Reynolds left with egg on his face, as Stalybridge CLP votes for Corbyn!

JUST GOOD FRIENDS:

REYNOLDS (RIGHT); WITH STUART HALL AND LORD PENDRY

Although he increased his majority at the General Election in May, Jonathan Reynolds MP, who represents the constituency of Stalybridge and Hyde, is becoming rather gaffe prone like his mentor and predecessor, James (work-for-your-dole) Purnell.

Only recently, the hapless Blairite MP, was lobbying to get his mate Peter Mandelson elected as Chancellor of his alma mater, Manchester University. Dubbed the Prince of Darkness, Mandelson came last in the election losing to Lemn Sissay, a black poet from Wigan. 

If this wasn't bad enough, Reynolds has now been left with egg on his face over who should be elected the next Labour leader. While the two other Tameside MPs, Andrew Gwynne and Angela Rayner, are supporting the weak and vacillating Andy Burnham, Reynolds has opted to support the no-hoper, Blairite, pro-business, Liz Kendal. Labour Party members in his constituency, received a letter from Reynolds asking them to vote for Kendal. However, despite receiving the letter, the Stalybridge and Hyde Constituency Labour Party (CLP), voted overwhelmingly for the left-wing candidate, Jeremy Corbyn.

Despite attacks on Corbyn and his supporters, the veteran MP for Islington North, is winning over young people who are flocking to packed meetings around the country. Last week, Corbyn announced on the BBC2 Newsnight programme, that should he be elected leader, he would push for Tony Blair to be prosecuted for war crimes.

Meanwhile, interim Labour leader, Harriet Harman, who called on Labour MPs to support the Government's welfare bill, which will cut benefits and child tax credits for working families, has written to every Labour MP with the names of people in their constituency who have registered as supporters of the Labour Party since the election. Harman wants them to weed out 'entryists' on the Left and Right or known 'troublemakers', who she believes have joined the party to disrupt the leadership contest.

During the recent vote on the welfare bill, all three Tameside MPs, Reynolds, Gwynne and Angela Rayner, a former care worker and UNISON Branch Secretary from Stockport, chose to abstain in order to allow the government to introduce the bill which is aimed at cutting £12bn from social security spending. It was recently reported in the Daily Mirror that the Government was sitting on a surplus of £30bn in the National Insurance fund and yet, still found it necessary, to cut benefits for working families. Jeremy Corbyn, was one of 48 Labour MPs who voted against the welfare bill.

On the stump with Ashton's prospective parliamentary candidates. Elections 2015!

A series of election events known as ‘question time hustings’, have been organised by Community & Voluntary Action Tameside (CVAT), to take place in Ashton-under-Lyne, Hyde and Denton, prior to the General Election in May. On Tuesday evening, I attended the first of these meetings at the Holy Trinity Centre, Dean Street, in Ashton.

Angela Rayner, the Labour candidate for Ashton-under-Lyne, - who was selected from an all women’s short-list - was the first to speak. She began by paying tribute to her predecessor David Heyes, who is retiring at the next election. Ms. Reyner is a socialist but doesn’t believe that people should get something for nothing. Although she is now a trade union official with UNISON, she began her working life as a home help and didn’t go to university. Referring to the financial cut- backs she told the meeting that Tameside Council had lost 50% of its budget and that over 1 million people, were relying on food-banks in Britain in order to feed themselves and their families. “I’m not here to manage the decline she told the meeting.” She also told the meeting that public services should be defended and should remain in the public sector.

Charlotte Hughes, the Green Party candidate, is a single parent who was born and bred in Ashton. She believes that because of this, she is fully aware of the needs of her constituents. Unlike many of the other mainstream parties, who are only interested in ‘hardworking families’, Hughes believes that everybody should be helped, not just those who are in work. She told the meeting that she was sick of the way in which the Labour controlled council in Tameside were using people as guinea pigs to pilot Tory government projects, such as Universal Credit and the so-called ‘Troubled Families’ phase 2 initiative, which is bullying and harassing  single-mothers who are unemployed. She told the meeting, “So far there has been no consultation with the public” about these schemes or the way in which, the Labour council in Tameside, are implementing Tory policies. A community activist, Ms. Hughes, can be seen on a regular basis protesting outside Ashton Jobcentre against unfair and illegal sanctioning. She told the meeting that this year, she had stopped two people from committing suicide.

