The trouble with shortlists ...
Wales.
Safe Labour seats.
Jobs for life.
Shortlists in those safe seats.
What springs to mind?
Trouble - that's what. Just think Blaenau Gwent and you'll know what I mean.
Paul Flynn MP is sensing some of it over in Pontypridd after Kim Howells announced that he was off. He hasn't yet, as far as I can see, incurred the wrath of this fellow Labour blogger .. not yet.
Let me add to Labour woes.
I understand that four Labour Councillors and some individual members in Islwyn have resigned from the party, unhappy that they've had - they claim - no say in drawing up the shortlist of candidates to fill Don Touhig's shoes.
They've sent a resignation letter to Gordon Brown and here it is:
"We have become evermore disillusioned with the government over recent months. On the weekend we received news that the Party HQ has imposed a shortlist upon us to replace our outgoing MP Don Touhig, which contains no candidates from, or who live in Islwyn. This situation has occurred despite repeated calls for us to decide our own shortlist and has resulted in our continued membership of the Party becoming untenable".
"Islwyn neighbours Blaenau Gwent, where the Party refused to listen to local members before the last General Election and imposed an all woman shortlist. The action resulted in many members leaving the Party and contesting the Westminster seat against Labour".
"We will now select Cllr Dave Rees, a true democratic socialist to stand against the Labour Party and their list of Party clones in the coming General Election. Cllr Rees is a hugely popular Councillor in his Ward and has an excellent track record of delivery".
Transport House have said they'll send over the names on the shortlist this morning.
On it, I gather, is the name Tamsin Dunwoody - or "Tamsin Dunwoody ... again" as local sources put it, ever so slightly bitterly. A handful of others are London based. One currently works for outgoing MP Don Touhig.
"We told them we wanted a say in the shortlist" said one of the letter's authors, who himself went for the nomination but wasn't shortlisted. "They didn't listen".
Deja vu anyone?
UPDATE
The official Welsh Labour line:
"Nothing has been received by the party directly by the members concerned.
If it is the case that these councillors will be resigning their membership, then it is clearly disappointing news. However, after a strong Conference weekend and hugely positive recent polls, Welsh Labour is in great shape to fight the next election. The quality of the candidates applying for both Pontypridd and Islwyn merely underlined the fact that we have a deep reservoir of talent to draw on."
The unofficial Labour line:
Good riddance to difficult customers put out by Don Touhig's refusal to join a No campaign in the run up to a referendum.
The shortlisted candidates in Islwyn: Tamsin Dunwoody, Christopher Evans, Dan Jarvis, Melanie Smallman, Nick Thomas-Symonds, Angela Wilkins, Nathan Yeowell
and in Pontypridd: Jayne Brencher, Stephen Doughty, Delyth Evans, Bethan Roberts, Owen Smith.
UPDATE 2:
More official responses. This from Harry Andrews, Labour group leader in Caerphilly council:
"I'm obviously very disappointed to hear this news - these are colleagues I have worked closely with in the past and I'm saddened by the position they have taken. However, their decision will in no way diminish Labour's commitment to the serious issues like fighting to improve public services in the Caerphilly County Borough."
And from outgoing Islwyn Assembly member Irene James:
"The important thing people need to remember is that it will be down to party members in Islwyn to have the final say on our next candidate. I think we have a great range of candidates to pick from and I look forward to campaigning alongside the eventual winner to keep Labour in power in Westminster."
I'm Betsan Powys, BBC Wales' political editor. I'll be blogging the inside track on 
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~03~RS~)
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This is just one of many reasons that people are losing all faith in politics. "Positive discrimination" at any level is just wrong regardless of any left-wing agenda stating otherwise.
I'd like to see a rule brought in where candidates have to live locally to their constituents in order to become the local MP - this behaviour of air-dropping party-clones into seats is disgraceful, regardless of the party doing it, and needs to be outlawed if politics is ever going to repair its' already damaged relationship with the electing public.
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I wonder if this could be the start of a fledgling Welsh Labour and Unionist Party?
