Last night - as news programmes were relaying the results of the Legg Report announcing that half of all MPs should repay £1.12million claimed in `expenses' – David Henry landed the job of ousting Hazel Blears at the General Election.
At the Old Pint Pot pub in Salford, David Henry beat community activist Alec McFadden on a show of hands to become the official Hazel Must Go! candidate.
Before the vote took place, the meeting heard from former Labour MP, Dave Nellist, who told the audience that MPs are now "insulated and isolated from the real world", that the House of Commons was oozing "insipient corruption" and he urged Salford people to help build an independent political alternative to the three main political parties which will put the £90billion cost of the bankers' recession onto communities…
"The cuts" he said "will dwarf anything we've ever seen, the victims will pay for it and hardly a family in the area will be untouched".
The meeting voted to align the campaign to the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition, a national campaign backed by unions which is supporting independent community candidates nationwide.
David Henry, from Broughton, said that he's "not a politician" but this was about "bringing power back to the people". He added that every time he hears the 1997 Labour Party anthem `Things Can Only Get Better' it leaves him cold. The expenses scandal surrounding Hazel Blears and other MPs proved that the current system is "inherently corrupt and in urgent need of reform"…
As a result of the Legg Report, Hazel Blears has had to repay £225 for a glass shelving unit she claimed on expenses. This comes on top of over £13,000 she voluntarily paid to the Inland Revenue last year to cover capital gains tax for selling her second home.
Meanwhile the Hazel Must Go! campaign recently referred the Salford MP to Scotland Yard, arguing that Hazel "may have committed fraud" over claims for cleaning expenses…
Photos by Suzi Hoffman
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