Another candidate who was born and bred in Ashton is bungling Maurice Jackson, the UKIP (Kipper) candidate. A former Tameside Labour Party member, he was hopelessly out of his depth on the night. Jackson declared that he would not be making a three-minute speech but was happy to take questions. At times, he was barely audible or coherent and struggled to even string a decent sentence together. For most of the evening, he could be seen reading from what presumably, was a UKIP leaflet, in order to check what the party’s policies were. Judging from his performance on the night, he had obviously drawn the short straw.

A Canadian study that was published in January 2012, in the Journal of Psychological Science and reported in the Daily Mail the same month, stated that people with conservative beliefs, were likely to be of ‘low intelligence’ and were receptive to ideas that appealed to their basest and stupidest impulses. 

As right-wing Thatcherites, UKIP seems to draw their fair share of English cranks into their ranks. The former UKIP MEP, Godfrey Bloom, resigned from the Party after calling women ‘sluts’ and after complaining of foreign aid going to ‘bongo-bongo land’. Another UKIP member declared that the floods which brought havoc to parts of Britain two years ago were caused by the Wrath of God, after the introduction of ‘Gay Marriage’.

Most of the evening was taken up with questions from the floor. One questioner complained about a lack of political leaflets through the door. All the candidates said it was either down to lack of funding or resources. Bungling Morris said that UKIP didn’t have any money to back the candidates and that he was a paper candidate.

Ms Rayner, was asked how she would retain public services in Tameside when the Labour Council was a privatizing council? She responded that it was all about giving adequate funding to local government. Asked if she thought the number of councillors could be reduced as they now had less to do, since many public services had been hived-off to the private sector, she said she didn’t believe in reducing things to their lowest common denominator. 

For the Green’s, Ms Hughes said there was a lack of transparency in Tameside Council and that the council leader was getting an ‘obscene amount of money’. She believes that councillor’s allowance should be on a fixed ratio vis-à-vis council workers wages and salaries.

A questioner asked the candidates if they agreed that volunteering should stay voluntary and asked if the voluntary sector should be participating in the Government’s workfare (work-for-your-dole) schemes.  

Ms Hughes said that she was against workfare and was a member of Boycott Workfare. She thought people should be paid a decent wage for a decent day’s work. The UKIP candidate said his party didn’t believe in workfare. (UKIP have branded claimants a ‘parasitic underclass of scroungers’ and have plans to stop them buying tobacco and alcohol). Ms Reyner said that she didn’t want to bring back the work-house and opposed workfare (which the last Labour government introduced with their work-for-your dole schemes). She favours more apprenticeships as a way of getting people back to work.

Another questioner asked -  “If elected would your government remove the market principle from the NHS?” 

The Green Party candidate said yes. The Labour candidate said her party would repeal the Health & Social Care Bill. The UKIP candidate said his party would remove car-parking charges and was against the privatization of the NHS.

From the floor, another questioner asked: “Do you agree with Nigel Farage (UKIP leader) that the NHS should be replaced with an American style health system? Bungling Morris, denied that Farage had ever said this, whereupon, the questioner offered to show him where the quote had come from.  Ms. Reyner then said that both the leader and deputy leader of UKIP had said they wanted to privatize the NHS.

All three candidates were asked about their views of Europe. Ms Rayner said that she was pro-Europe but it needed reform. “I don’t believe immigrants come here just for housing and benefits. We’ve been enriched by Europe. It would cost us £6.5 billion if we came out of Europe.” Ms. Hughes said that it was Green Party policy to stay in Europe but the party favoured a referendum. “Immigration is positive. The NHS would not be what it is without immigrant workers.” Mr Jackson said that UKIP wanted a referendum. “We have an Islanders mentality”, said gaffe prone Morris, “I think we should come out of Europe.”

