Sunday, April 01, 2007

BarryJones4Martin




Good to see former Flintshire MP Barry Jones (left) on “bloggers4labour” post tonight. He is supporting top Labour candidate Martin Eaglestone, a Labour Party candidate for the Welsh Assembly. I joined the Labour Party in Holywell, North Wales in (I think) 1978? Barry was our local MP. I can’t remember the first time I met him. It was either in a Holywell Council by-election or the 1979 general election. A lot of Wrexham lager was flowing at this time. However, I remember him driving me around during a local campaign. I would jump out of the car and deliver a leaflet then we would move off to another address. He was very pleasant and “normal”. None of that “I am a MP” great man nonsense. I wonder if Connah's Quay Labour Club is still about?

I remember the Holywell By-election, because on the day, I was with a local trade union steward (Paul? Shotton steel worker or textiles mills?) who’s effective but unorthodox campaigning tool was to stand on a wall looking out for people and grab workers on the way home from work to go and vote Labour. People would actually try to hide and run away. But he would always catch them and send them off to ballot box. This is of course totally unlike modern day Tower Hamlets or Newham (joke).

I am going back home to Wales for a long weekend after Easter and must help out the local party for an hour or 3.

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