Dari Taylor: Labour's Northern candidates "feel excluded"

2:46pm Monday 26th April 2010 in News

Dari Taylor Dari Taylor

LABOUR'S high command was accused today of abandoning candidates in the North of England, with one warning: "We feel excluded."

Dari Taylor, whose Stockton South seat has been heavily targeted by the Conservatives, urged Gordon Brown to visit the area and criticised a lack of exposure for female Cabinet members such as Harriet Harman.

She also called on the Prime Minister to listen to more people and broaden the party's appeal beyond target voters.

Ms Taylor told BBC Radio 4's The World At One that a "couple of Cabinet ministers" had visited her seat but only for "small, intimate" gatherings.

She said she came from a school of holding meetings with 100-150 people, with a cross-section of interests, which are being squeezed out by the televised leaders debates.

"I miss that opportunity," she told the programme.

"We feel excluded. The leaders debates are flashy showtimes. They are too American for most of us - they are about clothes and gestures and smiling. We actually want people to talk to us about the issues that are real and relevant to our lives."

Asked what message she would send to Labour's campaign strategists, Ms Taylor replied: "I think its essential that we have the Prime Minister within the region, hopefully speaking to as many people as he can and more particularly listening to as many people as he can - that's a crucial thing.

"If you want people to trust you, and build up a trust and support you, they have got to feel they have an input into your political world.

"It isn't just about target voters - this has got to be about the electorate in general."

Comments(11)

AWilliams says...
3:35pm Mon 26 Apr 10

Dari Taylor says she feels excluded by the Labour High Command. She has spent years of being a loyalist New Labour MP, always putting the party before her consitutents. For example she got lots of local press coverage handing in a petition to calling to save Local Post Offices from being closed, but then in the commons where an MPs vote counts she refused to vote to save them, putting her party before her constituents. It is hypocritical of this Welsh New Labourite to complain about her Party bosses excluding her when she has spent years excluding her Teesside electorate.

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Super steve says...
3:52pm Mon 26 Apr 10

Most of the people in Stockton feel abandoned and poorly served by Labour, never mind the replacement parasites sorry candidates Labour are fielding.
And the end of the day after 13 years of labour government this region is more destitute than ever before.

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David Lacey says...
4:01pm Mon 26 Apr 10

Two cracking comments. Could it be that the worm is about to turn? 13 years of Labour ignoring the region followed 18 years of Tory blitzing our economy. 31 years in total when the North East has been ignored. Let's throw the lot of them out. Vote UKIP, Green, Monster Raving Loony even BNP if needs must but GET RID OF LABOUR.

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st-george1 says...
5:55pm Mon 26 Apr 10

Nice words from Ms Taylor but they're meaningless and it doesn't matter - just ask a few of the ex Corus steelworkers.
She's no friend of P Benji Mandelson anymore and it looks like the Conservatives are about to get you sacked for simply failing to talk or listen to the people - too much party first, everyone of the electors second.
Time to put the second home on the market ... and move on ...goodbye !

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Crafter says...
7:53pm Mon 26 Apr 10

I object to any MP, or anyone else in public life for that matter, that will say one thing and then do the exact opposite. We are not tough enough on our MPs. What they promise should be a legal and binding contract. Failure to follow this up should constitute a breach of promise and they should then get an automatic summons to answer the case. Loss of their position should be one of the penalties. Prison may be another. How about every MP and PM having 12 points on their political licence. Every U-turn, lie and breach of contract should lose them points. Lose 12 points and you are banned from holding any political office, or political support work for 12 years.

I still find it hard to believe any one of them at the moment. They show themselves up at every turn. Every day there is another story of their cheating and lying and taking us to the cleaners. What I suggest is that you DO go to meetings and DO ask difficult questions. Make notes of the answers and vote for the best person there. If they are found to have lied, maybe a court case should be started against them. They are not above the law. Lets have some people in the Commons that are there for us, not their own gain.

If anyone else ever did what they did by lying and cheating, they would end up in court. There is NO DIFFERENCE between their promises and statements and any other contract. Maybe our legal eagles could come up with some good words here ?

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Super steve says...
7:56pm Mon 26 Apr 10

"Crafter, Darlington says...
7:53pm Mon 26 Apr 10
I object to any MP, or anyone else in public life for that matter, that will say one thing and then do the exact opposite"

Aye like Labours Phil Wilson promising to fight the closure of the post offices then going to London and voting with the government.

As most other people sayVOTE FOR ANYONE EXCEPT LABOUR.

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spragger says...
8:12pm Mon 26 Apr 10

The fact is Labour have bombed. 13 years of rubbish has been enough for any sane person
Everytime Gordon Brown shows his face the Labour poll drops. Money on fourth place and extinction?

Hopefully Hattie Harperson will be their next leader

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Dante says...
9:55pm Mon 26 Apr 10

No Steve, you are wrong........vote for anyone but the 3 main parties.

I listened to the radio program from the Riverside today, Radio5 and Radio tees, and none of them had a clue about this arwa or what to do about the county's problem in general.
You and I will never agree about many things, but in one thing we are united.......LibLabC
on will never sort out the problems of all in this country.

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Jolly Roger says...
10:36pm Mon 26 Apr 10

Well if you are voted in say Stockton to serve those people you should do what they want you to vote for not the rank and file of the party you suppose to support, so if you feel let down by the high er ranks why still be a member of that party?

But anyone in this part of the world should know by now that the rank and file will always vote labour so the high ranks just leave us to get on with it.

The only way to change that attidue is to vote another party in and then you might see a change of action, to get us back on they side.

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Super steve says...
12:43pm Tue 27 Apr 10

Sir, I can honestly say I 100% agree with every word you have written. Pehaps we should consider self governance after all unlike make parts of the UK we can be 100% self sufficent on food, fuel, employment, utilities, perhaps we should go our own way.
BUT ANYONE EXCEPT LABOUR is the best way forward.

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Heat1969 says...
5:25pm Wed 28 Apr 10

When a party is elected in this country they are being elected to DO A JOB for the people of this country. So when they fail to fulfil their job description the people who elected them should be able to sack them. If you or I began a new job and it was discovered we had lied on our job description and we were unable to meet the role we were employed for then we would be sacked, same thing with a government. There should be a 12-18 month probationary period where a governement could be voted out if they were not doing the job the public had voted them in to do. There should be a panel of independent people from all walks of life who independently review whichever government is in power against their manifesto to ensure they are carrying out the job they are supposed to be doing.

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