Posts Tagged ‘Keith Vaz’

The second life of Keith Vaz

23/08/2011, 10:00:42 AM

Garlanded as the first Asian MP in modern times, when elected in 1987, Keith Vaz has often hit the headlines.

Vaz is the great survivor: his propensity for self-reinvention is notorious. From campaign group member to New Labour minister. From Eurosceptic to Euro-enthusiast. His chutzpah is legendary. Joining Muslim marchers opposing the publication of Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses back in 1990, he is even said to have offered words of support to the author too.

Starting as a Parliamentary bag barrier, when Labour came to power in 1997, he rose quickly, becoming a minister in the Lord Chancellor’s department before landing one of the plum jobs in government as minister for Europe in 1999.

By now a devout euro-enthusiast, Vaz held this position for two and a half years before resigning at the 2001 general election, citing ill health, caught up, as he was, in the Hinduja brothers’ passport scandal. (more…)

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Posted in Inside | 2 Comments »

“And Labour’s top baron is…Keith Vaz”, by Sunder Katwala

01/10/2010, 12:00:14 PM

The votes in the affiliates section of Labour’s electoral college are cast by the individual members of the unions and socialist societies, not as “block votes” by their leaders.

But who is Labour’s top baron? Which organisation proved most successful in persuading its members of the wisdom of its leadership, getting closest to a bloc vote pattern of voting for the chosen candidate?

No. It wasn’t Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley of Unite, nor Paul Kenny of the GMB, and not Dave Prentis of Unison either.

Both Unite and GMB voters split 2:1 for Ed over David Miliband, and Unison by 3:2. That is not nearly enough to prevent them falling a long way behind a rival party baron, as the full breakdown of affiliate voting shows. (more…)

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Posted in Grassroots | 4 Comments »