Life in a Mayoral: The Runners

So it seems we can't even have a nice relaxed provincial vote without Westminster demanding to be the centre of attention. Poor show! Still, this blog will stay within its remit right up until the 4th May, if only because an election which the Tories surely can't win is so much more pleasant than the feeling of impending doom coming from the other one.

The official candidate information arrived through our letterbox today (it's also available online, in case you're wondering why my scanning skills have suddenly improved). Eight people are standing as follows:


The first thing that jumps out of this list is that Withington's own Mysterious Independent is standing again! And not only that, he's opted to remain Mysterious by not submitting an official Election Address. Fair play to him.

He's joined by a second Mysterious Independent, Mohammed Aslam, because of course Salford has to have its own Mysterious Independent.

UKIP's Shneur Odze is the third making a bid for Mystery by not submitting an Address. I cannot begin to describe the joy of not having to read UKIP's manifesto for Greater Manchester.

That leaves us with five candidates competent enough to submit an Election Address. First up, it's Andy:


For fans of Burnham literature there's not a lot new here, being a distillation of his previous leaflet.

Next is Jane Brophy for the Lib Dems:


This one feels like it wastes far too much space on logos and photos. I can't say I'm overwhelmed by the priorities listed here but points awarded for mentioning Brexit on both pages. It seems my instinct was right that the Lib Dems would position themselves as the party of Remain right across Greater Manchester.

Third we have the "English Democrats":


Now technically speaking I'm in favour of an English Parliament, but I think I'll give English Nationalism a miss if it's all the same with you, Stephen.

Next is those lovable Tories and the pride of Trafford, Sean Anstee:


With all due respect to Mr Anstee I guess it's a sign of how seriously the Conservatives are taking this election that they haven't found anyone with a higher profile to put up. Nevertheless it's a well designed Address and my curiosity is certainly piqued about his battles with Westminster politicians over the last four years, given that the Tories have been power all that time. It goes without saying that I wouldn't vote for him in a month of Sundays.

Finally there's the Green candidate:


Full marks for graphic design which is way ahead of the rest, though on the other hand it's far too wordy. I must admit I like the cheesy #YESIWILL business and will follow it assiduously. I can't argue with any of the priorities either, as far as they go, but interestingly no mention of how Brexit will affect GM. Perhaps the Greens are as split in Manchester as they are in Parliament.

So, all in all three candidates I'd be prepared to vote for: Burnham, Brophy, and Patterson. And two choices on the ballot paper. *thinking face emoji*

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What would a Labour Brexit look like?

Image
Some Remainers are upset at Jeremy Corbyn again, after he apparently ruled out staying in the single market after Brexit . Many have taken umbrage at his claim that single market membership is intrinsically linked to EU membership, pointing to the EFTA countries Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Iceland as counterexamples. But Corbyn is technically correct to say that the single market is not a club that can be joined. You can of course loosely say that the likes of Norway and Switzerland are "in" the single market, but their high level of access comes through the EEA agreement and bilateral treaties respectively, which include exceptions such as agriculture and fisheries. It's not a binary distinction by any means. Rather than argue semantics, a more fruitful exercise is to analyse what Labour would actually hope to achieve if they were in charge of Brexit negotiations. As with the Conservatives , it is clear enough if you take at face value what they say t
Read more

Unseen Academicals and the meaning of sport

Image
There's nothing like a hardback book to make you wonder: "what's the point of hardback books?". They're more awkward to use and less portable than paperbacks, they take up more than their fair share of space, and they're expensive. They're grandiose relics, like stately homes in a world designed for suburban semis, except you don't even get a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake when you stump up for a hardback book. They'd be harmless, though, if it wasn't for the hardback-exclusivity of new books. This actually depresses total book sales, at least from me, because the media review books as soon as they come out, but if a review actually convinces me to buy, I then have to wait up to a year for it to come out in paperback, by which time I've forgotten all about it. And unless it makes the Waterstones 3-for-2, I'm unlikely to chance across it again. Nice work, publishers! The one advantage to hardbacks is that they are impressive.
Read more

Are Starmer's pledges worth the paper they were written on?

Image
  The 10 pledges made by Keir Starmer on his way to victory in the Labour leadership election planted his campaign firmly in the ground marked by the 2017 general election manifesto that almost put Corbyn's Labour into government. But six months on, questions are increasingly being asked about whether he intends to stand by them. On both the left and right wings of the party and among some commentators there is a growing belief that the pledges were nothing but a ruse to lure former Corbyn supporters away from his chosen successor Rebecca Long-Bailey, and having served their purpose are now in the process of being quietly dropped to make way for a return to Blair-style centrism.  But is this belief actually true? Approaching this question as a very forensic lawyer might do, let's first consider the case for the prosecution. The belief on the Labour right and among centrist pundits that Starmer is their man is well summed up by Andrew Rawnsley's  recent column on his confere
Read more