Comments on: Hampstead and Kilburn

By: wolf

wolf — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:35:52 +0000

I suspect if Bea Campbell was interested in organised child abuse there was plenty of material on her doorstep in London for her to get involved with.

By: Anthony Wells

Anthony Wells — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:07:36 +0000

Klaus – it did ring alarm bells, but no, it isn’t libellous at all. As a campaigning journalist Bea Campbell wrote about (and made a Dispatches documentary) several of the instances of children being taken into care following allegations of Satanic ritual child abuse. I haven’t particularly studied the cases, but googling it suggests that Campbell was largely on the side arguing that there was genuine evidence of Satanic Child Abuse.

By: Klaus

Klaus — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:53:15 +0000

Satanic ritual abuse? This strikes me as potentially libellous; either that or it’s a very interesting story that I missed. Any more details?

I was very amused by the idea that Ms Omond is striking out on her own because she wanted to be a big fish in a small pond. If the Green pond is to big for you then you really are in trouble.

Everyone I know has a lot of respect for this Douglas chap, why’s he here? Did he fall out with the Haringey PPC?

By: Complacent and Presumptive

Complacent and Presumptive — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:48:52 +0000

Fordham will walk this no problem. Philp is virtually invisible and the smear about Jackson being lazy has stuck.

By: Diana Trimble

Diana Trimble — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:30:40 +0000

By the way, after I just posted that I read some of the comments and questions regarding Tamsin and why she’s not running green etc. I happen to know that she was actually asked to run by local people who despite long-term membership in the Green Party just didn’t feel that they could vote for Beatrix Campbell, who seems fairly deranged in my opinion (satanic ritual abuse much anyone?). I think pretty much any person who seeks public office has to have some kind of a strong ego so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that (comments directed at Kieran W and Ben Foley). Why don’t you meet her for yourself instead of basing your negative opinions on Internet gossip. She’s a really open person and I’m sure would be happy to hear your concerns. Peace everyone!

By: Diana Trimble

Diana Trimble — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:22:53 +0000

Hi there, just wondering if you were going to add Tamsin Omond to this page. She’s running independently – here’s the website http://www.tothecommons.com/
Thanks!

By: Pete Whitehead

Pete Whitehead — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:25:52 +0000

H.Hemmelig
“Someone recently made an interesting prediction on Vote 2007, namely that they expect the Tories to be squeezed out of existence in Camden over the next decade as has happened in Haringey and Islington, with the borough turning into a close Lab vs LD battleground.

Given the way the Lib Dems have started to overhaul the Tories in Swiss Cottage, St Johns Wood and Hampstead despite the Tories leading nationally, maybe it is a possibility that this could happen.

If the Lib Dems win the H&K parliamentary seat and make further gains in the local elections it could signal the beginning of the end for the Tories in Camden.

One difference with Haringey and Islington, however, is the relatively strong activist and membership base of H&K Conservatives. They are also quite wealthy, and have their own agent who has an excellent reputation (David Douglas).

What do others think?”

March 10th, 2010 at 2:11 pm

Sorry to repost the whole thing, but this has got buried over the page and I thought it worthwhile to set the context for a reply.
I disagree with the poster on vote-2007 largely for the reasons HH lays out. There never was much Tory support in Islington to start with so that is not comparable – the Haringey situation slightly more so but only really a smallish area around Highgate compares with the parts of this seat where the Tories are strong. I also dont recognise HH’s narrative of ‘the Lib Dems [starting] to overhaul the Tories in Swiss Cottage, St Johns Wood and Hampstead despite the Tories leading nationally”. The LDs did gain Belsize in 2006 but lost a seat in Hampstead Town. The Tories held on easily in Swiss Cottage and Frognal & Fitzjohns remains overwhelmingly strong. The LDs subsequently held a seat in Belsize and gained one back in Hampstead Town in byelections but neither victory was overwehelming and were more consequent upon squueezing the Labour and Green vote than on taking votes directly from the Tories. It could be indeed that if the LDs do take this constituency that it is Labour supporters in areas like that who start to tactically support the LDs. There hasn’t been anything like the long-term and rapid decline of the Tory vote in Hampstead that has occurred in areas like Muswell Hill. Indeed notwithstanding the LD byelection gain, Hampstead Town is much better for the Tories now than it was a decade ago when it did seem that that ward had been irrecovably lost to the LDs. Belsize apart, the greatest areas of LD strength here are areas which used to be best for Labour and in Belsize it appears that they have taken over the Labour vote with the Tories remaining competitive there.

By: Harry Porter

Harry Porter — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:41:27 +0000

‘Hampstead was Tory until 1992, except 1966-1970′

when the MP was Labour’s Ben Whitaker, who in fact was the first non-Conservative elected MP for Hampstead since the seat’s creation in 1885. Hampstead has only had two non-Conservative MPs, Whitaker and Glenda Jackson.

By: Kieran W

Kieran W — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:46:34 +0000

Having now read up a bit on Ms Omond I notice she has a massive ego and an equally large talent for self publicity. In my view the Green Party are better off without her candidacy.

By: Ben Foley

Ben Foley — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:37:36 +0000

I haven’t got a clue. There are other possible explanations – perhaps she prefers to be the biggest fish in her own party, rather than one of the larger fish in the Green Party?