A questioner asked: “What do you think of fracking in Tameside, even if Tameside Council supports it?” 

Ms. Hughes said that the Green Party was against fracking. “You wont be able to insure your house if it is near to fracking. Fracking leads to pollution. Fracking is being rolled back in America.” The UKIP candidate said that his party were in favour of fracking. Ms Reyner said that Labour was not entirely against fracking but that it must be safe and the decision should be taken locally.  “I’m not going to rule fracking out.”

The outcome of the Parliamentary elections in Tameside next month, is probably a foregone conclusion even though Jonathan Reynolds is defending a 2,700 majority in Stalybridge. Labour has held all three seats for as long as I can remember.

Although UKIP have gained support from the blue-collar, male, working-class former Labour voter in the North, who struggle financially, and feel left behind and alienated from the political class, they are unlikely to get elected in Tameside. UKIP has virtually no support among the financially secure and the thirty-and-forty age group of university graduates. Support for UKIP is also weak among women, white-collar professionals and the young.

The Green Party, who will probably struggle to retain their deposits in the Tameside elections 2015, do have some good policies such as the citizens basic income, renationalisation of railways, a living wage, a wealth tax, and a maximum pay ratio (no executive should receive more than ten times the salary of the lowest paid worker). However, these policies tend to get overshadowed by wackier policies like banning sporting events such as the Grand National and dog racing.

Tory Boy James Purnell, lands plumb job with 'Aunty'!

Last week the BBC announced that James Purnell, the former Labour Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, has been appointed as director of strategy and digital on a salary of £295,000. This is not the first time that Purnell has worked for the BBC. Before entering frontline politics, he worked as head of corporate planning for the corporation between 1995-97.

Although once tipped as a future Labour Prime Minister, Purnell was remarkably gaffe prone. He often lacked political judgement and seemed to like controversy. One two separate occasions he lost both his ministerial red box as well as his wallet. He resigned from the government in June 2009 after criticising Gordon Brown's leadership and after trying to precipitate a revolt, against his leadership, by disgruntled Blairites. In 2010, just before the general election, he announced that he was standing down as the MP for the constituency of Stalybridge and Hyde, a seat that he'd inherited in 2001, from Tom Pendry (Lab) which had a 14,000 majority. He left his successor, Jonathan Reynolds (Lab), defending a marginal with a 2,744 majority.

As the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2006-07), he was responsible for introducing both modern-day slavery to Britain with his work-for-your-dole schemes and also the discredited Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), with its stricter work capability assessments. He also signed off a proposal to charge benefit claimants 27.8 % APR on a social fund loan which had been interest free. At the time, Purnell said that it would help the poor to budget. The proposal failed to get adopted because of cross-party opposition to it in Parliament.

The Unite sponsored MP, also became embroiled in the parliamentary expenses scandal. It was revealed in the press that while drawing a ministerial salary of over £144,000, Purnell had been claiming the maximum food allowance of £400 p.m. He also claimed from the taxpayer, expenses for flowers, fridge magnets, books, camera equipment, rates, rent, and advice from tax advisers. He also avoided paying capital gains tax by switching homes.

Since leaving Parliament, Purnell has been employed as a senior adviser with the Boston Consulting Group and he's the Chairman of the Trustees for Public Policy Research. In 2011, the unmarried former MP,  applied for, but failed to get, the job  as Chairman of  Save the Children UK.

Some people have criticised the BBC and the incoming director general, Tony Hall, for appointing Purnell in what they see as a politically contrived appointment. Although some would argue that Purnell has been a political failure, there is no doubt, that he continues to retain influential political friends and it is this, which makes Purnell, marketable. No doubt the BBC, are also betting that the next government will be a Labour one.

Council to close five libraries - Opening hours to be cut!

DESPITE the efforts of campaign groups to save libraries threatened with closure in Tameside, in Greater Manchester, it seems likely that the council will give the go-ahead to close five libraries when council bosses meet next Monday.

According to reports in one local newspaper, Haughton Green library, Denton West End, Newton in Hyde, Hurst in Ashton and Mottram libraries, will all close their doors to library users on October 12.

