This Once Great Movement Of Ours

[CumbrianLefty]

Par for the course, then.

[CumbrianLefty]

An interesting guy, even if he became somewhat annoying and just a bit crankish in his later years as an MP. Was also one of Labour's youngest candidates at the 1966 GE (South Bucks)

His battles with a local party that was at least Militant influenced became a cause celebre for some in the 1980s, though things became calmer once he saw off a final deselection attempt in 1991.

[CumbrianLefty]

As noted by me elsewhere, his (otherwise fairly comprehensive) Wikipedia entry doesn't mention the internal goings on in the 1980s that almost resulted in his deselection at all.

A major, and frankly pretty incomprehensible, omission.

[CumbrianLefty]

Reported that Kate Osamor may soon be getting the whip back in parliament.

If the Blackpool South contest next week goes as most expect it to, that means that Labour might yet end this parliament with more MPs than it started with. That didn't seem likely for a while.

[CumbrianLefty]

I expect that any return would require her to show a certain degree of contrition over previous I/P comments, in the same sort of way that Andy McDonald did.

[CumbrianLefty]

He is about the same age as Corbyn, so perhaps unlikely.

[CumbrianLefty]

Mind you, its Gullis. There have been more sentient boulders.

[CumbrianLefty]

A few more Labour MP retirements today too.

Some at least were clearly meant to be announced in the summer and had to be brought forward because of the PM's "surprise" decision.

[CumbrianLefty]

Presumably a woman, otherwise we would have had two non-heterosexual Prime Ministers in a row and three non-heterosexual major party leaders in the 1970 and the two 1974 general elections.

What?

Harold Wilson was very much heterosexual, no need to worry on that score

It is a pretty undisputed matter of record that Jeremy Thorpe was primarily attracted to men - though he did marry and have children, neither of which was true of Edward Heath. About whom there were rumours even at the time, but very little has ever been reliably confirmed. Very possibly a "gay incel".

[CumbrianLefty]

Akehurst has views on Israel/Palestine that place him on the fringe of Labour party opinion, yes.

He also likes to wind up his factional opponents (and always has done going back to the 1990s)

Apart from that, however, he is pretty bog-standard mainstream right wing Labour. In fact he is even to the left of continuity Blairite types in some respects and voted for Ed (not David) Miliband in 2010.