A Members' Branch of Bolton West Constituency Labour Party
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The
Heaton & Lostock Labour Party A Members' Branch of Bolton West Constituency Labour Party |
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January: |
The shameful UKIP underwent ructions with its
most famous member, the former TV host Robert Kilroy Silk resigning after
failing to become leader and the Tories unveiled their plans for annual
quotas for refugees should they win the election, rumoured for May. |
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February: |
After years of controversy, the ban on hunting
with dogs in England came into force and Ken Livingstone got into trouble
when he accused a Jewish journalist of behaving like a "concentration
camp guard", a controversy which continues. Kilroy Silk was back in the
news as he set up his own Eurosceptic party - Veritas - with himself as
leader. Later in the month Tony Blair carried out a whistle-stop tour of the
UK to announce our six pre-election pledges. A prize for anyone who can
remember them! |
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March: |
The main political argument of the month was
about anti-terror measures, with the Lords and Commons in deadlock over plans
for control orders, which would give the Home Secretary the power to place
Britons and foreign citizens under effective house arrest, without trial. In
the end, the deadlock was only broken by the promise of giving MPs a vote in
a year's time on whether to scrap or keep the new measures. More
interestingly for many of us was that TV chef Jamie Oliver helped persuade
the government to pledge £280m to improve the quality and nutritional
standards of England's school dinners. Ruth, as Education Secretary, was, of
course, very involved in that decision, although Gordon Brown might have been
even more involved! |
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April: |
After months of being the worst-kept secret at
Westminster, Tony Blair called a general election for 5th May, the
announcement apparently being delayed by the death of the Pope. The month
was, of course, dominated by the election campaign, with Gordon Brown and
Tony Blair inseparable as those of us who saw them together at Oldham will
attest. Highlights of the campaign included a Question Time special in which
Tony Blair was flustered by a question about the difficulty of getting a GPs
appointment; Greenpeace protesters scaling John Prescott's house's roof and
the birth of Charles Kennedy's first child - which he blames for a hesitant
performance when discussing his party's taxation plans. I guess, that sadly,
we now know the real reason for that. The issue of Iraq was mentioned many times and rather cynically George Galloway announced that he would stand for the anti-war Respect Coalition against Oona King in the Bethnall Green and Bow Constituency, with its large Muslim population. In the end the Attorney General's legal advice on the war was published in full after a number of leaks - but opinion polls continued to give us a big lead. |
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May: |
Tony Blair was elected for an unprecedented third
Labour successive term but the Government's majority was reduced to from 167
in 2001 to 66. The Lib Dems took 62 seats and the Tories 198. George Galloway
was elected in a shameful campaign. In Bolton, all three of our MPs were re-elected, Ruth with a majority of only just over 2,000 and a swing of 4.5% against her, David with a majority of just over 4,000 and an even bigger swing of over 8% away from him and Brian, with a whopping 11,500 majority, albeit losing 5% of his 2001 vote. It wasn't an easy campaign but many of our local Party members, too many to mention individually, worked extremely hard to ensure Ruth's re-election. On the morning after the election, Tory leader Michael Howard announced his resignation, leading to the lengthy race for his successor, which went on for another seven months. Tony Blair promised an "agenda of respect" for his third term, focusing on law and order. Plans included ID cards and laws against religious hatred. |
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June: |
The UK began its six-month presidency of the
European Union, with Tony Blair warning that it faces a "crisis in
political leadership" and must change to win back public support. He
also said the UK's £3bn annual EU rebate is an "anomaly that has to
go" - but made clear that its removal has to be linked reform of the
CAP. |
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July: |
The mood of the whole country went from
jubilation one day, as London won the right to host the 2012 Olympics, to
horror the next as Britain's experienced its worst terrorist attack. Tony Blair, flanked by world leaders attending the G8 summit, said: "Whatever they do, it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and in other civilised nations throughout the world." The G8 leaders agreed to an almost £30bn aid and debt-cancellation deal for Africa prompted by the worldwide Live8 concerts organised by Bob Geldof. Kilroy Silk quit as Veritas leader, claiming the party, which didn't win any seats at the election, has "failed". |