Last year the council began consulting library users about the future of Tameside libraries and set out three options as part of a cost cutting review. One option involved closing eleven libraries and retaining Ashton and Hyde libraries as 'centres of excellence'. A second option involved closing six libraries, and the council's preferred option, involved keeping open the main branches in Ashton, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hattersley, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge, with reduced opening hours. All three options involved closing the five smaller neighbourhood libraries.

Around 2,000 people took part in the consultation process with 63% voting in favour of the council's preferred option.

Although council chiefs have yet to meet to make the final decision, library staff have already been issued with details of the new library opening hours for Tameside libraries:

Ashton library is now to close every Monday and will open between 10-3 on Saturday's, instead of of 9-4.

The Local Studies and Archive Centre based at Ashton library, will now close every Monday and Friday and will now be open between 9-5 on Thursday instead of 9-8 and will be open between 10-3 on Saturday instead of 9-4

Denton libary will now close every Tuesday and Wednesday and will open between 10-3 on Saturday's instead of 9-4.

Droylsden library is to close every Tuesday and Wednesday and will open between 10-3 on Saturday's instead of 9-4.

Dukinfield library will now close on Wednesday's and Friday's and will open between 9-8 on Monday's and between 9-5 on Thursday's instead of 9-7.30.

Hyde library will now close on Thursday's and will open between 9-5 on Wednesday's instead of 9-8 and on Saturday's between 10-3 instead of 9-4.

Mossley library which is to be moved to the George Lawton Hall, will be closed on Tuesday's and Wednesday's and will be open between 9-5 on Monday's instead of 9-8, and on Wednesday's between 9-8 instead of 9-7.30

Stalybridge library will now be closed on Thursday's and Friday's and on Tuesday's will now be open between 9-5 instead of 9-8 and between the hours of 10-3 on Saturday's, instead of 9-4.

The hours at Hattersley library remain unchanged.

While the council's consultation exercise on the future of council sevices has been dubbed by them the 'Big Conversation', it is very much a one sided conversation with the council setting the agenda and deciding where the axe will fall on jobs and services. Although they say that voters should blame the Tories for the cuts, they frequently turn a deaf ear to residents suggestions about how the council might make saving without the need for closing such things as libraries.

In letters to the local newspapers, which the council invariably ignores, local residents frequently complain about why they should be paying over £1.25m each year to support 57 councillors who do less work nowadays, since this Labour controlled council for over 20 years, has been devolving itself of responsibility by privatising and outsourcing jobs and services to trusts and private and arms-length companies. Others have also questioned why the council is closing libaries when it as 'usable reserves' (rainy day money) of £1.38m which can be used to fund services. Members of the public have also questioned why the council who are aiming to save £900,000 by closing five libraries, has spent £4m on a little brown bin for Tameside residents to dispose of household waste, when they already have a bin for this purpose. Other critics complain about the £176,000 a year that is spent on the council's propaganda sheet the Tameside Citizen and the annual salary of Stephen Pleasant, the Chief Executive of the council, who receives £192,469 compared with the Prime Ministers salary of £142,500 per annum.

Although the council argue that there isn't the money available for libraries, they can certainly find the money to pay themselves and the money to fund their pet political projects.

Purnell & Mandelson accused of a stitch-up in Stalybridge!

Since being selected as the Labour prospective parliamentary candidate for Stalybridge and Hyde (Surprise, Surprise,) Jonny Reynolds, a 29-year-old trainee solicitor, has been busily trying to put some distance between himself and his former pal James Purnell MP, who is standing down at the next election.

As we reported previously, Mr Reynolds, was initially dumped by a Labour NEC special selection panel and was not put on the original shortlist of candidates after it was claimed that he'd 'performed poorly.' Although the rules do not allow for an appeal once the panel had decided the shortlist, Lord Mandelson and Purnell demanded that Reynolds be put back on the shortlist. This has now led to charges of a stitch-up and threats of resignation from leading local Labour Party activists.

