeal to Labour voters in this former Labour stronghold (Labour lost all 3 of the seats in High Fell in May, having previously held the ward for 52 years?

On the back page, Mr Flux has switched to green for his headline. Is this perhaps an attempt to appeal to Green voters? What is missing from the leaflet is any Conservative blue! Indeed, the word "Conservative" appears only twice in the leaflet, and one of those mentions is the small print!

Nevertheless, Mr Flux has brought forward a new campaign idea. He has promised to call round to clean street signs. Armed with washing up and warm water, Mr Flux will respond to calls from residents concerned their street sign needs a wash and blow dry. As far as campaign techniques go, it's original but I can't see it catching on! It's likely to be thrown out, along with the rest of the bath water!