Burnage is lovely - Nargis told me so herself when she out there was leafleting with Frank Duffy, the labour candidate - and when she's been out there campaigning twice in the past two weeks.

It's amazing how many other people have suddenly discovered relatives in Withington whose address they can use..........
 

I have seen Nargis Khan in Burnage, Chorlton Park, Gorton South and elsewhere in Manchester campaigning for Labour candidates in Manchester. That's local enough for me!!
 

God, cue several Nargis supporters logging on anonymously to support her as the "local candidate".

For what it's worth - from my time in Wigan, Bolton and Manchester - the 3 aren't that far apart, so it depends how local you call "local".

And for the record, I'm not in for this seat - just before someone tries to suggest otherwise!
 

Ha ha ha, I notice it is AWS anyway, so just as well eh? :-)
 

Don't even go there Kerron mate!

Whoever wins that seat is going to have the most fantastic opportunity to win for Manchester Labour.
 

Will Parbury - so young, so cynical. Nargis has another website here where she is a Hackney councillor and a Hackney resident for nine years. Who is anonymous? And where are my Luke Akehurst anecdotes Nargis? If they're good enough there is at least one more selection vote in this household. And do you have any views on current Labour policies? Labour mistakes? Perhaps foreign policy would be a good place to start. Bolton is NOT local to Withington Kerron. But it is very close to Bolton South!!!!!!!
 

PS When are you moving to your constituency Will?
 

For the record I stood for Labour in Burnage ward in 2004 in Withington though at the time I was living in Manchester Central.

I have to say there is a part of me that wants to have a sex change just so I can fight the seat and hold the excrible John Leech to account. But in reality it's not going to happen.

Withington is certainly winnable as well as being a lovely seat and I wish whoever the local party decide to pick the very best of luck.
 

Chris, a minor detail. Bolton is pretty local to Manchester.
 

In a selection having ever left the constituency, even on a day trip, can be portrayed as a down side.

Personally I think constituencies can be a bit to focused on getting someone local rather than someone with the talent to deliver for the area but there is no doubt that it is an advantage in some peoples minds.
 

Well I appreciate the argument of "local" versus "best" will run to the wire. The key qustion as Adele quite rightly points out is who will beat Leech? Some candidates are pointing to their local conections and I can't blame them. Nargis Khan is from Bolton and has a track record of beating the Lib Dems. Over the next few weeks and months we will see who most impresses the membership of the CLP. I hope all stay focussed on whoever is selected beating Leech. We all have our own reasons for being active and our own political persuasions. I reckon that Withington Labour Party is capable of weighing the issues and coming to its own conclusion and uniting behind the winner. The only loser in this process should be Leech. After all it was him who used our brothers and sisters and neighbours as pawns in his Christie cancer scare hoax. We all deserve better.
 

Well said Jim.

The Labour government has a great record on unemployment so I'm sure we can afford to get a few Lib Dem MP's fired with Leech first in the queue.
 

Though of course John Leech may still have a job to fall back on as a Councillor if Gordon (or, ahem, John) calls the GE fairly sharpish. Otherwise he can go back to McDonalds to flip burgers or to his call centre in Wythenshawe or perhaps to join Willie Rennie's PR company which is bigging up world's 5th largest arms dealer Raytheon (Patriot Missiles, Bunker Busters, Cluster Bombs as used on Iraqi markets and Somali women and children) while trying to get their wares banned, with Leech standing up beside him. I agree with everyone that the local question is a daft fetish, though the Lib Dems are into fetishes.

Incidentally John Hacking of all people insisted at our meeting to agree AWS that we should de-personalise and not go after Leech or get obsessed by him but simply do what is needed to seize the seat with a healthy majority for Labour and defeat the Lib Dems and anyone else who is in the poll.
 

Oh Westminster Selections what joy! My only view on this one is that we need someone to campaign hard to take the seat back from John Leech.

I don't care if they were born on the moon as long as they have the skills to take him on. I think that will be the view of the majority of people in Withington Labour Party as well.

Incidentally the majority of people who live in Withington are not from there originally anyway, that is the norm for a city area surely.
 

"if Gordon (or, ahem, John) calls the GE fairly sharpish."

When to call the next election must be a matter of great interest around the McDonnell breakfast table ;-)
 

"Whoever wins that seat is going to have the most fantastic opportunity to win for Manchester Labour."

Asele, are you sure you've never worked for the Labour Party website?
 

What the Manchester Labour website or the national one?

I'd like to think of myself as part of the machine but that would just be over flattering myself!!

You never know the fib dem candidate may not be Leech so lets not get too obsessed.
 

Who said anything about McDonnell Will? There are a good few Johns (and at least a couple of Jons) in the PLP after all. More of them may be involved in the L/DL contest before we're done!
 

PS I still haven't got my brown envelope full of Akehurst anecdotes from Nargis.
 

"Who said anything about McDonnell Will? There are a good few Johns (and at least a couple of Jons) in the PLP after all. More of them may be involved in the L/DL contest before we're done! "

I didn't have you down for the John Hutton campaign Chris but each to their own. ;-)
 

"Oh Westminster Selections what joy!"

I know, then there is the joy of the Europeans when there is the whole region to play with. Who says that Christmas can't come early.
 

Not many pubs in Burnage. I'd suggest Chorlton.
 

Ok the pubs aren't Burnage's strong point but it's still dead nice and it suspect cheaper than Chorlton.
 

That is true, withington is k too if u don't mind living with a load of students!!
 

Generally students are fine but I did remember standing opposite Owens Park while a friend got something from Lloyds and thinking to myself I am the oldest person here as I was about 26 at the time this was a bit disconcerting.
 

Bolton and Wigan near Chorlton? In the sense that both are north of Islington maybe.

I can't believe that there isn't an able candidate from Manchester and therefore can't see the attraction of some career politician from London taking the seat.
 

Although I consider it important to have local people in local government, the same is not true of the Parliamentary party. A mediocre local candidate will probably be less able to raise local concerns at a national level - or even understand them - than a top class outsider.

An MP is more likely to have influence to raise local issues effectively if they have the ear of the higher echelons in the party. I tend to favour a candidate who fits that bill rather than those who live next door and don't.
 

It is inaccurate to refer to Lucy Powell as a "career politician from London". She is in fact a would be career politician from London as she has never stood for election for anything ever anywhere.