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Redcar – the shortlisted candidates

July 4, 2012 4:00 pm

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On July 28th, Redcar CLP will choose their candidate for the 2015 General Election. The six candidates for the seat were shortlisted recently – 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 later this month. The candidates are:

Linda Hughes is the senior Northern TUC skills officer. She has worked with many workplaces in Teesside to improve skills including Tata/SSI steel works in Redcar. She supported the successful Save Our Steel campaign and recently won a council seat in nearby Darlington off the Conservatives. Linda has the backing of Unite and North East Labour MEP Stephen Hughes. Her website is here.

Carla Keegans works for the City of London Corporation where she leads on policy and resident involvement in housing across a number of London local authorities. She is a well-know housing commentator and speaks at national conferences and writes a regular columns in the journal ‘Inside Housing’. Carla grew up in Redcar and has the backing of the GMB.

Sherie Murphy is a Labour councillor for Boldon Colliery in South Tyneside. Sherie knows the area well having worked in the constituency.

Louise Reece Jones stood for Labour in the Wirral at the recently local elections. Louise was previously shortlisted in Dover. She is a former Army driver, store detective and campaigner for carers.

Tina Roche is a Unison officer from South Tyneside with a background in careers advice. She has the backing of Unison. Her website is here.

Anna Turley is a former adviser to David Blunkett and Hilary Armstrong on child poverty and social exclusion and was Deputy Director of the New Local Government Network. She is the editor of the blog Progressive Localism and is a driving force behind the Co-op Council initiative. Anna has the backing of the Co-op Party and Community Union. She lives in Redcar and is regarded as the early frontrunner. Her website is here.

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  • Matt

    Are there no men in Redcar or Bristol West ?

    • Chilbaldi

      they couldn’t be trusted.

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

    Oh, another all-women shortlist.

  • Matt

    What possible incentive is there for aspiring young male politicians to get involved in the party if they dont stand a chance of even making a shortlist ? Unless they are content to limit their ambitions to leaflet delivery and door-knocking then none !    

    • http://twitter.com/JP_KC JPKC

      What about the women who see all the middle-class, middle-aged, white men in Parliament and permanently shelve any aspirations they might have?  – this has been the case since Parliament was founded. You shouldn’t be giving your time to politics if the only motive for doing so is the expectation of a nice job out of it; these are the type of candidates Labour grassroots want to avoid, all-women shortlists or not.

      Linda Hughes looks good though it’s always going to be a snap judgement when you’ve not actually witnessed them in the flesh. I hope it’s not another SpAd.

      • Matt

        Certainly there are more men in parliament than women, but i fail to see how this discourages women from aspiring to enter parliament. Are you suggesting that they cannot cope with a male-dominated environment ? If they are all at sea in a male-dominated environment how ever can you expect them to do business with union leaders, industry bosses and foreign leaders who are generally are of the male gender?  

        • Brumanuensis

          An environment so heavily skewed towards one demographic will inevitably deter most people not from that demographic, as they will not feel comfortable with being a visible minority. Besides, this discussion is about the selection process, not how well women will fit in at Parliament.

      • Guest

        Any aspiring politician who is put off by the presence of middle-class, middle-aged white men in Parliament probably isn’t worthy of entering the House of Commons.

        Politics can be a tough business – if you’re so easily frightened you don’t deserve to represent people.

      • Razvan Constantinescu

        A bit unfair to categorise all those who want to represent their communities in the Parliament as seeking a nice job?

    • Luke Akehurst

      Men can run for Labour selection in approximately half of winnable seats and in the current round of selections all the notionally Labour-held vacant seats that come up after the boundary changes will be open to men as well as women to run (this is in contrast to usual rounds of selections where about half are AWS, so that sitting MPs whose seats disappear have maximum options of where to run).

      There are plenty of other roles to play in the Party and public service – being an MP isn’t the be all and end all.

      • Matt

        I struggle to see the difference between all-women shortlists and gerrymandering. There are many capable young guys around, including in the youth parliament, and it pains me to see them disadvantaged simply because of their gender. Whatever problems existed with selection committees favouring male candidates in the past are not resolved by positively discriminating in the present. I want to see the best candidates come through irrespective of gender.    

        • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=36910622 Edward Carlsson Browne

           It simply is not credible to say that men are disadvantaged in the Labour Party. I know a great many young Labour councillors and they have received a lot of support in running. AWS may mean they have to find a different ward, but it doesn’t rule them out.

          It’s also worth noting that every early selection this time round that hasn’t been an AWS has selected a man, so evidently once men reach the shortlist they do not suffer. This is why we have AWS – not just because selection committees might favour male candidates, but because shortlisted female candidates enjoy a lower rate of success in being selected than shortlisted male candidates.

          • Matt

            Is it just possible that in these cases the male candidate was the best candidate ?

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

            Of course. But at a certain point, if open selections are consistently producing far more male candidates, something is wrong.

          • treborc

            I’m waiting for the gay only seats, or the lesbian only seats.

          • Razvan Constantinescu

            Somethings not something! But you don’t effectively address a collection of wrong things by another wrong thing. 

        • Brumanuensis

          I’m sure they’ll perk up once reminded that 78% of MPs are men.

      • Chilbaldi

        So can women run for selection in the other seats.

        Pull the other one re MP being the be all and end all. If you want to make a real difference, that is the best place to be.

        AWS = plaster over broken leg. I hope they wont last another 10 years.

      • Politique

        Luke, the Labour Party has got this totally wrong. Where is the fairness, parity and equality in choosing AWS. There is not. This policy is a Harmanite agenda that is proving to be a turn off with many women in the Labour Party who wish to selected on merit and not positive discrimination. The party has got this policy totally wrong. Itis also wrong to have an AMS. However of equality really wished to transform the party perhaps they may consider not electing a candidates from a hundred labour party members out of a constituency of approximately 70000 but allow the public to vote but double weight party members voting. The successfully elected representative is elected on the back of numbers and percentages that is not appropriate to the community. This is also wrong.

        What I also do agree with is the attempt by Progress and other thinktanks to manipulate the ideological agenda of the Labour Party. Blairism is now dead in the water and I agree with the unions and Michael Meacher on their recent stance. New Labour arguably was good for its day, that is the first two years (2007 – 2009) but its ideas are now slowly becoming defunct. This perhaps is reflective of the recent NEC elections.

        I cannot understand how Mr Livingstone has so much influence on the NEC. He should now start to enjoy the good life and allow the mid generation to take over the party running.

        The structure and processes of the party needs to change from the bottom up and not continue with more of the same.

        • Lembit Opki’s Lovechild

           The issue around All Women Short lists is a perfect example of Labour’s confusion over equality of opportunity and equality of outcome.  By all means women should have equality of opportunity: They should have just as much chance as getting on the shortlist as men. They shouldbe helped to get there with coaching where necessary. But, once there they should not receive any further assistance. let the best person win.  If labour members are the paragons of all progressive virtues that the party claims then there should automatically be complete fairness in the selection of candidates. In a labour party that is blind to prejudice on the basis of race, gender, sexual identity and the rest there is no need to have the deck fixed in women’s direction.  

          • Matt

            I completely agree, and as a democrat i feel rather uncomfortable and slightly embarrassed that we feel the need to positively discriminate in this way. Women selected as candidates via AWS lack legitimacy in my opinion, and will forever be nothing more than the best of  what was available, rather than the best overall.   

      • Guest

        So you agree with the party promoting discrimination?

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

    Linda Hughes looks like a very good candidate

    • ThePurpleBooker

      She isn’t a local girl. She is a newly-elected councillor in Darlington.

  • Brumanuensis

    I’m also going to put in a vote for Linda Hughes, who does look like an impressive candidate.

    • ThePurpleBooker

      Oh but she is not local. She is a newly-elected councillor in Darlington. You criticized Jess Asato for not living in Norwich North when she is from the area and then you criticized Majid Mahmood, in the event of Birmingham Hodge-Hill by-election, if he were to stand because he is new. But a newly-elected councillor who doesn’t live in Redcar wants to stand there and you back her! Complete double-standards.

