HAIN RESIGNS

So Peter Hain has finally done the decent thing and resigned from the Government, It is a sad end.

As someone once said, all political careers end in failure but his demise is particularly painful. Hain was once a radical campaigner, fought apartheid, and did a great job in Northern Ireland. In the long-gone days of Blair's dominance, he was even prepared to talk to disaffected Party members about their concerns . For all of those reasons ( and because there wasn't a proper left candidate) I voted for Hain for the Deputy Leadership.

The issue of his campaign funding has now been referred to the police - and he has had to go. Frankly, it's rather a shame he didn't reisign on a point of honour. Let's face it there have been so many opportunities - what with the draconian measures planned at the DWP to force people back to work. Not to mention the Remploy scandal.

Update: And sadly Hain has been replaced by the odious toady James "Photoshop" Purnell.....

POWER OF THE BLOGOSPHERE

Regrettably missed out on an opportunity to hold forth about the Peter Hain fiasco on World At One as e-mail from producer only got to me at 1.26pm.However, it shows my profile is growing.......Leftie bloggers of the world unite!

FIREWORKS RE HAIN ........

My Sunday hits ( normally miniscule) were obviously boosted spectacularly by being quoted re the Hain farrago on the Guido Fawkes website. No surprise that Tories read our blogs. But I'm glad to note that at least the ones who read this one don't normally eff and blind as they do on the GF websites.Other Labour grassroots opinion here........
http://www.order-order.com/2008/01/labour-rank-and-file-disown-hain.html

HAIN 4 THE HIGH JUMP?

In life we all mistakes. So I admit to serious misjudgement in voting for Peter Hain as Deputy Leader. Not that that matters now, of course. The post has been rendered all but obsolete and the vaguely lefty noises made by Hain, Harman and Cruddas have been pretty much silenced by the relentless march of the Brown machine and its obsession with the free market .

Still, Hain has gone beyond the pale in allowing a whopping £100,000 in spondoolics to stay undeclared. Funds, he says , which "were necessary to run a modern campaign." Those of us on the left of course had no such cash cows - nor the slick campaign literature which Hain et al sent out in their quest to become Deputy Dawg. Would it have made any difference? Possibly. Possibly not. Anyway, that's history.

The point is that since getting back into Government Hain has behaved in a fashion which quells any remaining doubts that he would get completely behind the New Labour bandwagon in his bid to stay part of the Government's glitterati. Punitive pronouncements on welfare benefits, utter betrayal of the Remploy campaigners, backing for nuclear power from this once committed unilateralist. It's not a distinguished record at the DWP, is it?.

The bogus "think-tank" which allegedly funded Hain's campaign by the back door is yet another illustration that there is one law for the Establishment and another for us. I wager that tomorrow's Sunday papers will have lots more details. I also think Hain will be out in any Brown re-shuffle - even if he isn't forced to resign. And guess what he will do then ? Yep, expect him to turn sharply to the left. And this time I won't believe a word of it.

CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR PENSIONERS

Extremely glad to hear Peter Hain on this Monday's Today programme dropping strong hints that his plea on behalf of 125,000 pensioners has been listened to.
According to earlier reports, Hain was "appalled" that both the PM and Chancellor were blocking a rescue bid battled for by trade unions Community and UNITE in the European courts but now they are believed to have agreed a deal to restore 90 per cent of of the value of the pensions covered by a government-backed Financial Assistance Scheme - putting them into line with other employees whose pensions are covered by the Pension Protection Fund which was introduced in 2005 and financed by a levy on companies.Hain will make an announcement later today.....

PETER'S FRIEND.....

Ex Campaign Group MP Harry Barnes has for months championed Peter Hain as a closet leftie and at one stage called repeatedly for him to stand as Leader. Actually, in a straight choice between him and Brown, I would probably agree. But given Hain's abysmal showing in the Deputy Leadership contest ( I did actually vote for him...) we now know that will never happen. So what has he got to lose......

Harry now reckons Hain is incensed at the Govt's refusal to bale out 125,000 workers whose pensions have been wrecked and "privately appalled." Well, if he has an ounce of courage left then , yes, he should resign from the Government. But I'm not holding my breath.

In recent weeks he has also presided over the draconian "Welfare To Work" proposals at the DWP, reneged on promises to stop the closure of Remploy factories, and backed Gordon all the way. Call me cynical but I would not be surprised to learn that Hain realises he's so screwed by the donations farce that he knows a future re-shuffle will see him out on his ear. In which case he will then veer left and , like Frank Dobson and Clare Short, re-discover his "left" credentials and bleat from the backbenches. Only to be dismissed as an "embittered ex Minister." In no way is he now a credible left figure.

STRUGGLE TO SAVE REMPLOY MUST GO ON

Saddened to read that hopes of thousands of REMPLOY jobs being saved could be lying in tatters. A rally held in Bournemouth at Party Conference was positively euphoric at the news Minister Peter Hain had pledged a moratorium on closures. But now management has announced

plans to axe 28 factories employing over 2,000 disabled workers.
The proposed cull involves just 15 fewer sites than were originally earmarked for closure.
The firm originally said that it wanted to close or merge 43 plants with the loss of 2,500 jobs, sparking a massive union campaign.
But, in a "final" proposal to the government, bosses now say that they intend to merge 11 plants and close 17.
GMB general secretary Paul Kenny, who was at the Bournemouth rally, said: "At the Labour Party conference, the government agreed a new direction based on 'choice' for disabled workers, using public procurement to generate a steady workload to secure the future of the Remploy factories as allowed under EU rules.
"Yet, a mere six weeks later, we have the absolute disgrace of a failed response from a failed management, putting forward, in public, proposals which completely ignore what was agreed at Bournemouth that will lead to the sacking of over 2,000 disabled workers."
Ominously, Peter Hain is not being clear about thew Government's intentions, saying "Now that we have the proposals, we will need to study them in detail before making a final decision on the way forward." Let's hope the "way forward" does not mean accepting the closures.

REID'S "BIG BROTHER" LEGACY

What a nice farewell present from John Reid. Far from going gently into that good night, the Big Bruiser has one last anti-libertarian trick up his sleeve. The Home Office is planning to give police draconian powers to stop and question anyone they choose, anywhere they choose, about their identity and movements. The kind of powers you would have in wartime.

Under the new plans, anyone refusing to give their personal ID could be charged up to £5000. This further step towards a police state is of course backed by uber-Blairite Hazel Blears who describes it as "sensible." But civil liberties groups have joined forces to condemn it. Peter Hain is to be congratulated for making a stand ( albeit also electioneering) and describing this as "the domestic equivalent of Guantanamo Bay." Indeed , it's a bit of a shame he didn't re-discover his radicalism a bit earlier.

The good news is that Brown's allies are briefing that they need to consult with police as to whether this is "necessary." But we on the Left must keep up the pressure Don't expect this "Big Brother" attitude to suddenly stop when Brown gets into Number 10.