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House Magazine Diary
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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01 January 2000 |
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In Grimsby re-selection rages. People on every street corner and pub discuss whether they want a geriatric MP or a thrusting young woman: they shall not grow old as we that are on the Left grow old. As I struggle round the streets on my Zimmer frame, "blitzing" in slow motion, humorists ask "Didn’t you used to be the MP for Grimsby?" Retirement homes (though not yet the Lords) bombard me with brochures. |
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House Magazine Diary
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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01 November 1999 |
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Re-selection rages. In Grimsby they talk of little else but whether the party will sack its geriatric MP in a frenzy of modernisation. The Member himself hopes that Grimsby is too far from London or Castleford to be attractive to the golden lads and girls. Meanwhile he’s playing safe: praising the Leader, defending party policies wherever he can find them, explaining that money allocated seventeen times before is still new money, and advocating goodwill to France, their poisonous food, rotten wine and vicious farmers. |
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House Magazine Diary
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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01 August 1999 |
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Summer doldrums. Weather too hot, hours too long, work too hard. Everyone, particularly Tony on whom we depend so totally now that our role has been reduced to his chorus and backing group, tired and frazzled. Its all gone wrong. Serbia, a triumph that must now be paid for. Ireland a failure. |
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House Magazine Diary
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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01 May 1999 |
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We’re approaching two miraculous years in power. Everlasting honeymoon. The problems remain but few now worry. Government talks about something else. Tories can’t say anything, having caused them. The Liberals talk about Kosovo. Even the Labour Party, while not ecstatic, rallies round as the elections get closer. It’s a wonderful world. |
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House Magazine Diary
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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01 April 1999 |
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The good ship "New Labour" sails on its majestic way. The captain smiles benignly from the bridge. The Purser hands out the pennies. Loud hosannas ring. No sign of the predicted storms. The Almighty clearly approves. Life’s wonderful for New Labour but deeply puzzling for Old. Though the onset of Alzheimer’s is reconciling even us to Prozac politics. |
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House Magazine Diary
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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01 February 1999 |
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Friday 1 January
Up early to walk along the canal from Todmorden to Rochdale. Every mile underlines the damage the South has done to the North by destroying our industries. The long-standing differences between humanity’s finest flowering, the Yorkshireman, and the folk on the other side also emerges. Tykes ask "How much did yer pay for yer ’ouse, eh Austin?" in surly fashion. Witty Lancastrians say "Give us a loan for a mortgage, Lad" and laugh. I don’t. |
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House Magazine Diary
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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01 January 1999 |
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Crisis at Christmas - for the well-housed, not the homeless. This messy row exploded just as our Daily Fax telling us what to think ceased. Another argument for keeping Parliament going all year round. As soon as its pressures stop there’s trouble, but the dispersed PLP is dependent on the media just like everyone else. We can’t be told that "Gordon loves Tony. True" every morning. Give us this day our Daily Fax. |
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House Magazine Diary
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Written by Austin Mitchell
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01 July 1998 |
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Ten days in the death of Parliament (Continued). "Things can only get boring", the song went. They have. I’m suspicious of anything called "the third way" coming from Clinton but it clearly involves soft and rare decisions, endless consultation, focus group prescription, lots of reviews and sitting bang in the middle of every round. A formula for staying in power forever by boring for Britain. But it makes Parliament irrelevant. |
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