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Bristol West – the shortlisted candidates

July 3, 2012 4:07 pm

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On July 7th, Bristol West CLP will choose their candidate for the 2015 General Election. The four candidates for the seat were shortlisted last month – and we’ve profiled them below. If you know more about any of the candidates – please let us know by email. We’ll also bring you the result of the selection at the weekend. The candidates are:

Thangam Debbonaire was a council candidate for Ashley ward in the Bristol City Council elections in May 2011, and describes herself as an active member of the local community who wants to do more for her area and city. She’s also women’s officer for Bristol West – and her website is debbonaire.co.uk.

Emily Georghiou describes herself as Bristolian born and bred – standing for equality and fairness in Bristol West. She is a Policy Manager at the Equality and Human Rights Commission and already has experience of the selection process in Bristol West – her mother once stood for selection there.

Jo McCarron is an artist. In Bath where she lives she is the campaign co-ordinator for Local Campaign Forum and was previously voted “campaigner of the year” by the local press. Jo is Bristol born and bred, and a member of Movement for change. her website is jotmccarron.org.

Gemma Tumelty works for the TUC has local roots stemming from growing up around Bristol where her family still live and run a city wide business. As a former President of the NUS, she argues that in a seat where students and lecturers are key (and have been betrayed by the Lib Dems) she’s best placed to win their support. Her website is gemmatumelty.org.uk.

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  4. Bristol Mayoral Candidate selected
  5. Bradford West candidate selected
  • urban rubble

    Hi Mark, do you know who is on the Redcar shortlist? It was drawn up this weekend,  I know Anna Turley is one but who are the others?

  • http://twitter.com/HarryThompson11 Harry Thompson

    All women – another all women shortlist? Great…

    • Brumanuensis

      I know right? Why can’t they be satisfied with 22% of MPs being women? More than enough, I would have thought.

      • Chilbaldi

         or maybe look at ways of getting more women interested in standing in the first place, rather than providing an easier route for the usual suspects as demonstrated by the list above?

        • treborc

           It’s been so abused by Labour over the years nobody really thinks this is an honest way of getting women into Politics.

          • John Ruddy

            Then how would you do it? I wont expect an answer, because you are much better at carping from the sidelines.

          • treborc

            Well it seems to me that if your going to have equality it has to be honest it has to be on merit and it cannot be due to being born female. And it cannot be because Tony Blair wanted you as happened in my area. I’m all for more people being in politics female disabled you name it blond bald  fat and thin, but on merit mate.

            Sorry but to be honest having a women  picked because she is a women and then having Tony Blair state no thank they do not suit us has caused massive damage to my local branch, of both women and men

          • Chilbaldi

            going back to having a 50:50 split between men and women on the final shortlist. Do this on EVERY shortlist. I don’t believe that the Labour Party is full of sexists, so this should make for fair selections and results.

            Also change the way the party works to encourage more women to get involved. change the way we meet. Make everything more gender neutral.

            At the moment AWS just favour those women who are already half way up the greasy pole. They don’t encourage new women to come along.

            I don’t want a system that makes it easier for a relative minority in the party to get selected as an MP, I want a system to ensure that the Labour Party is representative of all groups (whether minorities or otherwise) proportionately, albeit for this proportionality to be naturally achieved rather than forced on us to the detriment of good candidates and by extension the whole country.

          • Sue Thorne

            Jo McCarron hasn’t  started ‘half way up the greasy pole’  has done everything off her own back and for the right reasons 

          • Chilbaldi

            I agree that part of my post was harsh on her. For what it is worth she seems a very impressive and unique candidate. If I lived in this constituency she’d get my vote for the selection.

          • Brumanuensis

            I second what Sue has said about McCarron and would add that Debbonaire hardly fits your mould.

            Your other ideas have much merit, but I don’t think it will be enough. Unfortunately, being a member of the Labour Party is not sufficient defence against sexism (or any number of other prejudices). I’m a man btw.

          • http://twitter.com/ElliotBidgood Elliot Bidgood

            Agreed, although Chilbaldi’s presumption here is probably that in terms of background, Tumelty and Georghiou CVs would appear to suggest that they are the connected “greasy-pole” establishment candidates, and therefore may benefit disproportionately more than McCarron and Debbonaire from AWS.

            Though having said that, I have trouble seeing how replacing AWS with 50:50 lists specifically wouldn’t make it even more long-shot for people like McCarron and Debbonaire.

          • Brumanuensis

            That’s a fair point, and I wouldn’t disagree that’s a risk associated with what might broadly be called ‘affirmative action’ programmes, but in terms of getting women into Parliament it’s an effective mechanism.

            Getting Labour to select fewer middle-class lawyers, trade union officials and public sector workers, will be trickier. That requires major changes in the membership and a lot of out-reach work. Still, short-lists since the last GE have been more diverse on that basis, particularly in getting more ex-Armed Forces personnel on to list.

        • Redshift

          To be fair I think Bristol West is an appropriate example of a place to have an all-womens shortlist. 

