Norwich North: what’s the message?

By James Valentine

If ever there was a by-election waiting for Labour to lose then it was Norwich North. As a direct result of the expenses row the MP, Ian Gibson, quit. He possibly suffered from a clumsy decision to single out certain MPs for punishment whilst others who had engaged in dodgy practices are still in post. (Though how selling a taxpayer-funded flat to your offspring at a knockdown price, as Gibson allegedly did, means that you can somehow still portray yourself as a workers’ hero, beats me.) Anyway, some of our supporters clearly felt angry and confused and decided to stay at home, or voted for other parties.

So was it just the “expenses by-election” – a one-off? I wonder. I canvassed there for a day and found myself knocking on doors which hadn’t been called on since 1997 – just about the worst voter ID I have ever experienced. Maybe other wards were better. But I got the impression that – for all that he has recently gained an almost saintly reputation – Ian didn’t lead a particularly effective Team Labour. Chris and his team made enormous efforts but if you’re behind in the polls anyway you don’t win an election in a few weeks.

It needn’t be like this. There are other Labour MPs with a lower national profile than Gibbo but who nevertheless work their socks off. The same goes for Labour councillors – for example, in the June local elections Bedford’s councillors achieved a great result against the national trend, because of their year-round work and close relationship with the electors. Tony Wright MP has said that if Ian had stood he would have “walked it by a mile” but considering that the Tories received more than twice Labour’s vote, I am not sure. All politics is local, and work on the ground, regardless of the national polls, can make the difference.

What’s your MP doing this summer?