Compass MPs

Andrea Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 10:42:53 PM GMT Print-friendly version Facebook

The last Compass eBulletin talks about the "50 strong Compass group of Labour MPs"



Does anyone have a full list of them? I can't find it on their wesbite.

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Compass MPs | 22 comments (22 topical)

Re: Compass MPs (#1)

by doctordunc on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 11:40:19 PM GMT

I suspect there may be a bit of poetic licence going on.  I'm not aware of an official group with declared members (like the Campaign Group, or the old Tribune group) - happy to be proven wrong on that though.


Re: Compass MPs (#2)

by otware on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 11:45:54 PM GMT

I suppose it is quite likely that the "Compass Group of Labour MPs" is simply all MPs who are members of Compass. If this is the case, then maybe they will organise into a group like the SCG in time?


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Re: Compass MPs (#3)

by Andrea on Wed Aug 23, 2006 at 11:54:14 PM GMT

Jon Trickett is described as the chair of Compass Group of MPs. So I suppose there's some sort of organization.


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Re: Compass MPs (#4)

by nickparrott on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 03:28:16 AM GMT

There isn't a public list of Compass MPs at the moment - I think Jon Trickett is planning to launch the group in the new Parliamentary term so I doubt there will be anything formal until then.

I guess the Middle East situation just happened to arise in the meantime and they chose to take a lead on demanding a recall of Parliament.

The list of signatories to that letter is available here.

Obviously, not everyone on that list will be a Compass MP. You could probably get a rough idea of who they are by taking that list, cross referencing it to those who rebelled over top-up fees and Iraq, and then deleting those who are in the Campaign Group plus their hangers-on and a few mavericks.

Sadly though, not even someone as geeky as me has the time for such an exercise right now!


Re: Compass MPs (#5)

by Andrea on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 03:51:29 AM GMT

" I think Jon Trickett is planning to launch the group in the new Parliamentary term "

do you mean the new parliamentary session? Or the new parliamnet term after the next GE?


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Re: Compass MPs (#6)

by nickparrott on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 04:16:44 AM GMT

I was using it in the sense of the period between recesses, i.e. like an academic term. Slightly confusing, I realise, as the word is often used to mean other things, so apologies for that.

The period betweeen general elections is usually known as the Parliament, whereas a Session runs from the Gracious Address through to Prorogation - i.e. from one state opening to the next.

At any rate, I meant when the House sits after the summer recess, i.e. from 9 October.


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Re: Compass MPs (#7)

by Andrea on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 04:20:47 AM GMT

ok, thanks!


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Re: Compass MPs (#8)

by otware on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 05:41:09 PM GMT

I have a feeling that the emergence of a Compass Group of Labour MPs might damage the Campaign Group. Recently the Campaign Group seems to have got more influence because of the smaller Labour majority and the fact that they have led the way against the Iraq War and other controversial policies. However, now that Compass is actively against that sort of stuff people might start turning away from the Campaign Group...


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Re: Compass MPs (#9)

by Andrea on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 05:56:47 PM GMT

Another problem for the Campaign Group is that their MPs are usually quite old (so more likely to retire) and they usually struggle to get new MPs (even if they got 3 MPs from the 2005 intake, the number of Campaign Grouper who stood down in 2005 was bigger)


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Re: Compass MPs (#10)

by otware on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 06:25:24 PM GMT

Yes they are a dwindling force. Dennis Skinner and Frank Cook will be gone soon, and then it won't be long until the SCG is simply John McDonnell, Katy Clark and Linda Riordan.

Sadly, I think the future does lie in Compass rather than the SCG/LRC. Even though I agree with their policy they are just too old and outdated.


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Re: Compass MPs (#11)

by doctordunc on Thu Aug 24, 2006 at 11:38:06 PM GMT

There are plenty of young (or young enough!) campaign groupers... (and not all those who left in 2005 were old - John Cryer for instance).  Alan Simpson, Lynne Jones, Diane Abbott: they're hardly geriatric!!


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Re: Compass MPs (#12)

by Andrea on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 12:06:37 AM GMT

Lynne Jones has to surive the boundary changes first. The new Selly Oak is made up with more parts from the old Hall Green than the old Selly Oak. The new Hall Green is made by more parts from the old Sparkbrook than the old Hall Green.
The Sparkbrook constituency will disappear.
So there're 3 MPs for 2 seats.

