Has Kevin Barron Lost the Plot?

Kevin Barron, or The Rt Hon Kevin Barron MP if you prefer his full title, seems to have altered the Constitution at a stroke of rhetorical flourish he uttered during a Westminster Hall debate on November 12th this year when he made the speech where he said;

"Members of Parliament are sent to the House because our constituents want a representative of the state. That is the whole point of the exercise and why we are sent to Westminster, whether we are in government or opposition, or whatever. We are the state's representative in our constituencies and we should not be frightened of taking decisions on behalf of our constituents, because that is to the general good". (Hansard HC Deb, 12 November 2009, c164WH)

This is a new development in thinking and may go some way of accounting for his conversion from a firebrand acolyte of Arthur Scargill to establishment lackey abandoning principle without conscience, and selling his constituents short.**

What is the role of an MP anyway? Perhaps we should look at Parliament's own documentation and they define it thus on their website;

The Role of an MP
MPs have responsibilities to three main groups: their constituents, Parliament and their political party. One MP is elected to the House of Commons by each of the UK’s 600+ constituencies. MPs’ duties in Parliament include participating in debates and voting on legislation and other matters. They may also be members of committees examining new laws or the work of government departments. Some have a role as a minister in government or a spokesperson in opposition.
MPs can help their constituents by advising on problems (particularly those that arise from the work of government departments), representing the concerns of their constituents in Parliament and acting as a figurehead for the local area.
MPs usually support their party by voting with its leadership in the House of Commons and acting as a representative for the party in their constituency.

It does not say anywhere that MP's represent the State to their constituents and as far as I can tell this is pretty well a unique view among elected politicians and a surprising one coming from a previous ultra left winger and Peoples Champion.

Why would this previously adept, political greasy pole climber, have developed a mindset where he could indulge in this fit of arrogant stupidity?

Does it throw light on previous experiences which has led this MP to think he is a superior being whose opinions matter more than his constituents, if he means this "that is to the general good" he is taking a view point that 'only Kevin Knows best' he has obviously lost the plot and it will be very difficult for anyone to take him seriously on any issue again!

The make up of Rother Valley Constituency changes significantly at the General Election to include areas formerly in Wentworth Constituency that have developed a distinct pattern of voting most unhelpful to labour in Rother Valley.

I have analysed voting patterns in the Local, General and European elections taking into account these boundary changes. The analysis confirms that, electorally, labour are in a hole in Rother Valley with a notional current share of the vote that would mean a conservative win by a majority of over a thousand.

If voting patterns do not radically change then Kevin will be forced into retirement by his own voters and the inactivity of his agent who is apparently blissfully unaware of their current lamentable electoral position after all how could Barron possibly be vulnerable when he got 21,871 votes last time?****

Perhaps this might explain the purchase of a super fast colour printer from public funds, to communicate with his constituents. Evidence of this actually happening appears to be non existent however.

Rumours persist locally that the intention is to print all of the election leaflets for all three Rotherham constituencies. Hope this rumour is untrue as it could get awfully messy. All should become clear in the fullness of time. The GPM Section of Unite are known to be very interested in the use of this printer and of other publicly funded equipment in Rotherham being diverted illegally and used for electoral purposes, because the Labour Party has a long standing commitment that all election materials should be printed in GPM recognised printshops. Quite right too for the 'party of the people' I say!! Lets hope they make a better job of getting this policy enforced here in Rotherham than they have in recent times.

The Conservatives are cock-a-hoop that, for the first time in living history, they have a realistic chance of unseating a labour MP in Rotherham and getting their excellent local candidate and Councillor, Lynda Donaldson elected to SERVE her Rother Valley constituents and represent THEM in Parliament for a change. Now that's a radical idea!

Kevin should step down now and give the Labour Party at least a chance of turning this situation around with a new candidate, certainly not his daughter, Cllr Amy Rushforth (up for re-election in Maltby Ward next year defending a whopping majority of just 106!

Kevin Barron is said to be very keen that she should follow him into Parliament. What an insult to his constituents, the arrogance and sheer pomposity of this man seems to know no bounds he certainly seems to have lost contact with reality in a way that seems to me to disqualify him from further service as an MP, he should stand down now with as much dignity as he can muster before we will be saying, within 6 months, "we're you up for Barron? Ha Ha!.

Notes

**Students of Kevin Barron should acquaint themselves with the following;

Marching To The Fault Line - The 1984 Miners' Strike and the Death of Industrial Britain by Francis Beckett and David Henke published by Constable.
The Enemy Within - The Secret War Against the Miners by Seaumas Milne published by Verso.


**** Much more on this soonest, if anyone would like further information on this, email us on rpteam@easy.com or leave a comment including an email address ( It will not be published). If you want a new anonymous email address then we recommend easy.com as the easiest and quickest to use to keep your identity private.

STOP PRESS Kevin Barron's Website now live! at http://www.kevinbarronmp.com/ - enjoy? It will not take you long! Where is the missing bits such as what has he done for you and an account of how he has spent the money he has had from the public purse, without it we cannot judge him for the way he has used it.

Time to tell us Kevin and Denis! This form of accounting by John Healey should be regarded as a minimum for any Parliamentarian who wishes to be elected/re-elected next year.