Friday, November 02, 2007

If we want to REPRESENT we have to be REPRESENTATIVE

Unsurprisingly I was delighted to hear the news this morning that Simon Hughes will be backing Nick Clegg and I was also very encouraged to hear that his motivation for doing so was his confidence in Nick's commitment to diversity. Simon said - “I’ve decided to support Nick because I’m confident that his commitment to diversity and to building a party that reflects all of Britain is real. He knows that this is a priority for me. I will work with him on that task and we can move the party forwards together. Nick shares my ambition of a mass membership movement.”

Nick Clegg's response was “I am delighted to have Simon’s support. His devotion to the party over many years and commitment to diversity are immeasurable. He has made an excellent party president and has reinforced why he is held in high esteem by members, activists and colleagues.”

I couldn't agree more with either candidate. I have banged on enough over the years about the woeful lack of diversity in our party - frankly if we want to represent then we have to be representative - it's not rocket science!


I was amused by the comment James Graham left on one of my earlier tomes something about "soggy socialists"...................OK, he wasn't referring to me but to Simon Hughes, but given that I regard Simon and his politics with the kind of reverence reserved only for the upper echelons of the saints............I feel labelled by association! I have been called many things in my life.....but strangely enough.......never soggy.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Has Simon explained how he thinks Nick will achieve these noble objectives given his own failure to acheive his own pledge to increase membership?

Anonymous said...

Actually increasing party membership was on of Ming's policies when I attended the Leeds Hustings for his leadership election.

I don't think anyone's got especially high expectations for this. It's like Blair saying he wanted to "abolish the concept of waiting in the NHS" - worthy goal but something we want to see but not in itself a commitment to make it happen.

Free membership would be a start though.