El Cid   214 #277 Posted January 13, 2020 19 minutes ago, West 77 said: The folk in Bolsover carried on supporting Dennis Skinner for many years after he had told everyone a man should retire at 65 to make way for a younger man. Dennis Skinner is 87 and he was still working prior to Dec 12th Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
El Cid   214 #278 Posted January 13, 2020 Just now, West 77 said: Exactly my point. Dennis Skinner said every man should retire at 65 before he himself was 65.  He does seem to be a more genuine person than many other MPs, maybe that is why he lasted so long. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
tinfoilhat   11 #279 Posted January 13, 2020 Sorry to say, he was past it. At 87 it's unrealistic to think he could do the hard yards of a local MP. He cast a long shadow - for better or worse - over bolsover and equally for better or worse, that's going to change. A fair chunk of his constituents weren't even born when the pits were open, and his record then wouldn't sway young voters, and arguably, why should it.  NE Derbyshire didn't burst into flames when we elected a Tory MP, bolsover won't either (although I'm struggling to find positives). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
the_bloke   17 #280 Posted January 13, 2020 Skinner clearly benefited from his grammar school education, like most Labour MPs have over the years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Flanker7   20 #281 Posted January 13, 2020 Lets not get carried away. Skinner was an old style class warrior and was'nt called the Beast of Bolsover for nothing. I'm not going to search for nasty things he has said but I'm sure there are many. The country has moved on since his political instincts were formed in the1950's.  What remains to be seen is - Can the Labour Party move on from another election defeat? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...