Former civil service director Helene Reardon Bond has been appointed to run Jeremy Corbyn’s office following the secondment of Karie Murphy to Labour’s Southside HQ to run the party’s election campaign.
Ms Reardon Bond, who was appointed in 2016 as Director of the government’s Equalities Office. Her son Jack works for Corbyn on his social media and her husband often acts as the Labour leader’s driver.
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Let’s hope she is not a Brexiter like Karie Murphy.
Interesting picture of the ‘Suffragists’ & not the Suffragettes’ although neither wanted ‘Universal Suffrage’, only parity with the men of their own class. The working class, both female & male were only fit for conscription into the army or to become canaries in the munitions factories.
My mother worked in a munitions factory as a skilled machinist and was one of the few to be given a pint of milk a day because of the hazards of the job. Interestingly some munitions factories had a small dairy herd close by specifically for this purpose. I often wonder if her job contributed to her death by lung cancer.
I have no insight at all about this appointment.
… but I’m a bit twitchy when I see :
“Her son Jack works for Corbyn on his social media and her husband often acts as the Labour leader’s driver”
There was an interesting article it the FT which gave different slant on the change of staff in Corbyn’s office.
https://www.ft.com/content/30ec1dee-e9b6-11e9-a240-3b065ef5fc55
Unfortunately, Jack, that’s behind a paywall!
It’s always difficult to untangle the competing narratives in situations like this from the motives that drive them – but Andrew Fisher’s resignation obviously brought a lot of uncomfortable issues to the surface.
If you Google ‘The Times Karrie Murphy’ and look for the FT article you don’t need to go through the paywall.
JackT
Given history of sabotage by Blairites during last GE this looks like a good move
Thanks for the redirection :-).
As said – competing narratives, but, picking out the bones, beginning to make sense.
Doug – these things are never one-dimensional (‘Blairites v. the Righteous Brothers and Sisters’). One thing JC hasn’t managed is to change the dynamics of ego-based politics!
I’m guessing this article in the Guardian is on a similar vein to the one in the FT.
Here’s an extract, but I encourage you to follow the link and read the full article.
Two senior party sources told the Guardian they believed it was Fisher, who is very close to Corbyn, who had finally convinced him a shakeup was necessary. One shadow cabinet ally said the Labour leader, who tends to avoid confrontation, had “screwed up his courage” to make the move.
Tensions have been running high since Labour’s conference in Brighton last month, which kicked off with a botched attempt to abolish Tom Watson’s job of deputy leader.
The putsch against Watson was initiated by the Momentum chair, Jon Lansman, but he told friends it had the approval of Corbyn’s office, and Murphy was widely believed to have known about it in advance. The Guardian understands the Labour leader later remarked in private that it made them look like student politicians.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/oct/08/karie-murphy-corbyns-chief-of-staff-moved-to-labour-hq-after-strategy-spats
RH, given that he’s had a target on his back for 4 years I’m willing to let him pick and choose who he trusts and keeps close.
Socialism doesn’t always run in families (and definitely doesn’t in mine) but it can.
I take your point, David – but I’m always nervous when I see a shrinking circle. It can mean isolation/insulation. I have no idea whether it can stabilze what is obviously a leaky ship.
In my opinion David McNiven and Doug in an earlier post are absolutely right. But for the stupidity ( to put it no stronger) of Southside in failing to put resources into marginals in 2017( as Jeremy asked them to do) we would probably be the largest party in parliament . Therefore he was absolutely right, in the absence of Jennie Formby, to second Karie Murphy to Southside to oversee our election campaign and to ensure it is not sabotaged in any way.
I also feel that given the amount of smears leaks and lies Jeremy has to contend with ,he was right to select a person he could trust completely to fill in for Karie in her absence. Should the appointee be excluded because her son works for us and her husband sometimes drives for Jeremy? I think not.
A final point – Karie’s move is being portrayed by the hostile media as a demotion, She was “demoted” to run our most important election campaign in 40 years?Don’t be taken in by this rubbish. She is needed where she is and given her track record I have the utmost confidence she will deliver an election victory for us.
I just hope it isn’t a symptom of a Bunker mentality developing,because that could be evidence that the attempts to divide Corbyn from his natural support base in the membership is succeeding.
john, ‘bunker mentality’ implies head down, periscope over the parapet waiting for the next shell – hardly apposite when Jeremy’s whizzing around speaking fuckin’everywhere.
200+ policies = bunker mentality? I don’t think so.
‘Labour Divisions Increasing!!’ is an MSM crack pipe fantasy to distract from the real story – that Tory MP’s like Little Stewie are filling their cheeks with nuts and running for the hills.
In this run up to the general election Corbyn needs is friends close and his enemy’s far away.The Stamina of the leader is breathtaking and his commitment to the membership inspiring…now all we need is an election..no doubt more surprises from the current regime.
Joseph – the insight of aeons of political success is to keep your *enemies* close.
That’s a bit simplistic, but an alternative approach to wisdom is to have a look at how Attlee – the most successful leader, Labour or Conservative – operated in keeping the circus on the road.