      • Brumanuensis

        Christ, you are thick sometimes…

        Let’s leave aside the irony that you’re trumpeting your candidate for being local.

        Your weird straw-man of my position is not (surprise, surprise) an accurate summary of my views on local candidates. I have never argued that the candidate should have grown up and spent their whole life in the constituency to be eligible for selection. I merely argue that it is better if a candidate has a well-established connexion to the area they plan to represent. This doesn’t have to be from birth; it can be through working there or moving there. You don’t even have to work or live exactly in the constituency, as long as you are reasonably familiar with the prevailing conditions within it.

        All the candidates meet this basic requirement, bar, seemingly, Louise Reece-Jones. So local credentials are not an issue at this selection. Linda Hughes has lived and worked on Teeside since the age of 4. If that doesn’t make her local, nothing will. Ditto Anna Turley.

        I did not ‘criticise’ Jess Asato; I merely pointed out that maybe trying to get selected for a Norwich seat when you’re a recently-elected councillor in Islington doesn’t look very good (http://www.islingtontribune.com/news/2012/jul/lib-dems-claim-people-islington-are-being-treated-voting-fodder-third-labour-councillo ) ( http://www.islingtontribune.com/news/2012/jul/attack-%E2%80%98young-go-getters%E2%80%99-who-can%E2%80%99t-wait-become-mps )

        Food for thought. As for Majid Mahmood, my concern was that relative to the other potential candidates, the fact that all I knew about him – something I explicitly acknowledged in my response to you – was that he was a recently-elected councillor, made me cautious.

        In summary, a candidate should, ideally, have strong local connexions. Sometimes a strong candidate who is not local may be preferable. This is irrelevant in this case and in the case of Norwich North, I prefer Jo Rust’s ‘CV’, something you find hilarious and seem to prefer ‘a few of my mates know Jess Asato’. Great. Good for you.

        • Brumanuensis

          Btw, distance between Darlington and Redcar? About 20 miles as the crow flies.

          Between Islington and Norwich? About 100 miles by the same measure. Slight difference.

          • ThePurpleBooker

            It isn’t 100 miles that is just wrong. Anyway, that is irrelevant. A working-class industrial area in Kent is likely to be more representative of Redcar than say some areas which may be nearer but more affluent for example parts of Staffordshire. As we have established, both candidates – Jess Asato and Jo Rust – do not live in Norwich. So your entire argument there is a complete non-argument. Just goes to show how thick you are being, you must have more brain cells than that!

        • Brumanuensis

          A good example of a non-local candidate? Dan Jarvis in Barnsley Central.

          • ThePurpleBooker

            So why are you ranting on saying that local is key?

