Please don't take this personally Bob and John, I like you really. I am in an aggressive mood these days - I have already had a go at Mary Reid this weekend!
I'm sorry but I think both Bob Shaw and John Dixon are talking complete cobblers about the Crewe and Nantwich by-election PPC selection.
If the local party has been over-ridden, then where are the complaints from the local party chair, the local party executive members or any local party members ???? Or is the assumption that Bob Shaw and John Dixon are the only LibDem members with their cojones intact?
It is normal procedure in the rules of the constitution for a re-selection to take place on the occasion of a by-election. This happened in Bromley and Chiselhurst when the existing PPC was not selected, Ben Abbots was.
The short-listing process and the hustings process is still carried out by the local party in conjunction with the returning officer. The short listing committee contains local party members - only, normally the returning officer also attends. The hustings is attended by local party members and chaired by the returning officer.
Chris Rennard no doubt advised the local party executive. (But then he has had experience of umpteen by-elections.)
But the short listing decision is still with the local party and the local party members could have voted to "re-open nominations" if they were unhappy with the two candidates presented at the hustings. (There has to be an option of "re-open nominations" on the ballot paper if there are one or two candidates).
I echo the other commenters on Bob and John's blogs. The subsequent behaviour of Mr Godwin, resigning from the party and sending a letter to Labour MPs, may give us a clue as to why he was not selected.
To say the selection is a result of "political correctness" is nonsense. It is a result of the local party choosing someone with the skills to fight a by-election. The fair rules of the constitution have still been followed. Cowley Street cannot parachute in a candidate. It is physically impossible without suspending the whole constitution of the Liberal Democrats, which would require an emergency national conference of the whole party.
A by-election requires a really bomb-proof candidate and often the existing PPC isn't suitable.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Cobblers about the Crewe and Nantwich selection
Written by Paul on Monday, May 05, 2008
Labels: Liberal Democrats
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6 comments:
Paul, fret not, I seldom take things personally.
P.S However, I stand but what I have said. Assuming the party/Cowley Street still allows councillors and members of the executive to disagree with them?
Of course, Bob.
But you'll have to change the name of your blog after all this !
;-)
grumble grumble, seems we're all in a bit of a bad temper these days. I apologize for what was perhaps a little bit of an ott post from myself (didn't realize people would want to actually take notice of it), and you've done a good at defending the party, I still smell fish in the air but you're probably right over all. Don't take blog posts too seriously Paul. You should know all to well the sort of uninformed unresearched gibberish that gets spouted out on the blogs. Maybe if I give all my blogposts ridiculous titles ('The LIb Dems are rotten stinking murderers!' sound good to you?)then perhaps I'll even get onto Iain Dales list ;-).
"grumble grumble, seems we're all in a bit of a bad temper these days"
Indeed. Mind you my grumbling is nothing compared to Mark Valladres posting on the subject!
"Maybe if I give all my blogposts ridiculous titles ('The LIb Dems are rotten stinking murderers!' sound good to you?)then perhaps I'll even get onto Iain Dales list ;-)."
I think "Don't help at C&N" was sufficient to get into his list. If it didn't he must be feeling a bit peaky recently.
All the best
Who are Bob Shaw & John Dixon?
They are certainly not Lib Dem members in Crewe & Nantwich.
Procedures were followed; local members were fully involved; the tight timescale meant things weren't ideal, but we didn't choose the timescale; Mark Godwin behaved, in my view, abominably.
I know. I was there.
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