          There are other marginal and safe seats in the same city and surrounding the city. This is a case where good local candidates aren’t being prevented from standing somewhere because of their gender. Simply being Bristolian is sufficiently local to call yourself local – so you can easily stand in Bristol North West (another marginal) if you’re a bloke. 

  • Alice

    Gemma would be a fantastic MP – I have my fingers and toes crossed for her!

  • Anon

    This would be Gemma Tumelty who was an organised independent? Who did not stand for the Labour Party. Well of course she will get it. All NUS greasy pole climbers get there. Where is Wes Streeting being measured up for?

    • Chilbaldi

       show in, isn’t she. the others may as well go home.

      • Dominyk Tiller (@ddom2006)

        Not at all. It’ll be a close contest & one which no one is certain to win at this point.

    • Jameswilliamjacobs2

      Ilford South. Probably.

      • ThePurpleBooker

        Ilford North is more likely.

        • Brumanuensis

          Depends how soon Mike Gapes retires. 

  • Brumanuensis

    I’m completely unqualified to pass judgement, but something about Jo McCarron makes me inclined to favour her. My wariness about selecting former NUS members makes me sceptical about Tumelty.

    • treborc

      Eric Sykes, has died and to be honest that is sad, and is more interesting in which of this lot has been put in place by labour to win.

    • http://twitter.com/ElliotBidgood Elliot Bidgood

      It’ll probably be Tumelty by the looks of it. But I think I know what you mean about the NUS. I generally like the NUS, but this sort of thing hurts both them (and therefore student representation) and the party- when I campaigned in a pro-NUS referendum at my old uni, the “it’s basically part of the Labour Party, look at all the ex-NUS presidents serving as Labour MPs” critique came up a lot. Emily Georghiou was also a former NUS VP. Still, Jo McCarron and Thangham Debbonaire look like long-shots, which is a shame.

      • Dominyk Tiller (@ddom2006)

        It’s far from certain. Very important people turnout & vote still. I don’t think the NUS/Labour relationship is anything to be ashamed of. Labour has for years got it badly wrong on education, especially on things like tuition fees. Having a bigger representation of people who formerly represented students can only increase labour party understanding of students & young people and that can only be a good thing. Bristol West is a student-rich constituency & it’s important labour is represented by someone who gets them, which is why I’m supporting Gemma. That’s not a smear on the other candidates, but for me personally Gemma just gets it.

        • http://twitter.com/ElliotBidgood Elliot Bidgood

          Yeah, but even as a strongly partisan Labour supporter, I tend to believe that the NUS being seen as a Labour-heavy entity isn’t neccesarily great for students. Tuition fees, under both us in ’98 & ’03 and the Coalition in 2010, are a classic example. If NUS presidents are essentially always Labour (even if they stand as an ”Organised Independent”), then they will ultimately have dual-loyalty when Labour governments propose harmful policies, while Conservative governments can dismiss the organisation’s lobbying more easily as unrepresentative. Labour Students serves the function of being a Labour organisation to represent student interests, NUS should represent all students more generally. Granted, though, the Labour lean of the NUS is partly a natural result of non-partisan, LY and CF students refusing to get involved in sufficient numbers, citing the self-fulfilling prophecy that “it’s too Labour”.

          But I digress. I agree Tumelty herself seems qualified, especially given the large student population, and I wish all candidates the best of luck.

          • http://twitter.com/ddom2006 Dominyk Tiller

            I apologise I missed your reply to this; Was caught up in the last few days of campaigning.

            I get your point, and agree with it. The NUS does need to be more politically diverse, so that it doesn’t roll over when Labour passes anti-student legislation through Parliament (Though after this Gov I’m not sure students have anyone standing up for them anymore). I would personally almost prefer the NUS to be ran by someone without prior political background, but whether this is a realistic pondering I have doubts over.

            Sadly the Liberals & Tories refusing to get involved in the NUS make calling it a Labour stooge organisation a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy. The NUS is an interesting machine, one I’m not entirely convinced will ever be free of political leanings, whether it be Labour, Liberals or Tories.

      • Brumanuensis

        I’ve voted in NUS affiliation referenda and although I’ve always voted ‘yes’, I can see why people get uncomfortable about its independence, as you say. 

        It’s a shame the first point of contact for many university-age people who want to get involved with Labour is NOLS, an organisation whose cliqueishness and cynicism is enough to put anyone off politics.

    • Brumanuensis

      Kind of leaning towards Debbonaire now, but both are good.

  • Daniel Speight

    Do we know if any have taken money or training from Sainsbury’s? Should all candidates be forced to declare if they do take Sainsbury money?

  • NeilFoster

    Gemma would be a brilliant MP and has great politics. I worked with her when she campaigned for Jon Cruddas in the 2007 deputy leadership contest which, fair to say, wasn’t the fashionable thing to do at the time. She’s been a great trade union campaigner and sweated blood over the Save the NHS campaign along with health unions and Andy Burnham.  Totally principled and in it for all the right reasons.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mike-Homfray/510980099 Mike Homfray

      Easy enough to do when you are in London. I note the appartchiks are all making an appearance?

