ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidat (Free subscription) | 25/11/2008
Melanie Hampton, a vice-chairman of Tooting Conservative Association, has been selected to fight the neighbouring constituency of Mitcham and Morden at the next general election. The seat has been held since 1997 by Siobhain McDonagh for Labour and after minor...
Labourhome (Free subscription) | 14/10/2008
Siobhain McDonagh has sent me a letter as one of her constituents, to explain her resignation. She believes we need a change of leadership (no suprises there). What is notable is a particular comment in her letter: "Times have changed and the Labour party has to find answers to the questions being asked in 2008, not 1998." Now, the Blairite tendency has been saying that we need to get in touch with...
politicalbetting.com (Free subscription) | 22/09/2008
What is it about Labour’s women and Gordon? A striking feature of the mini-rebellion that started only a week ago last Friday was the preponderance of woman who came out in support of the move by Siobhain McDonagh - the government whip whose resignation got the ball rolling. That’s been continued with the replies today of a [...]
politicalbetting.com (Free subscription) | 17/09/2008
How can the rebellion progress without a cabinet minister? It seems to have been going on much longer but it is less than a week since Siobhain McDonagh (above) decided to put her job on the line in order to make Brown’s leadership an issue in the countdown to the Labour conference in Manchester in a [...]
Liberal Democrat Voice (Free subscription) | 15/09/2008
Siobhain McDonagh, Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden, was sacked as a Labour whip after calling for a leadership contest. Joan Ryan, Labour MP for Enfield North, was sacked as Gordon Brown’s Cyprus advisor and a Labour Party Deputy Chair. Barry Gardiner, Labour MP for Brent North, quit as Brown’s Special Envoy for Forestry (though that didn’t [...]
Mars Hill (Free subscription) | 15/09/2008
For anyone who has been a supporter, or fan of Gordon Brown for a no of years, the news this weekend has been rather depressing . It seems that no sooner are we getting back on track than someone, be it Siobhain McDonagh , or Fiona Mactaggart pours oil over troubled waters. I for one am saddened by all of this and feel that, as I have said before, we not only give Gordon time, but also the loyalty...
Ewan Watt (Free subscription) | 15/09/2008
TO BE honest, I don't think - realistically - any individual truly expects to remove Gordon Brown before or during Labour Party conference. Personally I believe that the intention of Siobhain McDonagh et al is to cause Brown so much discomfort that it will require a small nudge to get rid of him when Parliament returns. The nudge? The Glenrothes by-election.
Luke's Blog (Free subscription) | 14/09/2008
I've spent this weekend feeling a strong sense of deja vu. My reaction to the calls for a leadership contest from Siobhain McDonagh, Joan Ryan et al is pretty much identical to my reaction to the letter from the 2001 intake of MPs that tried to precipitate a leadership election in September 2006. In both cases I disagreed with the initiative profoundly (I'd be in moral turmoil about trying to oust...
Mark Wadsworth (Free subscription) | 14/09/2008
Continuing my occasional series , it transpires that Siobhain McDonagh MP, the Whip who was sacked for suggesting that The Goblin King might seriously consider f***ing off, is the sister of Baroness McDonagh , who was the Labour party's General Secretary under Tony Bliar. Even by Nulab standards, Ms McDonut has an impressive CV : She was a clerical officer for the DHSS between 1981-3, then a Housing...
The Croydonian (Free subscription) | 14/09/2008
In May last year I rooted around to see who did and who did not nominate Brown. And here it is . So, who of the motley would-be regicides have the right to say ' I told you so ' ( the sweetest four words in the language... )?: Charles Clarke Frank Field Ian Gibson Siobhain McDonagh - to my immense surprise John McDonnell Gordon Prentice Graham Stringer The seven ( And no, they do not deserve to have...
stroppyblog (Free subscription) | 13/09/2008
The BBC reports : An MP has been sacked as Labour's vice chair after publicly joining calls for a leadership election. Joan Ryan and four other Labour MPs - Fiona Mactaggart, Siobhain McDonagh, George Howarth and Janet Anderson - have asked for nomination forms. And fellow MPs Graham Stringer, Gordon Prentice and John McDonnell have called for a leadership contest. Entering the latest row on Saturday...
Les Bonner (Free subscription) | 13/09/2008
Britain is “watching the death throes of the Labour Party”, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has said. This news comes following the revelations that Five Labour MPs - Fiona Mactaggart, Siobhain McDonagh, Joan Ryan, George Howarth and Janet Anderson - want leadership nomination forms sent out. And fellow MPs Graham Stringer and Gordon Prentice [...]
TMP (Free subscription) | 13/09/2008
Dawn Butler, the MP for Brent South, has become the first ever elected, female, Black minister in the UK. Prime Minister Gordon Brown appointed her as an Assistant Government Whip in the House of Commons yesterday, replacing Siobhain McDonagh MP who was sacked by Brown after publicly calling for a leadership contest. Butler, pictured here in July with [...]
Telegraph Blogs : Guests (Free subscription) | 13/09/2008
Some bloke has told Guido that Siobhan McDonagh didn't leak the letter, so "the recipient must have". Accepting this involves first taking McDonagh on trust and also presuming that she told not a soul - no fellow plotters, former cabinet ministers, MPs or advisers who could easily have whispered in the ear of a hack that it was worth asking McDonagh if she had written a letter asking for nomination...
Gareth Wyn (Free subscription) | 13/09/2008
I've not had one for ages, and I suspect that if I did I'd find it as repulsive and sick making as Gordon Brown must do with his erstwhile Deputy Whip the treacherous and until now rather anonymous Siobhain McDonagh . This sudden craving was the result of reading one of the books I bought this afternoon - Sausage in a basket by Martin Lampen , which basically looks at how crap British cuisine is, from...