Earlier this week, Tribune quoted a local activist (who asked not to be named) as saying: "The whole process stank so much that many would-be voters wanted no part in the proceedings. Worse still, several local members plan to resign from the party following the election whatever the result. One calling the selection of Reynolds 'an absolute disgrace', says he does not want to be in a party 'led by Peter Mandleson' who many blame for forcing Reynolds on them." Tribune also reported that CLP Secretary, David Moore, is also considering his position after 25 years in the Labour Party.

NEC Dumps Reynolds!

The contest to find a replacement for Tory boy James Purnell MP, has led to a bitter row within the higher echelons of the Labour Party. On 17th March, 'The Times' reported that a national executive selection panel, had dumped Jonny Reynolds from the list of candidates hoping to replace Purnell as the MP for the constituency of Stalybridge & Hyde.

The selection panel which met on 15th March, had been set up to conduct interviews and to decide on a final shortlist. Amongst the members of the panel, were former minister Keith Vaz, Paddy Lillis, deputy general secretary of USDAW and Tom Watson, Downing Street`s nominee on the panel. A source who was 'familiar with the discussion' told the newspaper that Reynolds 'had performed poorly' and... 'had not even defended the MP (James Purnell) effectively when asked about questions over his expenses.' It was also claimed that another candidate, Peter Wheeler, who is sponsored by UNITE, 'gave an impressive performance.'

Despite the fact that the NEC special selection panel has 'full delegatory authority to make decisions which cannot be overturned', the newspaper reported that Purnell, with the aid of Lord Peter (Mandy) Mandleson, had forced the leadership to reopen the shortlist so that his 'preferred successor', Jonny Reynolds, was included.

In a statement issued to The Times, Tom Watson, said: "I was not aware that there was an appeals process. But I have been told that Peter Mandleson and James Purnell have demanded that Mr Reynolds be placed on the shortlist. I know of no rule that allows for an appeal once the panel has decided the shortlist." He later quoted guidance from the NEC which stated that the special selection panel had full authority to make decisions which cannot be overturned.

Following the decision to put Reynolds back on the shortlist, two other candidates, Barbara Roche and Floyd Millen, withdrew from the race. We also understand that another candidate, the former Greater Manchester East MEP Glyn Ford, (who failed to make the shortlist despite being endorsed by the UNITE North West Region), has also demanded that he be given the same right of appeal.

WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT, DEREK?

Is it dumber & dumber Derek or will it be Lord Simpson of Stalybridge?

WITH the UNITE union giving £11 million to the Labour Party since 2007, last Monday on Radio 4 it was astonishing to hear Derek Simpson, one of the joint UNITE General Secretaries, declare that the recent attacks of Gordon Brown on the union's decision to launch a strike at British Airways - only goes to show the Government is not in the union's pocket or words to that effect. £11,000,000 of UNITE member's money going to the Labour Party and nowt to draw?

Some say this money is allowing UNITE, through its Political Director and Downing Street groupie, Charlie Whelan, to place UNITE candidates in constituencies such as Stalybridge & Hyde; where the Labour Party is looking for a successor for James Purnell, former Work & Pensions' Minister. On Wednesday, Nick Robinson, the BBC's political correspondent on Radio 4, drew attention to UNITE's role in the struggle going on in that constituency Labour Party association. Purnell's entry in the Register of Member's Interests shows the Stalybridge & Hyde Constituency Labour Party got £2,000 from the UNITE union - or rather, from the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers as it then was, in 2001: it is not clear if this record is up to date and Purnell's local Party didn't receive anything after that date (see Northern Voices 11 - out shortly). At least one UNITE Branch Secretary in the North West has been seeking information about details of political payments from the union to regional MPs like Purnell and their constituency associations. Mr Purnell had displayed some wrongheadedness in his MP's expenses claims: most notoriously hundreds of pounds for some fridge magnets. As yet, this Branch Secretary has only been told that UNITE pays money to the Labour Party constituency associations, not the Labour MPs.

