Becoming a Labour MP

[Duncan Gardner]

He thought the OU was his greatest achievement.

But you mentioned staying out of a war. You probably don't need the obvious reply to that pointed out, but since I'm here anyway it's a pleasure

[torres]

Our local MP when I lived in Kirkby......The biggest twat ever Kilroy Silk.

The SWP candidate used to refer to him as killjoy.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

the 64-70 Labour government

abolition of capital punishment,
decriminalisation of sex between men in private,
liberalisation of abortion law
founded Open University
1m new homes built council houses with Parker Morris standards
Protection from Eviction Act outlawed the eviction of tenants without a court order,
Rent Act extended security of tenure, introduced registration of rents, and protection from eviction for private tenants,
Leasehold Reform Act 1967 enabled holders of long leases to purchase the freehold of their homes.
Race Relations Act 1965 outlawed direct discrimination in some public places.
Race Relations Act 1968 made discrimination in letting or advertising housing illegal, together with discrimination in hiring and promotion.

These are all good and important steps. But Also they sat on their hands while the jim crow situation in NI spiralled into violence. A little action in the mid sixties would have gone a hell of a long way.

But then there is the danger of falling into the trap pointed out by Wouter D on another thread, that those to the right of centre never remember the disasters of their side, while those to the left of centre never remember the successes of their own.

It's also important to remember that the Labour party was also to a large extent a clientelist party for people on low incomes and the trade unions in England, Wales and Scotland. They weren't the first government to ignore the festering sore of stormont.