Paul Geater spent his weekend covering David Miliband’s visit. He discusses which candidate is being supported. No real surprises apart from David Ellesmere “leaning” towards David Miliband. I suppose the odd looking kids have to stick together, although he did have some choice. Ellesmere, unlike his rather nice parents, exemplifies the “no one likes us” politics of Ipswich Labour that has lost them control of the council, so if Balls can’t attract him then who can he get? Sadly for the Tories Balls looks like he’s dead in the water (I spent some of the Maidenhall fun day trying to persuade Jim Powell of Ed Ball’s merits).

Otherwise its Sandy Martin supporting Ed Miliband, who’s appealing to the hopeless lefties and somehow attracted Sandy, and Adam Leeder … who cares? Already known people are Mama Rudkin (David M), Chris Mole (Balls) and John Cook (Balls – but not interviewed).

I usually ask questions that I know the answer to, but did Paul Geater cover David Cameron’s visit to the North Ipswich lot when he was the front runner for leadership? I genuinely don’t know, but if he found that uninteresting on a week day but Miliband interesting enough for a weekend, well…

EDIT: I’ve also got to point out that Ben Gummer is also endorsing David Miliband

Chris Mole showed how little influence he has in government by the fact that he couldn’t stop Gordon Brown coming round to lose him a couple of hundred votes.

We got a couple of temporary correspondents to crash into the Gordon Brown visit to Ipswich. They had to pretend to be Labour activists from Islington to get in, so much for Gordon Brown meeting ordinary people.

There were about one hundred Labour activists from all around Suffolk and Essex. After all they didn’t bat an eyelid when you had people claiming to be from North London.

They overheard one councillor with a pony tail quietly telling one of his friends that he’d never seen such a hostile reaction on the doorstep “but I thought we’d won in 1992 so what do I know?” What indeed, Sandy, what indeed.

The questions were the intelligent and tough questions that you would have expected from Labour activists. “What are your favourite achievements” and “Why do we not hear about our achievements on the doorstep”. Michael Crick was laughing and passing sarcastic comments on the inanity of the questions.

Gordon cracked a joke. Referring to the presence of Duncan Banatyne, the dragon, he said “if you have any questions on business or the economy, just ask Duncan”. None of the Labour activists laughed. It’s the way you tell ‘em Gordon.

Any way they’ve got a good picture of Gordon, Chris Mole and Chris Mole’s tie (oh dear) that when I get hold of it I may push it a few more times before election day.

What does Sandy Martin know, Chris? Not a lot, Gordon.

UPDATE: Ipswich Spy have a report of the event.

I reproduce a report from about a week ago of Chris Mole’s reaction to Ben Gummer’s twenty or thirty activists at Ipswich Station:

Spotted this morning at 7.35am at Ipswich Railway Station: Chris Mole with just 2 men.They were stood where the buses wait near the signals.

They were not handing out leaflets or any such thing. One of the men with Chris Mole looked like this–My friend described him thus–’ Quote” He looks a gangster–black suit, black goggles, bald, ponytailed, grey haired. Someone who is 50 but likes to think he is still 25′. Unquote. They sort of looked embarassed!

Who could this bald, pony-tailed man who dresses half his age? I’ll give him credit for the hard work, I know it’s not easy leaflet the station in the morning – I only go to the station because the office is in London and I know that there will be a seat on the train.

Pity the other activists couldn’t be roused.

Do I look 25 in this tie?

Sorry for the Daily Mail type headline, but this little comment invited it:

http://www.davidosler.com/2010/01/hewitt_hoon_and_hubris.html#comment-40564

Ipswich’s very own Andrew Coates manages to fit in quite a few little allegations:

- Ipswich Labour, led by John Cook the Norwich North candidate (the “full-time Secretary-Agent”) is busy building links and working closely with the “hard left”
- The Ipswich Buses campaign is a front for a hard left campaign
- Sandy Martin (“Comrade Sandy Martin” no less) was elected as leader of the Suffolk Labour county council group (all four of them) because of non-Comrade Bryony Rudkin’s Blairite deviation

John Cook is definately left wing enough to be comfortable in a BBC editorial meeting but I suspect that he won’t welcome Andrew Coates blowing the cover on that non-existent plot.  Chris Mole, who’s the minister in charge of bus privatisation, could stop the bus privatisation in its tracks, but he won’t.  Ipswich Labour councillors, including the alleged Brezhnevites of Cook and Martin, could force him to block it, but they won’t.

They know that if Labour gets in they will have to privatise it in some shape (which is why they are saying it’s not the right time) and that currently it makes a great signature magnet and vote propellant.  I’m not saying this as a condemnation as I know that all parties do this.

The Ipswich Buses campaign is a way of getting some last gasp of life from the grass roots, no more, no less.

I can’t claim any insight into the machinations of the Suffolk Labour group of four, but whatever they may tell their former comrade about their Leninist sympathies I somehow think that the fact that Sandy Martin comfortably won a marginal seat in the face of a concerted Tory campaign while Bryony Rudkin almost lost one of Labour’s safest county seat in the face of one Tory leaflet (I was her Tory opponent and I spent most of election day in Sandy Martin’s seat) probably had more to do with it.

I know who I’d want to lead me.

Why the contrasting fortunes?  Sandy Martin is a good local campaigner and he’s loved for it.  If he was a right wing Tory or a dripping wet Liberal doing the same sort of assiduous work he’d win with the same ease. 

Bryony Rudkin may have other qualities, but she’s not interested in being a ward councillor and everyone knows it.  In four county council elections, she’s never sought re-election in any ward, and when she tried to to represent substantially the same ward as she represented in the borough she got the second worse Labour result on the night (after Gainsborough – and no one saw that coming).  Not only that her previous ward, the rock solid Chantry elected a Tory for the first time since the estate was built.  If I were Andrew Coates I’d be asking why Labour lets her float around safe wards like a butterfly making safe seats marginal.  Obviously not much sympathy for his revolution in the self-destructive Labour machine.

There may be some pseudo-Marxist plot to get rid of all traces of the Blairite deviation from Suffolk County Council, but just perhaps it may be that Labour councillors recognise that they’re better off with a leader who wins marginal seats than one who almost loses safe ones.