In the February/March issue of UNITE's 'The Workplace Reporter', the joint UNITE general secretaries, Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley, say: 'The Tories will do nothing to help hard pressed communities.' What would those Northern folk who are right now having their houses bulldozed by New Labour's HMR Pathfinder Project in Derker, near Oldham, and in Toxteth, Liverpool, on the famous 'Welsh Streets' (see below and in Northern Voices 11, out this month), have to say about that? Then our dynamic duo, Simpson and Woodley, say hopefully: 'Of course, we also need positive reasons to back a fourth Labour term.' Then comes their act of faith: 'We believe that Labour's manifesto will offer them, and will make a shift towards the values of traditional social democracy.' One might like traditional furniture, or traditional music or even traditional food, but 'traditional social democracy' - well I don't know about you, Derek, but I can take it or leave it?

They'd be better off saying nowt, as to call upon us to fight for something as devoid of meaning as traditional social democracy. So why does UNITE keep throwing its member's money at the Labour Party? It can't be idealism or ideology; when it just amounts to managing and engineering social democracy. And the BA dispute seems to show that it's not about furthering our member's interests: after over 12 years in power the Labour Government shows no sign of getting rid of, what Simpson and Woodley admit, are 'the most restrictive anti-trade union laws in Europe ...' Perhaps, in the end, it is nothing less than another case of 'cash-for-honours': Arise: Lord Simpson of Stalybridge! Don't forget that predecessor of yours - Lord Scanlon, who went from being a communist party fellow-traveller in Manchester to playing golf with the bosses on the South Coast of England.

I`m being harassed says Parker-Perry!

The question of who smeared Councillor Jonny Reynolds is becoming more intriguing by the hour. As we reported on 14 March, someone using the nom de guerre 'Sam Smith' has being sending e-mails to the website 'Tameside Eye' in order to smear Councillor Jonny Reynolds who is seeking to replace James Purnell as the MP for Stalybridge & Hyde.

In one e-mail to Tameside Eye, Sam Smith alleges that Councillor Reynolds (who worked in the constituency office of Purnell) continued to receive £500 pm from the taxpayer, in a secret deal to pay his mortgage, despite never attending the constituency office or doing any work for almost 12 months. He then adds that this can be checked by cross referencing his (Reynolds) start date at University with the MP`s staff payroll. Sam Smith then says: "You will not receive any reply to this e-mail address. Keep it secret and there is more to come."

Whoever Sam Smith is still remains something of a mystery. But as we pointed out previously, the computer used by Smith was located to the offices of Tameside Council. Likewise, it also appears that Councillor Sean Parker-Perry has being using the same IP address as Sam Smith. Liam Billington, the Tory blogger who runs the website Tameside Eye, says: "I used the service 'Did they Read It' to trace if Parker-Perry had read the e-mail that I sent. He opened the e-mail under the same IP address as Sam Smith - 81.149.96.144. The source code for this e-mail confirms this."

It appears that when Billington confronted Parker-Perry with this evidence, he reacted angrily saying: " I question both the source and motivation of the editor of this website. Since being expelled from the Conservative Party, spending time in police captivity and his close relations with the Tory PPC, Billington has continued to harrass(sic)me. I have categorically denied this allegation that I have e-mailed Billington and I believe Billington struggles to grasp the technological intelligence to make these statements...I have instructed solicitors to deal with Billington and his accusations, a matter that could once again involve the Police."

Readers of Northern Voices magazine (see NV 10) will be aware that this is not the first time that Councill Parker-Perry has alleged that he is being harassed by Billington. In 2008 he made a complaint to the police alleging harassment. On that occasion the Manchester CPS refused to bring a prosecution against Billington although he did spend 7 hours banged up at Ashton police station.

We would also point out that while Parker-Perry denies having e-mailed Billington, a perusal of the website (Tameside Eye) will show that on Feb 26 a Sean Parker-Perry sent not just one, but two e-mails to Billington - see website for further details.

Who smeared Councillor Jonny Reynolds?