Richard I am well aware of that anology,but it has not worked .Jeremy needs surrounding by friends who are loyal when going into battle.make no mistake this is going to be a dirty war with a dirty regime and a gutter press.And we have to win! Regards comrades
Ireland..its not sides its experience.Parnell Anglo Irish parliamentarian and a force for Irish liberty and Home rule..protestant.Sean mcstefoin l formerly John stephanson from leytonstowe London brought up by mainly his mother a East Belfast protestant,father an alcoholic English solicitors clerk .His mother said to him let no one tell you you’re not Irish.Later on became leader through the 1970S of the breakaway Provisional IRA…Its mindset and people do not fit in boxes except when they are dead Joseph OKEEFE W cork brigade brigade commander 1917 Irish republican army
Ps and whats this to do with Corbyn?Well lessons in history show us how to prepare for a socialist revolution and one we can win no matter what our background!
What has happened to SWs article on labour insiders warning against McDonnell.on 8th Oct? I cant find it on Skwarkies website and on my email it doesn’t go through to comments. Has this been deleted? I find it very worrying if McDonnell is plotting against Corbyn.
Cindy – Thankfully SB seems to had had second thoughts and it was taken down just a few minutes after it was posted.
Ooops
hadhave hadI’m assuming the post was by a hacker 🙂
BBC implied today that Emily Thornberry just musing that a referendum before a GE MIGHT be a good idea indicates division in Labour’s leadership.
MSM mutts still haven’t figured out that constructive ambiguity confuses the pack and distracts them from picking a single target to dogpile.
Dumb fucks.
With their overwhelming advantages Labour should have disappeared without trace but we’re still kicking a hundred years on.
Dyson electric car plan abandoned … “not commercially viable” so … Sinclair C5 for Tesla money anyone?
Cheap to run on electricity (until enough people buy into it that taxing it becomes just too tempting) but late for every appointment and a new £30k battery pack every 3 years.
Maybe later.
Cindy I have not seen anything on McDonnell plotting and would be suprised…maybe its a bit of mischief making.Remember both the leader and john took on Thatcher as a double act together on the old GLC and have remained close friends and committed socialist in the early days.I would feel very let down if john was involved in any type of manoeuvring so close to an election…regards comrades
John McDonnell is Jeremy Corbyn’s political rock, totally trustworthy and 100% loyal to both the man and the Socialist policies he espouses.
I trust John completely. More to the point so does Jeremy Corbyn.
There have been attempts in the past to manufacture discord between them .These attempts failed because the discord did not exist then and it does not exist now.
What do posters on here think of Richer Sounds and Hays Travel, acceptable face of capatalism ?
Now the small matter of gaol and bankruptcy for spivs and thieves who rob the pension fund,
2nd observation Tories would need to recruit 43501 police officers in next 3 years to increase numbers from 2010
boris has a record of reducing police numbers and closing a record number of police stations,
MSM and toilet papers need to be fact checked
I have had no experience of Hayes travel but I have been a very satisfied repeat customer of Richer Sounds for 30+ years. I also applaud Julian Richer for what he has done for his employees.
Do you have an issue with the way either of these companies is owned or the way they treat their staff.
Doug – I’m presuming that you know that In November 2013, Julian Richer announced to the press that, upon his death, he would bequeath 100% of the firm to a trust co-owned by employees of the company. In May 2019 Richer, then aged 60, announced that he had transferred ownership to employees by passing 60% of his shares to a trust, as well as separately paying each employee, excluding directors, a thank you bonus of £1,000 for every year of work from his own pocket to his 500+ employees who had worked an average of 8 years each (circa £4 million)
What’s not to like, if only all capitalists were as acceptable.
SteveH
Yes have read a bit about both companies and the individuals behind them,
The reason I raise it is to address the first challenge of nationalising various industries is not to repeat historic mistakes,
That requires new structures to give them autonomy and out of reach of any future government
Doug 11/10/2019 at 1:12 pm
Perhaps you could give a more detailed explanation because I am really struggling to see what relevance a Hi-Fi Retailer and a Travel Agency have to Labour’s rather limited nationalisation program.
Also what was it about these 2 particular companies that made you single them out.
Does it, really?
Also challenges John McDonnell stealth tax on FTSE companies, nothing should come back into government coffers, every penny should be held in sovereign wealth fund for share buy backs, so ultimately workers will own the Companies
No such thing as “out of reach of any future government” surely?
Her son Jack works for Corbyn on his social media and her husband often acts as the Labour leader’s driver.
Where’s mine?
Under t’ground.
I’m glad it was taken down as coming from SB it’s pretty alarming if it was true. I assume the fact it’s gone is because its untrue?
Errr .. not necessarily! Just uncomfortable.
The cock-ups at Conference were obviously a symptom of all not being exactly a smooth-running machine 🙂
I’m never surprised at Labour Party ego tripping – I’ve seen too much to believe in a predominance of selfless working for a common good. (Or a predominance of laser-like foresight and intelligence).
A bit cynical, I know – but better than delusion.
JC’s driver and Reardon Bond has to be a good double barrel. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I’m looking in my genealogy chart to see if I can find a Readon Bond