Lynne Featherstone vs Hazel Blears

The Liberal Democrat MP for Hornsey & Wood Green has an article today on the New Statesman website about Hazel Blears and her speech last week to the Hansard society on political engagement.

Although most of the coverage of the Blears speech has been about her comments on bloggers, Lynne takes her to task over other parts of the speech as you can read here. The New Statesman also has a response from Hazel Blears here. Well, I say “response” but if I tell you that she repeatedly talks about “Liberals” it gives you an idea of the tone of her piece – not very high. Now, what was that she was saying last week about online political commentary …

2 Comments to “Lynne Featherstone vs Hazel Blears”

• David Heigham Says:
  11th November 2008 at 5:14 pm

  Oh Dear!

  Ms Featherstone complains that eleven years of New Labour have not produced the more democratic and more local government which the LibDems have been asking for all that time; and that Ms Blears has now adopted the slogans without any real prospect of getting anything done.

  Ms Blears complains that the Liberals have not introduced any policies because they have been out of government; and that referring to New Labour’ s record or lack of record is point scoring.

  If any points are being scored, Ms Featherstone seems to be well ahead.

  But the essential difference seems to be that for Ms Blears it is essential that the government should “co-opt” local people. Ms Featherstone talks about local people doing more of what they want.

  I have less objection to being co-opted by Hazel Blears than by Jack Straw or Jaqui Smith; but I really, seriously, do not want to be co-opted by any of them.

• Paul Tyler Says:
  12th November 2008 at 10:53 am

  I was at the Hansard Society meeting at which Hazel Blears spoke, and I completely concur with Lynne’s comments.

  She and other interested Lib Dems should contribute to the ongoing debate about the reform of the Lords on lordsoftheblog.net