In Tameside the local Labour Party is affectionately known to some as Zanu-Labour. This is due in part to the fact that its leader, Cllr Samuel Roy Oldham, has now been in power longer than Robert Mugabe who leads Zanu PF in Zimbabwe. It also refers to the corrupt and incestuous nature of politics in the One Party State of Tameside. Recently there have been moves to oust Oldham as leader of the council and to replace him with Kieran Quinn, the cabinet deputy for Economic Services. Though Roy Oldham announced last year that he was 'minded' to step down as leader, he now says that this challenge to his leadership is like a 'slap in the face'. The contest to replace James Purnell as MP for the constituency of Stalybridge & Hyde is also becoming sleazy, with one candidate already being smeared with a view to undermining his candidacy.

We have learned that a certain 'Sam Smith' has been spreading vile and damning rumours about Cllr Jonny Reynolds who hopes to replace Purnell as the MP for Stalybridge & Hyde. In an e-mail sent to the Tory blogger, Liam Billington, the falsely named Sam Smith says of Mr. Reynolds: 'Who ordered the infamous James Purnell fridge magnets from the LFI connected company in Israel?' 'Who continued to receive £500 per month from the taxpayer, in a secret deal to pay his mortgage at 86 Broadbottom Road, despite never attending the constituency office or doing any work for almost 12 months?' 'Who announced he would stand as MP within hours of James Purnell's resignation in a 'done deal'. In a further e-mail, Smith says: "Reynolds left in July before Doherty (who formerly worked for Purnell) was sacked. He was still paid for 12 months after that date. If you want to cause damage you will need to release this on your website (Tameside Eye) on Monday morning."

Councillor Sean Parker-Perry (married to Fiona Pendry, daughter of the former Stalybridge & Hyde MP, now Lord Pendry) has confirmed that he will be seeking selection as the PPC for Stalybridge & Hyde. From an analysis of the various e-mails (IP addresses) undertaken by Tameside Eye, it appears that the computer used by Sam Smith to smear Jonny Reynolds, was located within Tameside council offices. Furthermore, it appears that when Parker-Perry opened an e-mail using the IP address 81.149.96.144, this was the same e-mail address as used by Sam Smith. As they say, the plot thickens. Watch this space for further developments!

PURNELL QUITS!

Last weeks announcement by James Purnell MP that he`s intending to quit Parliament at the next election, will come as welcome news to many Northern Voices readers. The departure of this smug obnoxious little bastard will also be welcomed by many of his constituents, who have grown to loathe him during his time as a Member of Parliament. Elected as the Labour MP for Stalybridge & Hyde in 2001, he will be best remembered as a politician who courted contoversy.

He was once described by Mark Serwotka, the General Secretary of the PCS trade union, as the "the worst secretary of state for social security this country has ever had the misfortune of having". Though Purnell oppposed Labour`s 50 pence tax rate for all those earning over £150,000 p.a., in December 2008, he signed off a proposal to charge the poor on State benefits 26.8% interest on a social fund loan which had been interest free. Though he was accused of lining his own pockets at the tax payers expense, he believed in being tough with benefit claimants. He favoured lie detector tests to tackle benefit fraud and introduced welfare-to-work schemes which failed to deliver jobs but forced the unemployed to work for their benefits.

While Chairman of Labour Friends of Israel, a post he held for two years, he often accused critics of Israel of being anti-semites and he was a staunch supporter of the war against Iraq. His resignation from the Cabinet in June 2008, came at a time when he was embroiled in the expenses scandal. He was exposed as a profligate claimer who was was prepared to milk the system to its fullest extent. Although at the time of his resignation he called for the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to step down, he recently wrote in the Guardian that he considered Gordon Brown, to be a 'remarkable man' who would lead Labour into the next election.

In his maiden speech to Parliament in 2001, Purnell, referred to a speech made by Hugh Gaitskell in Stalybridge in 1952, when he attacked the Bevanites for being communist fellow travellers. He told the House that most of the Labour Party hated the speech and he hoped that the party would remember the lessons of those events adding: "there should be no place in our party for talk of counter-insurrections or coups; nor should we forget the importance of unity of purpose that got us where we are today". It seems that Purnell could never learn that lesson for himself and was always prepared to put his own interests first.