Last night we held our monthly West Ham CLP campaign meeting but instead of the usual venue at Party HQ in Stratford, E15 (a.k.a as the “Pie shop” since in a previous life it had indeed been a traditional East End "
Pie & Mash" shop). Our MP, Lyn Brown, kindly offered to host the meeting on the terrace of the House of Commons.
The weather held, and it was really pleasant. The terrace was quite packed, obviously the evening before a New Prime Minister takes over and the defection that day of Tory, Quentin Davies, to Labour meant that there was a lot to chat about. I saw Hazel Blears who seemed tired but otherwise unaffected by her deputy leadership result.
The campaign group has been formed to get the local Party active and campaigning all year round, not just at elections. Newham may have 2.5 out of 2.5 Labour MPs, 54 out of 60 Labour Councillors, a Labour mayor, a Labour GLA member and a Labour GLA Mayor. However, we face threats (of a sort) from disRespect (3 councillors) a fundamentalist so-called “Christian” Party (3 Councillors) and a growing Tory threat due to developments in the Newham Docklands and Stratford.
Lyn had invited some researchers to come and advise us on possible ways forward for the local Party.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry MP Portsmouth North, a close colleague of Lyn (and UNISON member) who holds a marginal seat also shared her experiences. The meeting was as usual, robust with strong and passionate views expressed on the right ways to go forward. The meeting ended very positively with a number of agreed strategies and campaign events to take back to the GC for approval.
The views from the terrace as dusk fell was fantastic. Somewhat different than that of the dual carriageway immediately outside the Pie Shop.
