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Reading West shortlist announced

October 25, 2012 5:07 pm

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The Labour party has announced the shortlist for Reading West constituency, with the selection meeting due to take place on December 2nd. The candidates are as follows:

Victoria Groulef – is Group Leader at Wycombe Council and also a member of Labour’s Regional Board. Victoria worked at the BBC, in international development and now runs an ethical business

Christine Quigley – is a Labour activist and political consultant. She is passionate about employment and economic growth, access to education, housing and social care. She stood for Labour in May 2012 as a list candidate for the London Assembly elections

Debbie Watson – is a former Minster Ward Councillor and has been campaigner for Labour in Reading for nearly ten years. Now resident in the West Village Estate in Battle ward, she continues to support local community groups.

http://twitter.com/renieanjeh Renie Anjeh

Probably Victoria Groulef.
Brumanuensis

Ooh! Reading. I have a friend who lives there – but in Reading East.

Quigley – No. Come on, she’s a London-based activist and she recently stood in London. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve nothing against her politically and by all means she deserves to be in contention if a vacancy comes up in London, but I don’t think transplanting someone from London to Reading is the right thing to do. It’s a form of carpet-bagging.

http://christinequigley.co.uk/

Groulef – Hm. A bit more local and has a very interesting CV. I think she’d make an excellent candidate and MP, by the sound of it.

http://www.victoriagroulef.co.uk/

Watson – Wins the localism argument hands down. Seems to have done decent work as a councillor.

http://debbiewatson.org/index2.html

It’s a close one, but I’m leaning towards Groulef at the moment. Watson would make a good candidate too though.
- 1985Tom
  
  Is London to Reading really an unacceptable leap? I can understand the
  desire for local candidates, but it’s not like we’re talking about a
  rural constituency in the south-west: it’s a large town very near
  London, with a lot of links to London through commuters etc. Provided whoever gets it promises to live in the area afterwards, I don’t think localism should be the main deciding factor. You can have local candidates who don’t understand the issues in an area – for reasons of background/experience/interests/whatever – and non-local ones who do.
  
  (I should probably mention for disclosure that I am a Londoner, and know Christine, but I’m trying to make a broader point…)
- Elihphile
  
  Also, Debbie Watson is originally from County Durham. I seem to remember people on here (possibly on the Croydon thread) complaining about the lack of northerners standing for southern seats- in contrast with vice versa, so that’s an added bonus.
ColinAdkins

Brumanuensis, Obviously being local is a consideration but not the main one in my mind. People are more mobile then in the past. Take me! My Dad was born in Balham (the gateway to the south) and my Mum Woolwich. I was born in Germany my Dad being in the forces. I then moved to Canterbury, Wembley (in 1966 no less), Edgeware, Germany, Ballykinlar, Tidworth and then Merton being too young for independent living. I then moved to Morden, Colchester (Uni), Balham, Harlesden, Willesden, Streatham and now reside in Wrexham. I joined the Party in circa 1980. I have held every office at ward level. I organised the election in the wards which contained over 40% of the electorate when the seat was first won by Labour. I have been a trade unionist all my working life holding branch positions and currently work for one. I have also worked five years for the Anti-Apartheid Movement. I am not thinking of standing for Parliament but if I was where would I be a local candidate? Colin

ps I support anyone who is not Oxbridge educated on the grounds of diversity.
- will_roberts
  
  Colin
  
  Agree wholeheartedly with your comments about localism having grown up in Maidenhead (topically quite near Reading) and moved all round the South.
  
  However the comment about Oxbridge infuriates me. Like you, I am not thinking of standing for parliament, but if I did I would presumably be ruled out in your view on the basis of having a degree from Oxford? I went to a state school and was the first in my family to go to university. I applied to Oxford (aged 17) because it was the nearest university that had a politics course (then and now my passionate interest) and it had a good reputation. Whilst there I mixed almost entirely with other people from a “normal” (ie not wealthy) background. I am really not sure what aspect of this experience you think discredits me as a potential member of parliament?
  
  Would you equally advocate ruling out others who are over-represented on the Labour benches, eg trade union activists, local councillors, special advisers/researchers etc, and presumably all those with an interest in politics?
  
  Interestingly, it is only in my capacity as a Labour member that I hear endless negative comments about people who studied at Oxford, which in all other aspects of my experience people seem to regard as a positive. I don’t really understand why it’s considered acceptable given our usual commitment to equality.
  
  Will
- Brumanuensis
  
  I’m not saying no-one who isn’t local shouldn’t be selected. My point is more that to be a good constituency MP and to make the most of local campaigning opportunities, ideally someone with knowledge of the area and strong local connections, ought to be selected.
  
  I’m well aware there’s lots of people who haven’t stuck in one place for very long and they shouldn’t be excluded from consideration, but in a marginal seat like Reading West, I think we should do our utmost to select people who will hit the ground running, so-to-speak and a local candidate is probably better equipped to do that.
  - ColinAdkins
    
    Sorry I do not see the correlation between being local and a good constituency MP. Stuart Bell was from the NE but didn’t hold a surgery for years. This a question of commitment. If selected the person would be required to live local in my mind.
    - Brumanuensis
      
      Aye, Sir Stuart was something of an exception on all counts. But I do think for campaigning purposes and for representing the seat to the fullest of your abilities, having an emotional connection to the place is best nurtured by being born there, growing up there or having lived there for a long time.
ColinAdkins

Brumanuensis, Obviously being local is a consideration but not the main one in my mind. People are more mobile then in the past. Take me! My Dad was born in Balham (the gateway to the south) and my Mum Woolwich. I was born in Germany my Dad being in the forces. I then moved to Canterbury, Wembley (in 1966 no less), Edgeware, Germany, Ballykinlar, Tidworth and then Merton being too young for independent living. I then moved to Morden, Colchester (Uni), Balham, Harlesden, Willesden, Streatham and now reside in Wrexham. I joined the Party in circa 1980. I have held every office at ward level. I organised the election in the wards which contained over 40% of the electorate when the seat was first won by Labour. I have been a trade unionist all my working life holding branch positions and currently work for one. I have also worked five years for the Anti-Apartheid Movement. I am not thinking of standing for Parliament but if I was where would I be a local candidate? Colin

ps I support anyone who is not Oxbridge educated on the grounds of diversity.
Brumanuensis

I think Reading deserves to be treated as a settlement in its own right, rather than just a satellite town of London. I’m not just having a go at London here; if someone from Birmingham were standing for selection in Worcester, I’d raise the same point.
Brumanuensis

Very true; good point.
hgsfc

Parachute regiment deployed…
http://twitter.com/CllrJonSHarvey Cllr Jon Harvey

Victoria Groulef is a top candidate! If I still lived in Reading she would have my vote!

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