Sunday, April 30, 2006

Former Downing Street Official Standing for the Greens

News of another New Labour rat abandoning ship. Former Downing Street Communications Director James Humphreys, who was a key lieutenant of Alastair Campbell, has not only ripped up his Labour Party membership card, he’s joined the Greens and is standing for the bearded ones in the Highbury East ward in Islington in Thursdays council elections. Amazingly, he stands a good chance of winning as the Greens were a mere hundred votes behind Labour in 2002. However, he’s not without some high profile opposition. Martine Oborne is putting up a feisty fight for the Conservatives. Who’s she? Why none other than the wife of recently-departed Spectator Political Editor Peter Oborne. Oborne is no mean political operator himself and with some extra time on his hands will no doubt seek to cause a bit of mischief in the last few days of the campaign.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Emmm, when exactly was he a member of the Labour Party? He was a civil servant not a political appointee and I don't think he ever was a Labour supporter never mind member and as he stood for parliament in 2005 and that was widely reported at the time you are a bit slow on the uptake.

Iain Dale said...

Civil servant, my arse. in the same way that Alsatir Campbell was, you mean. I have been on enough TV and radio programmes with him to know exactly what he was, and he wasnt a civil servant in the sense that most people understand the term. But on your second point, I hadn't known he stood for Parliament for the Greens in 2005.

Anonymous said...

When was the last time a Conservative candidate put up a feisty fight in Islington? Sorry, Iain, she'll be the crumpliest of paper candidates like the lot of them in that part of the world.

Anonymous said...

Mr Dale - You are wrong on this one. I am a civil servant who worked in Number 10 with James Humphries. He was a civil servant; and you are not entitled to draw any conclusions about his political affiliations just because he happened to work in that part of government.

Anonymous said...

Impressive? Her judgement should certainly be called into question being married to Peter. I hope the the turncoat hammers the bugger.