The moment Blair's Arrogance wiped out the safest seat in wales.
(picture via url from this web page)

"Oggy Oggy Oggy". I can hear the little guy with the Spring Onion right now. But just like Max Boyce, who would stop at the line that went "Wales Defeated England In A Fast And Open Game", and would then call out "I'll sing that again, because that's my favourite line" so I feel that on today of all days it is time to remind New Labour once again of the true cost of Tony Blair's arrogance in Government.

The picture above is one that everyone within fifty miles of where I sit typing this will need no help to remember. It rates with 'one small step for a man'. For those who have just woken up from a coma, it was the moment Tony Blair was forced to come face to face with the price of his arrogance.

The occasion was the Blaenau Gwent election and the seat just had to be the safest in wales. The seat that sent Michael Foot  to Parliament as Leader of the Labour Party. But Blair chose it to impose his will on the constituents and the country. Blair chose it as one to receive his "witches coven" of all woman shortlists. And the local man was given his marching orders. 

Except Peter Law did not go and lie down quietly. He declared himself an Independent and come the night he romped home to take his Westminster seat, destroying the official Labour candidate in the process.

I remember being up in Ebbw Vale the day the man chose to stand in the street and speak. I saw men and women RUN the length of the street to hear him, pausing only to spit at the podium where the Official Labour Candidate hoped to be wanted, accepted and loved. Not a chance. And come on people, "Blair Babe" is NOT the word for her is it. Blair Pot Boiler More Like. Hell Fire at least the Blair Babe Transport House Apparat-Chick we got lumped with down here in Newport East was mildly attractive, if you like labour politicians that is.

But why do I bring this up now ? Well, because let us be honest if you or I had been in charge of such a stunt and watched it go HORRIBLY HORRIBLY wrong we wouldn't be doing the same again would we ? Would we  .... ?

Guess what.

News reaches me that far from New Labour learning their lesson they are about to make the same mistake again down the road and across the valley.

Don Touhig, the sitting MP for the parliamentary constituency of Islwyn declared some time ago that enough was enough and it was time to stand down. Fair enough, he has been there a while and he hasn't been tarrred and feathered with the expenses brush (he has, actually, he was put in charge of the committee to consider the propriety of all this "first and second home flipping" and promptly "flipped" his own to see how easy it was according to the telegraph)  

So Don is off to a possibly well earned retirement or lucrative consultancy, who knows which, and a new up and comer is to take the seat. Well, with nearly 64% of the voters who bothered to vote voting for New Labour that's what it looked like until this afternoon. 

Yes folks until this afternoon Islwyn was to all other parties yet another proving ground, a constituency to which you send someone who may be destined for greatness another year, but not this one. Bit this afternoon New Labour did it again. It loaded a 12 bore put it in its mouth and pulled the bloody trigger.

Four Labour Councillors have resigned (From office, or from the party ? It is not clear which) in protest at Labour parachuting another shortlist into the constituency. And joy of joys one of them, Dave Rees, intends to stand against the official Labour candidate as an independent.

Blaenau Gwent Mark Two Here we Come !