This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/mar/21/hugh-muir-diary-life-aint-fair-for-labour-candidates

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Life ain't fair, especially for Labour candidates Life ain't fair, especially for Labour candidates
(6 months later)
• Much ado within Labour about the way constituencies shortlist to find parliamentary candidates. We have already touched upon the controversy caused by the decree that there will be an all-women shortlist in Dewsbury. Here are machinations that would have delighted Machiavelli. There is an open shortlist in Brent Central, so the likes of council leader Muhammed Butt can slug it out with others, such as Amina Ali and the prominent black London councillor Patrick Vernon, for the chance of ousting former Lib Dem minister Sarah Teather. Thus also, it was calculated, avoiding the advantage an all-women shortlist might have bestowed upon Dawn Butler, the former MP who seeks to return. Similar wily thinking in Harrow East, where officials will compile an all-women shortlist that will block any prospect of a return by former minister Tony McNulty. He's been retraining, in any event, as a political journalist: engrossed in a higher calling, you might think. And, of course, that doesn't stop him looking for an opening elsewhere.• Much ado within Labour about the way constituencies shortlist to find parliamentary candidates. We have already touched upon the controversy caused by the decree that there will be an all-women shortlist in Dewsbury. Here are machinations that would have delighted Machiavelli. There is an open shortlist in Brent Central, so the likes of council leader Muhammed Butt can slug it out with others, such as Amina Ali and the prominent black London councillor Patrick Vernon, for the chance of ousting former Lib Dem minister Sarah Teather. Thus also, it was calculated, avoiding the advantage an all-women shortlist might have bestowed upon Dawn Butler, the former MP who seeks to return. Similar wily thinking in Harrow East, where officials will compile an all-women shortlist that will block any prospect of a return by former minister Tony McNulty. He's been retraining, in any event, as a political journalist: engrossed in a higher calling, you might think. And, of course, that doesn't stop him looking for an opening elsewhere.
• So far so good for Pope Francis, but his appointment has brought dismay to the lace-and-Latin wing of Catholicism for whom the greatest tragedy of the last 50 years was the abandonment of the traditional mass. Pretty quickly he was denounced by a traditional Argentinian blogger in hysterical terms: "Of all the unthinkable candidates, Jorge Mario Bergoglio is perhaps the worst ... judging from his work as archbishop of Buenos Aires, faith and morals seem to have been irrelevant to him. A sworn enemy of the traditional mass, he has only allowed imitations of it in the hands of declared enemies of the ancient liturgy." Now comes worse news for their allies in England, the formerly Anglican priests for whom Pope Benedict XVI set up a special "ordinariate" in the teeth of opposition from the English Catholic church. According to Gregory Venables, who leads another Anglican faction opposed to women priests, Bergoglio told him over breakfast last year that he thinks the ordinariate was "quite unnecessary" and they should all have stayed Anglicans. So already he has upset followers of the old pope – and when news of this gets out, the Church of England will be terrified in case he sends their old priests back.• So far so good for Pope Francis, but his appointment has brought dismay to the lace-and-Latin wing of Catholicism for whom the greatest tragedy of the last 50 years was the abandonment of the traditional mass. Pretty quickly he was denounced by a traditional Argentinian blogger in hysterical terms: "Of all the unthinkable candidates, Jorge Mario Bergoglio is perhaps the worst ... judging from his work as archbishop of Buenos Aires, faith and morals seem to have been irrelevant to him. A sworn enemy of the traditional mass, he has only allowed imitations of it in the hands of declared enemies of the ancient liturgy." Now comes worse news for their allies in England, the formerly Anglican priests for whom Pope Benedict XVI set up a special "ordinariate" in the teeth of opposition from the English Catholic church. According to Gregory Venables, who leads another Anglican faction opposed to women priests, Bergoglio told him over breakfast last year that he thinks the ordinariate was "quite unnecessary" and they should all have stayed Anglicans. So already he has upset followers of the old pope – and when news of this gets out, the Church of England will be terrified in case he sends their old priests back.
• Not so good for our friends at G4S, which is having trouble with the £120m government contract it won to house vulnerable asylum seekers. It subcontracted the actual housing to other contractors, only to find that some aren't up to it. "A number of our accommodation partners are finding it difficult to manage aspects of this contract," wrote G4S executive Stephen Small in a leaked letter. There was to have been a PR roadshow this week to show "colleagues, partners and councillors" across the north of England that all was well, contrary to complaints of filthy dwellings and harassment. But that's been suspended. Lack of suitable accommodation, presumably.• Not so good for our friends at G4S, which is having trouble with the £120m government contract it won to house vulnerable asylum seekers. It subcontracted the actual housing to other contractors, only to find that some aren't up to it. "A number of our accommodation partners are finding it difficult to manage aspects of this contract," wrote G4S executive Stephen Small in a leaked letter. There was to have been a PR roadshow this week to show "colleagues, partners and councillors" across the north of England that all was well, contrary to complaints of filthy dwellings and harassment. But that's been suspended. Lack of suitable accommodation, presumably.
• Once again, the tectonic plates of politics shift. Just recently we told how Peter Davies, maverick mayor of Doncaster, quit the English Democrats, complaining that it had been infiltrated by the BNP. Now John Edwards, chair of Hampshire English Democrats, has done the same. "The membership in Hampshire has been shrinking," he told Eastleigh News. "When you get beaten by the Elvis Loves Pets candidate who had distributed only 30 leaflets you know something is wrong." It's gut instinct.• Once again, the tectonic plates of politics shift. Just recently we told how Peter Davies, maverick mayor of Doncaster, quit the English Democrats, complaining that it had been infiltrated by the BNP. Now John Edwards, chair of Hampshire English Democrats, has done the same. "The membership in Hampshire has been shrinking," he told Eastleigh News. "When you get beaten by the Elvis Loves Pets candidate who had distributed only 30 leaflets you know something is wrong." It's gut instinct.
• Finally, the question of who will bury the bones of Richard III is unresolved and, with the decision too close to call, the aspirants are talking up their chances. The acting dean of Leicester Cathedral, Canon Barry Naylor, points out that unlike the other contenders, Leicester Cathedral does not charge for admission and, as far as he is concerned, never will. York charges £14, Westminster Abbey £18 – or £40 for an annual ticket. Leicester aims to be more welcoming. On a visit in mufti to Westminster, Naylor wanted to pray and was directed to a side chapel round the back. He strayed from this prayer pen by a few yards to light a candle, and was approached within an instant by an official who reminded him he had licence to pray, but not to indulge in sightseeing. No rough stuff, you understand. Still, God's bouncer had his way.• Finally, the question of who will bury the bones of Richard III is unresolved and, with the decision too close to call, the aspirants are talking up their chances. The acting dean of Leicester Cathedral, Canon Barry Naylor, points out that unlike the other contenders, Leicester Cathedral does not charge for admission and, as far as he is concerned, never will. York charges £14, Westminster Abbey £18 – or £40 for an annual ticket. Leicester aims to be more welcoming. On a visit in mufti to Westminster, Naylor wanted to pray and was directed to a side chapel round the back. He strayed from this prayer pen by a few yards to light a candle, and was approached within an instant by an official who reminded him he had licence to pray, but not to indulge in sightseeing. No rough stuff, you understand. Still, God's bouncer had his way.
Twitter:@hugh_muir Twitter:@hugh_muir
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.