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I can understand why they have left the party and are prepared to fight on as independants. I am not suprised that this has come to pass. One of the shortlisdted candidates has even given a incorrect address to try and give some sort of local colour. Many more local perty members will be weighing thier options. Quite frankly this means No win for Labour at the general election , no win in the assembly next year and we can forget about ever takibg control of Caerphilly Council ever again. The list should be scrapped a special Executive called to draw up a short list and the rebels brought back into the party.
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Are we talking about the so-called Wet Movement, the group’s key spokesperson, Caerphilly Labour councillor David ‘Dave’ Rees?
The way I read it, Rees’ plan is: “to establish local cells in as many parts of Wales as possible.” To me, “cells” sounds ominous, but then I’m not Welsh and have limited knowledge of Wales.
I know that billionaire Julian Hodge supported the Wets from his non-dom home on the self-governing Channel Islands. He was well known as a philanthropist and a benefactor for Cardiff University from 1970 onwards (one of the halls of residence now bears his name, Hodge Hall). In the late 1990s he did not, contrary to popular belief, fund the "Just Say No" campaign against devolution ahead of a referendum for the Welsh Assembly; the confusion results from the keen involvement of his Robert who was the Chair.
The Just Say No campaign was the campaign group that was opposed to the Assembly referendum question. The Just Say No campaign ran on a tenacious anti-devolution platform.
I thought that leading "True Wales" figure Cllr David Rees had been selected as Labour candidate for the Labour-held seat Aberavon at the 2011 Assembly Election.
So if Dave Rees holds the Labour Seat, Aberavon, how does this email fit:
“We will now select Cllr Dave Rees, a true democratic socialist to stand against the Labour Party and their list of Party clones in the coming General Election. Cllr Rees is a hugely popular Councillor in his Ward and has an excellent track record of delivery"?
I’m so confused!
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On it, I gather, is the name Tamsin Dunwoody
Tamsin was AM for Preseli Pemb's
I don't think she will be welcome back here.
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Seems Councillor Dave Rees has stuck his foot in his mouth. He doesn't want more devolution for Wales' Assembly, yet he doesn't want Wales' Labour Party run from Downing Street. You can't have your cake and eat it Dave. That's what you get if you vote Labour - Wales run (down) from London. Its been like that for generations. Mind you, there have been parachutes out as well as in, take old Boyo Kinnock and his wife for example, they've done pretty well out of it, materially, I mean. Kick one's country in the backside and get out to feather one's nest. Old style socialism at work.
I can't understand how anyone born this side of Offa's Dyke would ever entertain voting for a dishonest party which has impoverished Wales at every turn. Its elected representatives have done nothing for us in over a century.
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Different David Rees BluesBerry....
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Where seats are contested resources flow, look at the hospital bed ratios in Monmouthshire/Vale compared to other counties. "Safe" seats result in stagnation and failed investment. There should be no safe seats in Wales.
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Come on mun Dave. Stop being so narrow-minded and parochial. Listen to your masters and dock your forelock like you expect every other Welsh person to.
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Tamsin Dunwoody!! What a political failure that woman is. She was such a 'wonderful' AM for Preseli Pemb that she was kicked out by the people of Preseli Pemb. Then she turned up at Crewe to defend a big Labour majority but lost to the Tories! Now she turns up at Islwyn and has already split the Labour Party there. Is this woman jinxed? As Guido would say, the curse of Jonah Dunwoody strikes again.
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What has happened to Tasmin's (or should that be Tarsmin?) double barrelled name which was so prominent when Labour tried to parachute her into Cheshire?
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This is great stuff, Labour fighting itself.
Or does this mean that UnTrue Wales is now a separate political party? If so, will it be fighting other seats? And if so, then it will be competing against Ukip, with whom UnTrue Wales last week had fraternal discussions!
And what about Dai Davies (Monmouth), he and his ilk can't be seen fraternising with back-from-the-dead Old Labour no matter how much they may all detest Wales and Welshness.
I can see things getting rather fractious amongst the defenders of colonialism in the months ahead. Happy Days!
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