Men jostle and climb to meet the bristling fire.
Lines of grey, muttering faces, masked with fear,
They leave their trenches, going over the top,
While time ticks blank and busy on their wrists,
And hope, with furtive eyes and grappling fists,
Flounders in mud. O Jesus, make it stop!

But, no. It begins again. Been and gone the select committee elections and the shadow cabinet elections and the leadership elections. Each of them fuelled by endless barrages of letters and texts and calls and, above all, emails.

Now comes the first salvo of the new election: that for the half dozen places on the PLP’s backbench Parliamentary committee.

Its author goes into the contest extremely well liked on all sides of the PLP. Let us hope that he is still so after yet another “vote-for-me” email pops up in MPs’ already cluttered inboxes.

Of course, the other hopefuls, whether they had intended to or not, will now be bound to follow suit.

Dear Colleague,

As you know the Parliamentary Labour Party has decided to keep the system of electing a Parliamentary Committee, something we have always had in government but not in opposition.

I strongly support the creation of such a committee, which will represent back-bench opinion to the leader and shadow Cabinet and will be a conduit for views and ideas from all wings of the PLP. I am putting myself forward as a candidate for the committee and am writing to ask for your support.

I served as a member of the parliamentary committee between 2003 and 2005. Having represented a highly marginal constituency, I now represent a more natural Labour seat so I can clearly see the varying demands and needs of different constituencies.

In the past I have had my disagreements with some of the policies we pursued while in government yet I have managed to maintain excellent relationships with all wings of the PLP and with the wider movement.

There are some vital issues with which we must deal over the coming months and years such as the government’s boundary gerrymandering and the IPSA mess; we therefore need strong voices on the committee.

If elected I will:

• Be a strong voice for back bench opinion, putting your views forward to the leadership of our party
• Be a uniting force, as I have the ability to work with all wings of the PLP
• Meet regularly with the leadership, reporting back after meetings to that I am fully accountable to the PLP
• Be easily accessible to members of the PLP, taking on board your views and concerns
• Have a visible presence in the chamber and the PLP.

I hope you will be able to give me your support. If you would like to discuss anything with me feel free to give me a call on xxxxxxxxx

Best wishes,

John Cryer MP

Tags: John Cryer, Parliamentary committee, Siegfried Sassoon, vote for me letter

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