Labour Lives

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82SsPknQqCA)

Cllr Ian Cruise , an Independent representing Longbridge Ward spoke to Labour Lives about his concerns around the the departure of Mark Rogers and how this has played out across the council and the city.

A former Labour Cllr with well documented problems he says he is now focusing his energies on his electorate and the issues of budget problems affecting local residents.

He is appealing against a decision of the local Northfield Labour CLP to refuse his re-admittance to the Labour Party.

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK7gEBeLfYs)

Jack Dromey is the MP for Birmingham Erdington. Labour Lives met him the day after a furore about his sincerity towards Jeremy Corbyn - denouncing him to the media in a televised interview & then warmly greeting Mr Corbyn as the camera played on him.

An MP since 2010, a former deputy General Secretary of UNITE ( the old Transport & General Workers Union ) & married to the former deputy leader of the Labour Party Ms Harriet Harman QC ,it is a fact that Mr Dromey has never been far from controversy.

A former Treasurer  of the Labour Party when secret loans were in operation; denounced as ‘Red Jack Dromey' for his support of the Grunwick strikers & the organiser of a mass picket of 20,000 workers in the narrow streets of North London, a believer that Trotskyist forces are infiltrating the Labour Party at this time, a supporter of Owen Smith & an MP in a constituency where some of the highest number of votes for Leave were counted.

But a man who says he is a socialist on the left of the Labour party and will never countenance ever leaving the Labour party. Here is his story.

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qkdJFD5saE)

Steve McCabe is the MP for Birmingham Selly Oak. Born in Port Glasgow & still retaining that West of Scotland lilt he is a man who trained as a social worker & then trained social workers himself. A councillor for 8 years in Birmingham , a resident of the city for almost half his life & an MP who will celebrate 20 years in Parliament next year.

An unashamedly big fan of Tony Blair & a man who supported the Iraq war. A whip in the Blair & Gordon Brown governments. A man who thinks that lecturing from Jeremy Corbyn about loyalty is somewhat rich from a serial rebel & a man who is worried, very worried about the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn winning a second term as Leader of the Labour Party.

A life long member of the Party but who did not wholeheartedly say he would remain in the Labour Party if there  is to be a re-election of Jeremy Corbyn.

Plain speaking about the role of councillors & with a wry sense of humour he was happy to answer any question. This writer sensed that he felt he had not achieved all he could but he is only 60 & seems ready to carry on for a good while yet serving with passion , with bluntness & with skill his constituents in Selly Oak & his adopted city of Birmingham.

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdp2yE5UKwE)

Roger Godsiff is an enigma. He is an old-fashioned, old-school dye-in-the -wool Labour fixer & ready for any bruising encounter. He enters a fight to win it. He is a numbers man & a confidante of many on the Right of the Labour Party  over the years ( or the Moderate wing as he sees it ) who turn to him for his skill in securing the votes for the right candidate at the right time. He is also a man of many firmly held principles ; no to the Iraq War ; no to the bombing of Syria ; a great supporter of NATO & a man who has changed his views on the European Union but has held a sceptical view for many years. And a man with a massive majority in Birmingham Hall Green. A man who attends to his constituency & writes to his constituents & a man who raises concerns about his constituents. But an individualist on many matters. A man of conscience he would say where  others would say he was socially conservative.But undoubtedly a winner  & not a quitter. A man who gives no impression he doesn't still relish the fight & an open politician who is never frightened to say exactly what he means.So enjoy his openness. His candour is sometimes infectious but I wouldn't like to play poker against him. This is a distilled interview of many many hours & he never was at a loss for an opinion & never more than charming to Labour Lives. He was willing to answer anything & never appeared shocked by suggestions of being the Prince of the Dark Arts. In fact he revelled in it.

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Labour and the General Strike in Birmingham 1926

Steve Gove-Humphries’ podcast on the relationship between the General Strike  and the Labour party in Birmingham to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the General Strike of 1926.

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBn10e5op84)

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Councillor Claire Spencer speaks with care and passion. She enthralled the Birmingham City  Council chamber with a speech about refugees. Many were moved to tears at her story.  She has some considerable knowledge as her mother was born in Iraq and was a refugee herself along with members of her extended family. Her elderly grandmother had to be driven out of Iraq by her British born dad. Her story is one of quiet courage by so many. And yet she is not bitter and always gives considered answers to questions.

Self - deprecatory and with an infectious laugh she talks of her way in to the Labour Party and what she sees for the future.

She is modulated in her opinions but has a steely quality to her convictions. Maybe it is time for a step up for this Penny Holbrook supporting councillor. The Chair of the Hall Green District (assuming it survives into the future ) would be a good start. A committed environmentalist:  a doer rather than a talker and maybe with a quiet voice but one that when she talks people now listen  with great respect.

