Category Archives: The British Left

The life and times of Michael Cocks #4

Keren Suchecki comments: In the early 80s Michael Cocks used to be in the Hartcliffe Labour club every Sunday lunchtime (as was I), where people would queue to speak to him about their problems. I don’t know how successful he … Continue reading

Posted in Bristol, Hartcliffe, Labour Party, MPs, Politics, Southville, The British Left | Tagged , , | There are 7 comments

The life and times of Michael Cocks #3

Like all chief whips, Michael Cocks was an inveterate cynic and fixer. In opposition in the early 1980s, Harry Cohen, then an idealistic young MP, had set his heart on speaking in the house even though the whips of all … Continue reading

Posted in Bristol, Hartcliffe, Labour Party, MPs, Politics, The British Left | Tagged , | There are no comments yet

The life and times of Michael Cocks #2

Cocks was known as a very keen but not especially skilled cricketer. He would even extend special whip’s dispensations to Labour MPs absent from votes if they were playing for the Lords and Commons team. He was once sought urgently … Continue reading

Posted in Bristol, Hartcliffe, Labour Party, MPs, Politics, The British Left | | There are no comments yet

The life and times of Michael Cocks #1

Cocks (centre) with a young Blair (right) and Nick Brown (left) Vowlsie mentions former Bristol South MP from 1970 – 1987, Michael Cocks in a comment below and on his blog, which reminded me of this rather excellent story about … Continue reading

Posted in Bristol, Labour Party, MPs, Politics, The British Left | | There are 8 comments

Toffs at the top

Former Bristol South East MP, aristo-socialist Tony Benn’s been hitting the headlines again. Firstly because his niece, Emily, has been selected as the Labour parliamentary candidate for the East Worthing and Shoreham constituency on the south coast despite not yet … Continue reading

Posted in Bristol, Labour Party, MPs, Politics, The British Left, The Useless Old Fuckpot Files, Toffs | | There are 7 comments

Jesse and the jews

Clueless equalities communities bore, Labour Social Services supremo Peter Hammond is at it again. News that Jesse Jackson is visiting the city has got Bristol’s Mr Diversity almost wetting his pants with joy at the thought of someone black, American … Continue reading

Posted in Bristol, Labour Party, Politics, Race, The British Left | | There are 4 comments

This is priceless

Anyone following the Nick Cohen/Johann Hari spat across the internet at present? It started with the intensely irritating Independent columnist Hari writing an ill-judged review of Cohen’s book What’s Left? for the New York based Dissent magazine. Cohen has now … Continue reading

Posted in Blogging, Journalism, Media, The British Left | | There are no comments yet

Nutter of the week

No competition this week. Congratulations former Express journalist, now Respect candidate, Yvonne Ridley. You are The Blogger’s nutter of the week. The Islamic convert has, The Blogger learns, now taken a job – Lord Haw Haw style – with Press … Continue reading

Posted in Conspiracy theories, Media, Middle East, The British Left, The Trots | | There are no comments yet

It's war!

Image of Darfur, Sudan Readers of this blog may be confused to hear that this blog is now officially at war with Sudan! At the request of the organisers of the Ashton Court Festival, for reasons that I can’t be … Continue reading

Posted in Blogging, Bristol, The British Left | | There are no comments yet

UNISON's monkey business

Further proof – as if it were needed – that public sector union, UNISON, is run by a bunch of loopy control freaks with no regard for anything other than feather-bedding themselves, supporting their New Labour government friends and shafting … Continue reading

Posted in The British Left, Trade Unionism | | There is 1 comment