  • http://twitter.com/RDStalker Rachel Danae Stalker

    No, they’re not all the “usual suspects”. Jo McCarron is a Future Candidate so is by definition not a “usual suspect”. And Thangham Debbonaire came into politics in middle age after working in domestic violence for 20 years – I’ve picked that up from her website! Anyway, I wish articles like this could be written with more impartiality towards the candidates.

  • Anon

    I think Gemma has shown she can motivate activist old and new!  She has the backing of Marvin Rees – the Labour candidate for Mayor in Nov 12

    • Chilbaldi

      Also, Gemma is the only candidate on the shortlist to have actively campaigned against Labour in the past. she knows us inside and out clearly.

  • Hammer

    I was told that Tumelty cried when she was forced to join the Labour Party by NOLS in order to get their backing at NUS conference in her presidency bid all those years back. Now a likely candidate for us in parliament; that makes me cry.  

    • John Dore

      Hearsay is hardly relevant.

      • Myleene Klass

        I don’t agree. Being a member of Hearsay got me a career as a presenter and Kim Marsh an acting job on Coronation Street!

    • Brumanuensis

      Dore has a point, but I wouldn’t put it past NOLS to do that.

      • treborc

         Maybe she cried with happiness

        • Brumanuensis

          Much as I love Labour, I’ve never wept for joy upon getting the annual ‘thank you’ letter for renewing my membership.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Mike-Homfray/510980099 Mike Homfray

    Gemma Tumelty lives in London.

    There are far too many London-based individuals seeking seats outside London

    • John Dore

      London and the southeast is awesome, successful, diverse in its culture. Nowt wrong with London based individuals wanting to do well.

    • Dominyk Tiller (@ddom2006)

      Gemma has solid local roots. I come from Portsmouth but live in Bristol; I consider both to be home. If I moved away for work or other reasons it’d still be home to me and I’m sure that’s how it is for most people. You can move away and still retain your passion, enthusiasm & love for the city & clearly Gemma has that passion, enthusiasm & love for Bristol.

      • Km9961

        Ummm, where in Bristol is she from? Check Wikipedia, Weston Super Mare is not Bristol.

        • Dominyk Tiller (@ddom2006)

          You’re rather twisting my words. I said she has solid local roots, I didn’t say she was from Bristol. WSM & Bristol aren’t exactly at opposite ends of the country; It’s usually a safe bet to say if you live in one you’ll spend time in the other & have passion for both. Her family live in Bristol & thus it is very much home to her family, of which she is part. I was speaking about myself from the second line to the third, as is made clear.

          But thanks for letting me know where WSM is, having lived in Bristol for 9 years now I obviously had no idea.

  • ThePurpleBooker

    Gemma Tumelty would be a great candidate for this seat but I really like Jo McCarron. Her involvement for Movement for Change is amirable. I think Jo should have been selected for Stroud not David Drew. But for this seat, Gemma Tumelty is the best candidate. But Jo should go for Kingswood or Gloucester or Bristol South.

    • Brumanuensis

      I’m surprised you’re backing Gemma Tumelty; she’s very left-wing after all.

      • Guest888

         ”I’m surprised you’re backing Gemma Tumelty; she’s very left-wing after all.” <Jeez Bristol West is guilible if that think Gemma Tumelty is really left wing. How many times has some candidate hung a bit of left wing meat out in front of the selectorate not really evident before or since they were selected. Still at least a former NUS president will add to the diversity of the labour benches. Never had one of those before …..

        • Guest888

            “I’m surprised you’re backing Gemma Tumelty; she’s very left-wing after
          all.” Jeez Bristol West is guilible if that think Gemma Tumelty is
          really left wing. How many times has some candidate hung a bit of left
          wing meat out in front of the selectorate not really evident before or
          since they were selected. Still at least a former NUS president will add
          to the diversity of the labour benches. Never had one of those before …..

  • Brumanuensis

    I notice, in Tumelty’s video, that she uses music by Bristol’s biggest trip-hop band, ‘Massive Attack’. If she’d thrown ‘Portishead’ in, it would be perfect.

  • Tom Keeley (@tjhkeeley)

    I am not normally the biggest fan of all women shortlist’s, but in Bristol West it seems to have opened up the field from what might have been a coronation of the unsuccessful 2010 candidate (male) to a quality field of candidates.  

  • http://twitter.com/RDStalker Rachel Danae Stalker

    There’s something about selections like this that makes me quite sad. We hear time and again that the Labour Party (especially from the grassroots) wants to move away from selecting “career politicians” – YET, when given the opportunity, CLPs keep selecting career politicians (I think Harlow CLP is an honourable exception here). This isn’t the national party voting for career politicians: it’s ordinary members in CLPs up and down the country. Bristol West is fortunate to have some absolutely outstanding non-career politicians to choose from YET it seems that the career politician is the favourite. I think that ordinary members need to start taking responsibility: either we vote for non-career politicians or we own up to actually preferring career politicians. 

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