Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
May 2014 election -- Lydia
What upsets me most about the Harringay elections is not that I lost (politics is not my career, so I haven’t lost what I never had) but that Harringay lost.
Specifically, Harringay lost Karen Alexander and David Schmitz. I hoped to win a seat but I also hoped to work with those two excellent, high-quality councillors and I consider that the refusal of some Harringay residents to vote for them based on anger with the national party was a terrible mistake. How many really believe that Gina will give as much serious consideration to your problems as Karen did? How many imagine that Emina will be researching the issues with the forensic precision of David? Most of us realise that the Labour Party will not be satisfied until the whole of the borough looks like Wood Green shopping city and yet for all that, this debacle happened.
As for Thursday, I could see which way the wind was blowing, both figuratively and physically, as I and the Labour and LibDem tellers cowered in the polling station porch while the rain lashed down and thunder and louring clouds rumbled overhead.
In between rainstorms, it was quite disturbing to see how many voters with a very basic or even completely non-existent grasp of English turned up at the station clutching the Labour knock-up slips in their hands. In their obvious ignorance both of voting procedure and practice, they handed these scraps of paper to us when we asked if we could see the numbers on their polling cards and it was quite clear that they believed these reminders were some sort of voting certificate.
It also appeared that the leaflets were taken to the polling station as reminders of the names to be chosen. I did notice that they were all Labour leaflets and not a single Libdem one amongst them. Did these voters regard the knock-up slips as assistance -- or orders?
I shall leave that question to the political theorists. As far as I am concerned it has been a great five-week ride and I found it deeply rewarding to have the opportunity to discuss issues with all the other correspondents on this site. I have to confess, though, that I particularly enjoyed the jousts with the small group of sour uber-socialists whose comically bad quality of argument made proper, serious discussion pointless. It was such good fun to let loose with them.
As always, I shall be around in Harringay. There will probably be a much wider choice of restaurants over the next few months but I still recommend Zev to them as asks.
Also anyone who wants to come up to the stables for a visit is very welcome.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by PhoebeMac on
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Lydia,
What do you mean by:
Most of us realise that the Labour Party will not be satisfied until the whole of the borough looks like Wood Green shopping city and yet for all that, this debacle happened.
And as for:
In between rainstorms, it was quite disturbing to see how many voters with a very basic or even completely non-existent grasp of English turned up at the station clutching the Labour knock-up slips in their hands. In their obvious ignorance both of voting procedure and practice, they handed these scraps of paper to us when we asked if we could see the numbers on their polling cards and it was quite clear that they believed these reminders were some sort of voting certificate.
That remark is worthy of one of the UKIP-ers who've been blasted by the press in recent weeks and disowned by their own party.
Thank God you didn't get in.
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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I see where your xenophobia is coming from, but let me reassure you that the ethnic/racial voting you are insisting happens, has no bearing whatsoever on a Haringey election. When the day comes that I see three English Oxford Politics grads all lined up to stand for Labour in Harringay and the majority English population all come out to vote for them then you can say "I told you so" but until then, we're probably OK on that front.
BTW, any politician that involves the Police in their electioneering, instantly loses my respect.
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An oxymoron is two words together that... are an oxymoron, for instance, "Army Intelligence". Being unreasonably scared of foreigners is xenophobia.
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Au contraire! This was a remarkably xenophobic post.
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Permalink Reply by Lesley G on
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I see Lydia hasn't been brave enough to come back to explain
a) why she appears to have a problem with foreign speakers voting
b) why she claims that these foreigners were 'ordered' who to vote for, whilst simultaneously telling us all off for 'refusing to vote for' those that she deems acceptable
And c) what on earth she means by Haringey Council trying to turn the whole of Haringey into Wood Green Shopping City
They are a strange lot these Haringey Tories; the Tory candidate for Noel Park who came to our local hustings spent the whole time name-dropping Lynne Featherstone's name and extolling her virtues, and I have it on good authority that a certain Tory from the East of the Borough has accused a local choir of beng a 'front for Labour'. Bonkers.
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Permalink Reply by John D on
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And c) what on earth she means by Haringey Council trying to turn the whole of Haringey into Wood Green Shopping City/I would read that as a reference to Graingers' plans for Wards Corner, of which the Council seems to approve
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Permalink Reply by Shelene Hawkins on
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Funny how people can read the same post and come away with a completely different message.
What is disgusting is the amount of people who didnt vote. Turn-out rate wasnt even 50%, something slightly north of 30%, I believe. That is shocking.
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