        • ThePurpleBooker

          Thick? At least I can spell connections which clearly cannot be said about you.
          Now, on Jess Asato – you criticize her for being newly-elected but you backed Linda Hughes who is a newly elected councillor in Darlington. That is double-standards. Hughes does not live in Redcar, she lives in Darlington and works there. On the other hand, Anna Turley moved from Kent to live and work in Redcar.
          So you criticized Asato for doing something that your preferred candidate did do. Hypocrite. Also, Asato has been a councillor in Islington for two and a half years whereas Linda Hughes has won a council seat very recently. Big difference.
          You then criticize Jessica Asato for not being local. Asato was born in Norfolk and grew up there. Her family is from that area too but as people move around she now lives and works in London. Your precious Jo Rust, was born in Norwich and grew up there but moved to a safe Tory seat represented by Henry Bellingham (and if she wanted to be a PPC so much, she could have stood there several times). She failed to do so. So there is a huge flaw in your logic there.
          On candidates, you attack me for having mates who know Jess Asato. Firstly, these are good friends who have know her very well. These are very intelligent people who I know very well and I have been told brilliant things about Jess Asato and I completely trust their judgement. Don’t you trust your friends or do you not have any friends to trust? Secondly, you conveniently forget other comments that I have mentioned. I have come across Jo Rust in the TUC and I have also come across Jess Asato at several Labour Party events. I have been very impressed personally by Jess Asato? Have you had that experience? Thirdly, who said I found CVs hilarious? You just made that up. Not only are you showing rank hypocrisy but also deciet and dishonesty. *tut,tut*. Jess Asato is a young and intelligent woman who has been deeply involved in the party but crucially has been helping to develop ideas in order to make the party progress in the future. She is BAME which is good seen as we need to boost thier representation in Parliament as a whole. She has worked for Progress, the Fabian Society and she has written for The Guardian. I welcome that and praise that. She is a good campaigner not just on the doorstep but also for party and national campaigns. She ran the Labour Yes campaign, and as someone who was squarely No To AV and proud, I have complete respect for the way she co-ordinated that campaign (so did others in the No camp) especially that she had to put up with the Lib Dems carping on the side lines. She is a political adviser which is not always a bad thing, in fact in some cases it is useful to know how government and Opposition work as an MP which could potentially help with serving your constituents. She has experience as a councillor for two and a half years, which is a great thing seen as she already has constituents and serving communities which is an experience which is brilliant for MPs. Lucy Rigby was also another councillor from Islington who went onto become a great PPC in Lincoln. Didn’t hear you complaining. Now not only does she has the skills, talents, experience to win the seat but also to represent it.
          Now can you honestly say all that about Jo Rust? No you cannot. But what you can say is that she is someone who has no experience in representing communities, who is frankly there because of the likes of Christine Shawcroft sitting on the NEC, she is not going to be free minded because she is there with the backing of Len McCluskey who is not even a party member but wants to run the party, she is got her friend to smear Jess Asato on LabourList and she has not been developing ideas, running campaigns or gaining the crucial experience in order to help the party electorally. Also, she is backed by Ian Gibson.
          I think that tells you all you need to know about this selection but most importantly it tells me all I need to know about your judgement (if you can call it that).

  • Daniel Speight

    Linda has the backing of Unite…

    She has the backing of Unison.

    It looks like we are, as usual, being told about who has union support. All very open and good.

    Now do we know who, if anyone, has Sainsbury support, either in money or training?

    • George Alexander

      The candidate who has lived in Redcar for a couple of months is a fan of Sainsburys!

  • TIH

    Sherie Murphy for me – knows the constituency, knows the job and a very capable woman.

  • JamesB

    Fascinating that the unions are split. Is co-operation on selections breaking down across the country or in Northern region?

  • Fdsdf

    Vera Baird

  • ThePurpleBooker

    Anna Turley for me. She is a local candidate and I can trust her politically.

    • Shaft

      She is very good but I don’t see how you can say she is a local candidate.

      • ThePurpleBooker

        Hello she lives and works in Redcar!!

        • George Alexander

          PurpleBooker you’re name is so Progressive! How long has she lived and worked in Redcar

          • Chris Matheson

            I checked on her website and Jeremy Corbyn says that he is her MP. So that would mean she lived in London, in Islington North. Perhaps she moved to Redcar for the selection? I don’t know. Can anyone else enlighten us?

          • ThePurpleBooker

            She has lived there for a while. Jeremy Corbyn did use to serve as her MP.

  • PhilPerrett

    Carla Keegans is the one who will make a real difference

  • ThePurpleBooker

    Why hasn’t LabourList said anything about Mark Dempsey being our new candidate in North Swindon? Gosh.

  • RJohnD

    Having worked as  constituency mananger I don’t suppose anyone can better Sherie Murphy’s accredititation in Redcar.  I hope she gets the support she deserves – a wonderfully capable candidate.

  • Razvan Constantinescu

    Sadly, the same applies to Euro selections. Across the whole of South of England – from Penzance to Dover including London, no man (black or white, disabled or able, hard working or complacent, competent or not) can stand as an MEP in a winnable seat.  Surely that is a tad unbalanced.
     
    It’s a pity that the gangrene of gender discrimination still permeates our society and political establishment in many guises. Socially engineering the gender representation is however not a sustainable answer – as it generates a mere statistical milestone.  Akin to applying a plaster on the gangrene.  It does not address the rot underneath.  It also causes a false sense of achievement e.g. look how many women we have in the parliament  – aren’t we doing great?  Do we don’t! Lots more work to do and pursuing that symbolic 51% through AWS is tokenistic at best and opportunistic at worse.

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