Parachutes

Great efforts were made back in the 1990s to ensure that parachuting Peter Mandelson into the Hartlepool parliamentary seat was successful. The Regional Office did all it could to ensure Mandy came out tops in the selection contest. Now, with another by-election in the seat pending, even having a members’ selection meeting seems passé. Under Starmer’s rule, it is merely sufficient to impose a ’longlist’ of one. A longlist of one! God knows internal party decisions are often wrapped up in imaginative and nonsensical language, but this takes the biscuit. As does Starmer’s satisfaction with this outcome “Over the last year, the Labour Party has been listening and changing: returning the party to the people.” Who exactly has the party been listening to? Starmer might remind himself that the party is only a party because it has members. Presumably these are not people but expendable foot soldiers. Starmer has staked his all on his by-election candidate. Perhaps that’s for the good, since we’ll get to see if he himself has got a parachute.