Use the filters below to refine your search
From the 16 August this year, I'll be joining those marching in defence of the NHS from Jarrow. I have been asked why have I decided to spend a week of my summer holidays marching with others from across the country to highlight the current…
Lord Howell, the Tory peer (and Osborne's father-in-law) who caused controversy last year when he said fracking should only take place in the "desolate and unihabited" north east, has put his foot in it again. In an article for the Journal…
This morning there was a slew of good news. Employment is up and unemployment is down. And although there are still palpable weaknesses in the UK economy (too many people trapped in part-time work, stagnating wages, high youth unemployment…
On Saturday 50.000 Newcastle United fans will pack the club’s iconic St James’ Park stadium for the local derby with Sunderland. I’ll be there hoping United beat their old rivals and cheer up a city which identifies closely with the Magpies…
I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m a doorstep campaigning true believer. As a Labour activist and as a candidate, I believe that there is no substitute for time spent on the doorstep meeting voters, listening to their concerns, persuading…
Lord Howell has been interviewed by the Telegraph today, in a desperate attempt to undo the damage of his "desolate" comments from earlier this week before he heads off on holiday. One problem though, he's making it worse. The Tory peer…
Desolate: Adjective (of a place) Deserted of people and in a state of bleak and dismal emptiness. I was born and grew up in the North East. Regular readers of LabourList will know that I love it like nowhere else and will happily talk about…
Several North Eastern Labour MPs - including a former Chief Whip - have threatened to rebel against the party over plans, revealed by Ed Balls yesterday, to consider regionalised benefits. Yesterday the Shadow Chancellor said: "Labour…
The Labour Party spends a great deal of time beating itself up over its performance in Southern England. We know it simply isn't good enough, but we can't seem to put our finger on why exactly that's the case. Is it demographics? No…
There were some rumblings within the Labour Party last week following the result of the South Shields by-election. It might seem odd that some were complaining about the party winning a seat with over 50% of the vote, but this is South…
Do you know which regions of the UK have grown most over the past decade? It's London and the South East, unsurprisingly. But at the same time, the North West, Yorkshire and the North East ended further behind the rest of the country in…
I was recently part of a conversation in which a local member of Parliament proudly proclaimed that the Young Socialists were once so numerous in my native County Durham that they had their very own County wide football league and would…
