I see that John Kiely – erstwhile slayer of all things not Lib Dem and chief annoyer of Lord Mayors and his own party leader – is attempting a return to Bristol politics. Those of you who are lucky enough to live in Easton will make the decision for us as he stands in the place of the retiring Abdul Malik.One of the things that confuse me about John – and there are many – is why now?
Having been selected as Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Filton and Bradley Stoke (FABS) I would have thought all his efforts would have been focused on winning that seat either later this year or by mid next. According to the House of Parliament Library FABs is the 3rd closest three way marginal in England (based on 2005 figures, amended for boundary changes, the seat is split 35.5% Con, 33.9% Lab and 28.4% Lib Dem). So it is a very winnable seat for the Lib Dems (particularly bearing in mind that the Tory candidate couldn’t even get himself elected onto the local council a couple of years ago). So why is John standing in Easton again at this time?
I must say this is a dream for the opposition parties in both Easton and FABs. John now finds himself in a double bind. In Easton we will attack him for being at best a part time councillor who actually would rather be in Westminster and could well desert his ward in less than a year. In FABS we will paint him as a part time candidate whose heart is not really in the area and has already given up any chance of winning the seat for the Lib Dems. It is very difficult to see how he can defend against either of these claims without upsetting the other electorate.
Not the move, you would have thought, of a smart political operator. Of course John has previous on this. He is the executive member who allowed the politically contentious issue of the privitisation of health care to come to fruition just before an election. Then had the poor judgment to let it become the defining issue of that election and of course lost his seat.
John is nothing if not a street fighter, and he is actually a nicer guy than he appears, but he really has got his work cut out with both campaigns because of this strange decision.
March 19, 2009 at 10:24 am
I suspect the decision is connected to Mr Keily’s recent redundancy. He needs the money and what better way to get some than to get elected to council ? Truth is, he will win Easton at a canter. FABS is a Tory win – you only need to look at the 2007 local election results to know that.
March 19, 2009 at 10:39 am
John was the only credible candidate the Lib Dems could find.
I heard rumours that the Lib Dems approached various “community activists” in Easton with a view to running and were rebuffed every time …
March 20, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Same thing in Lawrence Hill apparently, or so local residents popping into our office are telling us.
March 22, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Chance for a Keily double whammy – I think he got 27% last time. He is currently harassing greens to vote lib dem and campaigning on the privatisation of Home Care
March 23, 2009 at 3:39 pm
The lib Dem Easton Leaflet looked like it was done on a cheap photocopier from 10 years back.
Kiely lost on Privatisation last time and Lib Dems are worried not only that they will loose again, but finish third!
April 3, 2009 at 5:44 pm
“JK is nicer than he appears”, which just goes to show that Terry is nicer than he should be……
April 4, 2009 at 11:49 pm
Rosso verde (posy nickname eh?) said “Lib Dems are worried not only that they will loose again.”
….more acurate to say “Lib Dems are worried that John Kiely is on the loose again.”
Truth is John is the best known candidate they could get, Labour’s man Chowdhury hadn’t expected to win in 2007, hence his poor attendance record on Council.
John’s leaflets are his trademark ‘home made’ style, some like them, others prefer the glossy stuff that Labour dish out. This one is not one of John;s better efforts.
But why is Kiely’s Labour opponent putting his posters up in Lawrence Hill and Eastville? Does he now know where Easton Ward start and finishes?
April 6, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Kiely’s Labour opponent has obviously targeted shops on the bigger roads in the area – can’t blame him for that, although you are correct on his slighly wonky geography.
I wouldn’t call the recent Labour leaflets profesional either – no content whatsoever, just attacks on the Fib Dems!
April 7, 2009 at 11:18 pm
But why is Kiely’s Labour opponent putting his posters up in Lawrence Hill and Eastville? Does he now know where Easton Ward start and finishes?
Do you think that people from Easton do not leave the area – he wants votes of mobuile people not static buildings
April 10, 2009 at 12:33 am
Come off it Paul!
…By that logic every candidate in Bristol would put their posters up anywhere in the city.
Face it your man just doesn’t know what he’s doing.
Still, I suppose this is better than the Labour candidate in 2007 who stormed into Somali-owned shops and tore down posters they put up for his opponent!
April 20, 2009 at 12:33 am
Somalis are used to pretty robust politics, so why should they worry about a bit of abuse from a Labour politician?
All Busharat Ali did wrong was a clumsy photoshop fake picture of himself at a demo, hardly a hagning offence is it? Shame he isn’t the candidate for Lawrence Hill again this time I say.
April 26, 2009 at 8:35 pm
So all he did wrong is try to lie to the electorate?
Yes! Bring him back. We need more liars in politics don’t we?