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Jess Phillips MP has of late been relatively quiet. She has the most disarming laugh which is almost a cackle but a canny political brain. She is passionate about her constituents and wants to change the Palace of Westminster. Tilting at windmills is common currency for her........ as is a connection with many individuals who love this self-styled warrior. In this interview she doesn't rule out becoming the Leader of the Labour Party and explains her famous four letter exchange with fellow MP Diane Abbott. And all in front of Jeremy Corbyn on their first meeting. She is bold , opinionated and refuses to back down when she thinks she is right. She is good press and a joy to interview. Laughing with a wide-eyed almost skittish 'Did I say this? Really? ' look and then confirming her confidence and her willingness to say the impossible. So in her own words enjoy the force of her personality and her commitment to socially difficult issues. She is not too frightened to be ambitious. The question is will she become consumed by the flattery of attention and miss out on her single greatest quality ; her fearlessness and her single mindedness to speak her truth to whatever power that she meets. Whether that makes her electable, Labour members will have to decide . She is the marmite politician of the moment. And, on the whole, Labour Lives loves marmite.

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Waseem Zaffar is the Labour councillor for Lozells & East Handsworth in Birmingham and is an engaging figure; confident , grounded & rooted in Birmingham politics. Proud to be a Brummie born and bred. Born in his own Ward, educated in his own Ward and a graduate of Aston University . And immensely gratified to be of Kashmiri Pakistani heritage. He was also appointed one of the youngest Magistrates in the City and has already received an MBE for charitable and community work. All of this well before before his 35th birthday. At that age Sir Albert Bore was just on the foothills of his great political journey.

Many years ago Zaffar picked the perennial Leadership candidate for Leader of Birmingham City Council John Clancy as a winner and has certainly nailed his colours to the rhetoric of Clancy's message for change. Zaffar and Clancy very much sing from the same hymn sheet.

Labour Lives met him after a busy day & just before a holiday with his newly married wife. The internet is full of conspiracy theories about him. But in person he is a charmer and well able to articulate his view of where Labour should be going. He knows how to present that story and  how to navigate the piranha - infested waters of Labour politics. A man in a hurry. He loves cricket and is an Aston Villa fan.....not so great a place to be today. But he is a coming-man in all senses of the word. When the game of musical chairs that is carried out post the May elections in the Labour group is over, it will surely secure him a Cabinet post.

A Labour Lives prediction:  this councillor is going places. Watch this space. He is ambitious and clever and a man who crosses many political and social divides. We would place a bet on Zaffar being the first Muslim Leader of Birmingham City Council as this is surely not outside his scope. Frankly Labour Lives thinks he is man who will go as far as he wants and if Westminster is not his aim then Birmingham could do very much worse. So keep an eye on Waseem Zaffar MBE and see how the jockeying develops! Perhaps all he needs to do is back a better football team.

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Cllr Anita Ward has been described by the Chamberlain Files Blog as one of Labour's Big Beasts & rightly so. She has stalked the corridors of power in Birmingham for many years. She has held high office & kept a tight reign as Chief Whip & surely knows a few secrets. She knows where the 'bodies are buried' . She has chaired important committees well & is respected by all sections of her party as well as the opposition. But no more it seems.

The very personable member for Hodge Hill is apparently going to resign her seat in early January 2016 on the anniversary of her 20th year of election.

This is in protest at the decision of her local branch to refuse to nominate her as the candidate for the May 2016 elections. The Branch have decided to force a 'trigger ballot' & she is unlikely to be a candidate for selection. Is this the case of another Sir Albert Bore loyalist paying the price after Cllr Clancy's recent election. Or just the rough & tumble of local politics. Dark suggestions have been made about voters at the selection never ever having attended ward meetings previously. There has been a Twitter exchange with leading combatants. It is potentially getting nasty.

There are a number of rumours flying around. As ever with Labour Party politics M'Learned friends are being consulted. The amount of litigation in the last few years & prospective actions & cases surely calls for a specialist option on Labour Party Law at the University of Birmingham Law School.

But who is the real Anita Ward?  She is a former Punk Rocker who rose to become only the 7th Female Lord Mayor & a champion of the Armed Forces & great communicator. An able administrator & someone who has exceptional communication skills . I can't quite believe that Birmingham politics has seen the last of Cllr Anita Ward.

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Gisela Stuart MP is very much her own woman. On a sunny day in Birmingham & just before she had to turn on the Calthorpe Estate Christmas lights she spoke to Labour Lives.

In the new constituency offices she occupies she was confident , open & self-assured. She tells Labour Lives how she came into Politics; why she didn't complete her PhD in Pension Law & how she would have practised as a Lawyer if she hadn't gone into Parliament; how her German background cost her a seat in Europe & the story of her selection for the Edgabston constituency.

Couple this with her open 'right-of-centre' views, her admiration for individuals on the Tory benches ; her assertion that if there was to be referendum on Europe she wouldn't vote or campaign ( " I think I will be washing my hair that day ") & her continual winning formulae in Edgbaston then  this interview is for you.

