Look, you know, look. There’s been a lot of hoo-hah recently about the leadership of the Labour Party, and it’s time to draw a line under it. Not in the sense of highlighting it. That’s the last thing we need to do. No, we need to reach a conclusion and jolly well make it work.
Mr. Corbyn has been our Leader for less than a year now, and already, we’ve seen huge growth in Party membership, a groundswell of support for his new style of politics, and real optimism among ordinary hardworking people (who do the right… etc.) that things don’t have to be as they are. I have supported him from the very beginning (except in the sense of voting for him last year, but I didn’t vote for any of them on that occasion; I was out of the country overseeing some vital work on our home in Dubai). He is a wonderful man. A man of principle, a man of courage. A man who has campaigned to bring an end to Career Politics ever since 1974, when he was first elected to Haringey Council. He is a man who encapsulates everything that is great about this country, and I support him without reservation in every aspect of his policy.
And that is why I feel I have no option but to challenge him for the position of Leader of the Labour Party.
I realise of course that mine is not exactly a household name, but this is a wonderful opportunity for me to change that and, if nothing else, gain a few more speaking engagements (please ask for rates – I’m no Jack Straw). Be honest; how many of those resigners had you heard of before Mr. Corbyn decided to lead his all new Shadow Cabinet (now comprised entirely of shadows)? Being an unknown quantity almost worked for the Tories’ Mrs. Leadsom, didn’t it. And unlike her, I have years of experience of reading newspaper interviews I’ve given, only to find myself appalled at my own opinions.
WHY ME?
I feel I am uniquely qualified to lead the Party:
I love Jeremy Corbyn and have started growing a beard.
I may not have been born in
the North, but I do have a couple of homes there.
I was not the first member of my family to go to university. It’s a university today, but it was North London Poly when I was there. That was where I first joined Young Labour in 1979. I also joined the Young Conservatives, Young Liberals, the SWP & the Communist Party for the networking opportunities. Some knew how to have fun more than others, to be honest, which can’t really be said of the Tantric Flyers. You live and learn.
I can’t claim my parents were impoverished mill workers, but I believe a distant relative of my mother did own a cotton mill, having worked his way up the social ladder from humble beginnings as the son of the governor of a workhouse.
Growing up, Mrs. Thatcher didn’t so much decimate my family’s prospects as inspire me to become a politician – and if she hadn’t, I wouldn’t today be in the position to come to the rescue.
My previous Parliamentary experience (almost 30 years in the House, variously as Conservative Backbencher, Labour Backbencher, Liberal Democrat Backbencher, briefly an Independent Backbencher campaigning on the single issue of hospital closures – although I admit I was unsuccessful in that, only managing to close three – before I came home to Labour six years ago) is wider and more varied than any of my opponents in the Leadership Race, and precisely what is required in the uncertain times in which we live.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
If you are so fortunate as to be represented by a Labour MP or MEP, please contact them today and encourage them to support my candidacy. At time of writing, I only have 1 of the required 51 Parliamentary Labour Party endorsements, and I’m half expecting Mr. Umunna to withdraw it in a day or so.
Spread the word! Tell everyone you know:
Magnus Turner MP 