IIRC after his defeat, John Cryer said he would have tried to get selected in some seats next time.


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Re: Compass MPs (#19)

by nickparrott on Sat Aug 26, 2006 at 05:34:36 AM GMT

The new Hall Green seat is a possible Lib Dem target, definitely - I think they'd only need a swing of just over 5% on the new boundaries.

Selly Oak should be fairly safe though - it's not in the top hundred Tory targets.

Sparkbrook and Small Heath does get dismembered, but I imagine there's a good chance that Roger Godsiff might retire rather than have three go for two. Of course, he could always challenge John Hemming in Yardley, but I'd be surprised!

The party machine will want to ensure Steve McCabe ends up in a safe seat. The left will be backing Lynne Jones. Selections in that neck of the woods are an interesting business and doubly so this time I expect!

John Cryer was an excellent MP and I very much hope that he'll make a comeback next time.


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Re: Compass MPs (#22)

by Andrea on Sat Aug 26, 2006 at 02:13:53 PM GMT

yes, I think it'll be their target in Birmingham.
The new Hall Green seat will be quite interesting IMO, because of the potential presence of Respect. Labour did ok in the locals this year (a swing to them compared to 2004), probably because of Respect eating in the Muslim vote in the 2 Muslim wards (Springfield and especially Sparkbrook).


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Diane Abbott (#13)

by dancrawford on Fri Aug 25, 2006 at 09:51:54 AM GMT

Perhaps if Diane spent a little more time serving her constituents than cuddling up to Portillo and the smarmy Andrew Neill, I might be more inclined to say nice things about her.


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Re: Compass MPs (#17)

by otware on Sat Aug 26, 2006 at 04:38:47 AM GMT

OK so maybe age isn't as significant as people like to think - but you must admit that their numbers are dwindling.

It's a shame that they seem to have been used by loads of MPs who were supposedly left-wing (Margaret Beckett, for example) as a leg-up in the Labour Party and then dumped when they have the chance to pursue a right wing agenda.


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Re: Compass MPs (#15)

by nickparrott on Sat Aug 26, 2006 at 01:54:30 AM GMT

While it's very likely that Frank Cook and Bill Etherington will retire at the next election, I'm not sure if any other SCG MPs will - even Dennis Skinner, and he's by no means always loyal to the SCG line anyway.

So if they get two or three new members in next time, then they're at least stabilising their numbers over the next eight years or so.

I don't think that age will be a critical factor in the balance of forces in the immediate future so much as the political context.


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Re: Compass MPs (#16)

by Andrea on Sat Aug 26, 2006 at 02:26:57 AM GMT

"While it's very likely that Frank Cook and Bill Etherington will retire at the next election, I'm not sure if any other SCG MPs will"

Maybe Bob Wareing? He's quite old!

The current average age of SCG MPs is 61 (Katy Clark is the youngest one and Wareing the oldest one)


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Re: Compass MPs (#20)

by nickparrott on Sat Aug 26, 2006 at 05:37:07 AM GMT

Good factoid! You're right, Slobabob must be a fair bet for retirement, though he's the sort who might just try to carry on regardless.


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Re: Compass MPs (#14)

by nickparrott on Sat Aug 26, 2006 at 01:47:45 AM GMT

I'm not sure this is necessarily true, because I think that Compass and the SCG are appealing to very different strands of opinion within the PLP.

Also, those MPs in the grey area in between can easily work with both or either on different issues.

It is likely that Compass may become more influential than the SCG but then the broader soft left of the PLP has always been numerically superior and thus more influential anyway - the only difference is that now they're getting organised behind a particular banner.


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Re: Compass MPs (#18)

by otware on Sat Aug 26, 2006 at 04:41:25 AM GMT

I think it is inevitable because Compass is mostly a membership organisation that happens to have MPs as members. The SCG isn't directly linked to any membership organisation (I don't think the LRC is officially affiliated...).


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Re: Compass MPs (#21)

by nickparrott on Sat Aug 26, 2006 at 05:41:07 AM GMT

I think that in theory there is the Network of Socialist Campaign Groups, and of course they do run a newspaper - Socialist Campaign Group News.

But I don't think the LRC has a formal link except for McDonnell chairing both.


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Compass MPs | 22 comments (22 topical)