Thursday 10 September 2009

ready to jump?

Cllr Willis thinks the recent spate of Labour defections to the Tories in London might be mirrored in Reading. He thinks there might be Labour councillors in Reading who would be welcomed into the Tory group. Maybe he is right. It has happened once already, this quote from His Master's Voice (so it must be true)

Azam Janjua gained a seat in Church ward for the Conservatives – he stood down as a Labour Party member a year ago in the same ward.
The taxi driver said: “I am very pleased to be elected. I will commit myself to the ward and promise to the residents of the ward I will work for their welfare.”


My personal knowledge of Azam Janjua is that he did exactly that when he was a Labour councillor for Church ward.

So who else is going? Now that Dictatorship Dave "moronic members of the public" Sutton has been trashed by the electorate of Katesgrove ward perhaps we will not see another disgraceful campaign of bullying and smear by the Labour Group - though I'm not holding my breath. But members of the current Labour Group in Reading have good reasons to escape the corrupt dungheap that is the politics of Reading Labour councillors. If you have a shred of decency left, go.

5 comments:

Jonny said...

I never usually comment politically, but there can never be an excuse for joining the Tories. Follow Tony Jones into principled independence by all means, but whenever I see a Labour member joining the right wing I shrivel. They were either never a socialist or put themselves before the many for personal reasons. Oswald Moseley?

Anonymous said...

Jonny,

How do you feel about people like Quentin Davies who defect FROM the Conservatives to Labour?

It is also surprising to see you use the word "socialist". For many people nowadays that conjures up the horrors of the Soviet Union and the National Socialist movement.

Your prejudice against the Conservatives is surprising, especially in the light of the appalling record of this Labour government.

Anonymous said...

Labour's problem is that councillors cannot vote against the Group. If they were allowed to do this, there would be less need for councillors to leave the party.

Tony Jones is a professional union official. He would lose his job and power if he joined the Tories, semi-Tories (Lib Dems) or extreme Tories (Greens).

Jonny said...

1. People like Quentin Davies obviously see sense
2. You're talking through your Batman hat. For me, socialism means to secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange, and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service.
3. My prejudice against the Tories shouldn't be surprising. I'm with Nye on that one!

Anonymous said...

Jonny's definition of his beliefs, from the old Clause 4 have nothing whatsoever to do with the present Labour party.
And no-one, to include Blears etc would have any idea who Nye is.

Nobody talks about Nye now. Jonny must be at least 90.