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August: |
Two of Labour's most prominent figures died
within a few days of each other. Robin Cook, the former Foreign Secretary, who resigned from the Government in a principled stand against the Iraq war and regarded as one of the finest parliamentarians of his generation, collapsed on a walking holiday in the Highlands. And Mo Mowlam, once the Northern Ireland Secretary and one of the most popular figures in UK politics, died after a long illness. "The death of a brave, intelligent and engaging woman was a tragedy for British politics," said one party activist. |
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September: |
The Party Conference was held in Brighton, and
was accused of being heavy-handed when peace campaigner Walter Wolfgang, 82,
was manhandled from the conference hall for shouting "nonsense"
during a speech by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. After a furore in the media
and amongst party activists he was readmitted to the hall the following day,
to loud acclaim. But his treatment didn't make us feel very good about
ourselves. Quite frankly, it was a disgrace and it's a shame that a
Conference, which should have been remembered as a celebration of our third
victory and planning for the future, will mainly be remembered for that
deplorable incident. |
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October: |
The Tories held their conference in Blackpool and
it appears that it was David Davis's speech there which consigned him to the
very large Tory political waste bin! The Cabinet decided to push ahead with a partial smoking ban in England's public places - exempting members-only clubs and pubs which don't serve food. But several ministers, including Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt, were said to be unhappy that there won't be a complete ban, as in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Tories get on with the latest part of their saga over who should lead them! |
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November: |
After eight years, Tony Blair suffered his first
Commons defeat, as Tories, Lib Dems and Labour rebels voted against allowing
terror suspects to be detained for up to 90 days without charge. MPs instead
opt for 28 days. But a concerted effort by the opposition to stop longer
licensing hours for pubs in England - amid fears of rising crime and violence
- failed and so far we haven't seen the promised mayhem. David Blunkett, the Work and Pensions Secretary, was compelled to leave the Government for the second time in less than a year, after breaking the ministerial code of conduct over paid work he took while out of the Cabinet. The Tories continued their search for a new leader. |
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December: |
Finally, David Cameron was named Tory leader and
promised to change the image of the party, encourage more women to become MPs
and tackle environmental issues. Where have we heard that before? He brought
in William Hague, another Tory leader failure, as Shadow Foreign Secretary. Cameron's first confrontation with Tony Blair at Prime Minister's questions, saw the former taunt the latter: "I want to talk about the future...you were the future once." We shall see! In contrast to Cameron, the Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy ended the year uncomfortably, as senior members of his party questioned his "laid back" style. However, he promised to fight on, to create a party "thirsting and thrusting" for electoral success. But Cameron urged Lib Dems to defect to the Tories. At the eleventh hour, Tony Blair agreed to a cut to the UK's EU rebate, in exchange for future discussions on EU funding, including spending on agriculture. The Tories and their press branded the agreement a "surrender", but Tony Blair said that it was the best possible deal "in the circumstances"; and it probably was! |
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January |
Cllr Cliff Morris |
"Bolton Update"! |
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February |
Keith Bowes |
"The Campaign Ahead" (contact John) |
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March |
Branch Discussion |
"The Campaign Ahead" (contact John) |
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June |
Branch Discussion |
"What We Did Right And What We Did
Wrong" (contact
John) |
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July |
Harriet Grimhaw |
The Sukula Family Campaign |
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September |
Gary Titley, MEP |
The EU After the French and Dutch Constitutional
Referenda |
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October |
Cllr Nick Peel |
It's a Load of Rubbish - Recycling in Bolton |
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November |
Terry Hyams |
The Pensioners' Lobby of Parliament |
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December |
Dorothy Lever |
The 2005 Labour Party Conference "An Insider's
View" |