You might be forgiven by the title for thinking that this piece is dedicated to that fine body of men who strike fear into Britain's enemies wherever they are posted, but in fact it refers to the favoured men and women of the Labour elite who regularly get “parachuted” into the safest of safe Labour seats throughout the length and breadth of the England – although rarely anywhere else in Britain, as Scots, Welsh and Ulster folk don't take kindly to outsiders representing them – something we in England should give a little more thought to at election times.......

ROLL CALL

David Milliband, born London, graduate, never had a proper job before entering politics.
MP for South Shields.

Ed Milliband, born London, graduate, never had a proper job before entering politics.
MP for Doncaster North.

Luciana Berger, born London, graduate, never had a proper job before entering politics.
MP for Liverpool Wavertree.

Lisa Nandy, graduate, voluntary sector work followed by stint as a councillor in London.
MP for Wigan.

Shaun Woodward, millionaire property tycoon and former Tory MP for safe seat of Witney (now David Cameron's seat!) in Oxfordshire, defected to Labour two years later. Went on to become:
MP for St Helens South.

One has to ask, what are the well heeled, or fresh from university, middle/upper class metropolitans listed above, bringing to the political table for their struggling constituents - people from depressed, working class, northern towns whose main trade was heavy industry or manual work in time gone by? In ERA’s eyes, modern Labour politicians are little better than drug dealers: when in power they  operated by guaranteeing their constituents a regular benefits “fix”, in return for support and devotion to a party that is secretly laughing at their junkie habit. While all this was going on, Labour were busy selling off what remained of British industry and infrastructure to foreign buyers. Desperate, benefit dependent people without prospects can be forgiven for tolerating parachuted candidates with no “real life” experience - but why do the local Labour parties roll over and allow these people to be foisted upon them?

The answer is that the local Labour parties are ruled with an iron fist by the central Labour party machine, and the result is that the “chosen people” can be dropped into safe seats by the Labour hierarchy. How does this benefit the local party (who in effect are being told that none of the local candidates are good enough), and more importantly the local electorate? ERA are not saying an outsider should never be selected, but to install candidates from such privileged backgrounds and with no common bond to their constituents, is patronising in the extreme. A further insult is that Berger and Nandy were selected from all women shortlists, imposed from above by New Labour central office. This discriminates against men, and shame on the local Labour parties for allowing it.

Centralised party management, just like centralised government, prevents local people from having  their say, even in local decision making, and for this reason ERA are committed to allowing its local branches full rights over their own affairs, from fund raising to selecting election candidates. We train them, and trust them to make their own decisions – they're grown ups, and they know what's best for their own patch. Can any of the LibLabCon parties say as much?............. Thought not!
 


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