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Friday, May 25, 2007

By Alan W Collins on Friday 25th May 2007 11:55 / 5 comments

Medway Messenger

NEW PM: But will he get full support?

I NOTICED with little surprise that Gillingham and Rainham MP Paul Clark is supporting Gordon Brown to be the next Prime Minister.

I wonder, though, whether he would also support the increased calls for a General Election so that the public can also provide Gordon Brown with their mandate for him to govern (or no, if they wish). However, knowing how often Mr Clark dismisses the wishes and requirements of his constituents, I am not holding my breath.

Alan Collins,
Goudhurst Road,
Gillingham

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5 Comments

Socia Lists says:

Friday 25th May 2007 at 13:47

i hardly think it’s fair to say ‘Mr Clark dismisses the wishes and requirements of his constituents’ considering he’s frequently at the forefront of local events (the scouts,church fund etc.)

i’m not sure where you get the idea that the majority fo people want an election from either!?
Alan Collins says:

Friday 25th May 2007 at 14:11

If you would care to take a look at Mr. Clark’s all-time voting record (I’ll even link to it for you), you can see that he has voted against the Government just seven times in 2291 divisions – a far lower number than the number of times people in the Constituency opposed Government plans. He is fiercly loyal after 10 years – but he has been overlooked for senior positions by younger, newer, and in most cases, less loyal colleagues. Why not ask yourself why that is the case?

Let’s take a look back as well, shall we. The Constituency was created in 1918, 89 years ago. Of those 89 years, 74 were spent with a Conservative MP (Sir Gerald Fitzroy Hohler, 1918-1929, Sir Robert Vaughan Gower, 1929-1945, former National Labour PPC Sir Frederick Burden, 1950 – 1983, and James Couchman, 1983-1997.

Both times the seat was won by a Labour candidate was when there was a huge national swing to Labour. And in 1992, when James Couchman won his last election, he had the backing of 52.3% (a majority) of the electorate and was 16638 (28.8%) of his nearest rival, Paul Clark.

In contrast, in 1997, Paul Clark polled just 39.8%, an increase of less than 7,000 votes. In the following election he won his all-time highest vote share of 44.5%, but the number of people voting for him dropped by just under 1500. And in 2005 he had 41.2% of the vote. He has never been in a situation where he has the backing of the majority of the electorate in the Constituency, in fact he only won the last election by 254 votes!

He is not a representative of the majority of the electorate, but a minority of the electorate. He is happy to be out and about gaining publicity, but when crucial decisions need to be made in Parliament, he comes yapping at Tony Blair’s (soon Gordon Brown’s) heels, pleasing only those who voted for him, and not even all of them will agree.

And I don’t get my ideas from social events, or media circuses, when the only people in attendance are Conservative Party members (as some people I know in the Labour Party do and then talk about the opinions of “everyone they speak to”).

I have been out on the streets, spoken to many reisidents with no party affiliation, no paid-up subscriptions to a party. I get my picture of public opinion from the public, not from my own Party!
Socia Lists says:

Friday 25th May 2007 at 14:17

That’s your take on things

(as some people I know in the Labour Party do and then talk about the opinions of “everyone they speak to”).

the person you’re on about, and they don’t even speak to people in the labour party so…
Alan Collins says:

Friday 25th May 2007 at 14:19

So I was just imagining them stood behind Gordon Brown as he visited the Sunlight Centre, then, was I?
Socia Lists says:

Friday 25th May 2007 at 15:05

ah, touche,

“the person you’re on about, and they don’t even speak to people in the labour party so…”

i’ll amend it to – the person you’re on about doesn’t regularly converse with labour party members”