Always provocative but with a quiet voice hiding a steely determination Gisela Stuart MP continues to hold Birmingham Edgbaston constituency in her thrall.

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Labour Lives went recently to the Moseley home of Cllr Tony Kennedy & had a warm & welcoming interview. The builders were in so apologies for the odd background 'noises off’.

Tony Kennedy is a controversial character within the Labour Party. The present Cllr for Sparkbrook Ward, he is an ardent supporter of Cllr John Clancy in his bid to be Leader of the Birmingham City Council. Mind you he was a flag waver for Sir Albert Bore in the past. I get the impression there are still issues there to be resolved.

Tony Kennedy has been arrested & convicted arising out of his university activities. He is  not afraid to say what he believes.  He has lived in Birmingham since he was a child.

His family were Labour & Union activists. He was a former Liberal candidate & has been expelled from the Co-Operative Party in what appears to have been somewhat dubious circumstances. Google his name & one is alerted to many posts that clearly are controversial - like this interviewee.

At the end of a long interview he confessed that he was to be the consigliere to Cllr John Clancy in any Clancy administration. For those too young to love & admire the film ‘The Godfather’ I suggest you Google ‘consigliere’ & see what it throws up.

As to whether Cllr John Clancy knows that he has appointed Cllr Kennedy as his consigliere we will see. But if any Horse Heads end up in any beds please contact Labour Lives.

So we will live in interesting times wherever Tony Kennedy is about. This is just a snap shot of what he says.

So here is Tony " Consigliere " Kennedy in his own words. Tom Haden eat your heart out!

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Labour Lives was treated to a bravura performance from former Lord Mayor of Birmingham City Council when we spoke a few days ago.

Born in an inner-city back-to-back & spending all of his working life in the city he is clearly a man who says what he thinks. And isn’t frightened of people knowing it.

A Labour member for nearly 50 years he has held high office within former Labour administrations.

It is not often that one can write “former Member of the Militant Tendency & Lord Mayor” but one can with Cllr Leddy.

So this is the pitch he gave to Labour Lives before he decided to withdraw from the contest. A surprise to many who thought he was in it for the long haul.

Leddy now endorses Cllr Penny Holbrook so we may not have heard the last of this canny & clever politician.

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Cllr Barry Henley is an impressive interviewee & perhaps this is not surprising as he was a former University lecturer.

He has run major international businesses, has a finely tuned grasp of Local Government finance & its structures.

He wants to be the Leader of the Council in Birmingham & not just for the short term.

In this interview he is relaxed & confident but does he have the votes? Well he confesses that the winner will not emerge on first preference votes but come from second preference votes.

I get the impression that win or lose he will keep saying what he thinks people should know; whether they like it or not.

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Ian Ward speaks on the record to Labour Lives. He has been a Birmingham City Councillor for more than 20 years. He has worked closely with the outgoing Leader of the Council Sir Albert Bore for the last 15 years.

He has held high office for many years in the Council. From being  an elected Chair of the Leisure Services committee (a wide ranging brief covering Parks, Libraries, the Arts & Sport) he has always been at the heart of the Labour administration in recent years whether in opposition or in office.

Ian Ward is the Deputy Leader. He wants to step up to the plate. He says he has the skills. In a measured interview he set out his stall.

He says that he has the support of the Chair of the Government Improvement Panel. He tells Labour Lives, exclusively, that he nearly resigned this summer due to the tone of the letter issued by John Crabtree, the Chair of that committee. He tells Labour Lives that in a telephone call he made to John Crabtree about resigning, he was told that resigning would be wrong. He indicates that John Crabtree said the letter did not reflect upon him and that he was  "part of the solution" not the problem". Some may find this extraordinary. So the Improvement Panel want him. Is their approval a poisoned chalice?

He was hard hitting about reform. He said that Birmingham Labour Party needs quality councillors & the city deserved them. This was code for the Labour Party watchers. The skill-set of some of our councillors is not good enough. Change is needed.

He noted that when he became Deputy Leader in 2005 he beat Cllr John Clancy then.  He believes he will win again. Will history repeat itself?

He speaks  warmly about Sir Albert Bore as a "Giant" of Birmingham Politics. He expects to win. He was calm & generous with his time given that the very day he was interviewed (Friday 13th November) he had had to endure the naked political ambitions of Cllr Tahir Ali in a Scrutiny committee meeting that had him (Cllr Ward) as 'points winner'. Cllr Ali is a cheerleader for Cllr Clancy.

Ian Ward is a Brummie through & through. A man who represents the very place he was born in. A man who loves his city & his community. Is it then the time of Ian Ward?  We will see.

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This is a Labour Lives interview with Cllr Penny Holbrook of Birmingham City Council.

She discusses exclusively how she came into politics and why she has decided to stand for the Leadership job at Birmingham City Council.

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An interview with Councillor John Clancy, a candidate in the leadership elections within the Labour group on Birmingham City Council.

In it he talks about his past, his career, and his ambitions for the future.