I see Ms.Qureshi has began already to find friends and influence the locals with words such as "sour grapes".

Sour grapes indeed ! These are local people well aware of local problems and as such the vote should have gone with a local person.
The fact she says she's "had her legal practice on hold for seven months" To me speaks volumes of a spoilt rich ****, who's ambition is not to better the lives of Bolton people but better who own selfish ambitions. If she really thinks because her Father USED to live in Great Lever this qualifies her..well !

There again, I suppose she'll collect the Muslim vote, of which there are many and by God, Labour will need them next time round.

Labour must be worried sick when they see Qureshi's record so far!
Anti-war, anti-Israeli. Pro Palestine, Pro Irish Nationalist, managed to lose Brent to the Lib Dems. The real issue is that this woman will not care about the ward she may be representing - bigger fish to fry in her attempt to get on the world stage

Doesn't matter, she was democratically elected.
She will win the seat easily.
A few crib players throw their toys out of the pram.
Who cares ?

well myself i will not be voting for her. WHY cant we have a person from bolton instead of pakistan or london! what does she know about the needs of bolton people when she doesn't even live here. I for one don't want her and i live in her new area.

The people of Bolton SE now have an opportunity to make their voices heard.

If you are sick of political correctness, unbridled immigration and politicians who think they can ride roughshod over the wishes of the British public. Then this is your opportunity.

Out of 61'000 people in Bolton SE only 31'000 bothered to turn out to vote last election. Labour won the seat with a majority of 12,000.

I am a lifelong Labour voter, but I will be voting Tory at the next election. Politically it would make no difference if we elect a Tory or Labour govmnt. They are all the same. Ten years of Labour have just been a continuation of Thatcherite policy.

If we in Bolton SE were to wake from our apathy and make our votes count, then our politicians would have to start taking our concerns into account.

If we allow this Pakistani, human rights lawyer from Watford to be foisted on us, then we will have missed our chance , and the politicians will treat us like the salivating dogs we will have proved ourselves to be.

Vote Tory at the next election. It's the only way to make your vote count.

So what do we have here? Another race row? I cant believe the nerve of some of these people. They want to live in a democratic society but yet cannot accept what has been democratically decided. Ms Qureshi has been elected to represent this ward because she is committed and motivated and has worked very hard. It shouldnt matter whether she is Pakistani or that she is Asian, or the fact that she is a woman. What should matter is that she has overcome so many criticisms and tried very hard to get as far as she has and that she is a british citizen. What Ms Qureshi needs is your support, not criticism for not having visited your local. I never saw the last candidate at my local mosque as I do not go to the pub. I have not taken offence by this but just want to make the point that it must be difficult to see everyone in the constituency even if you are from Bolton let alone for someone who is from out of town. Ms Qureshi has been elcted because of her commitment and hard work, this shows that she is dedicated and would help the people of Bolton to put forward their concerns as much as if not even more than any one else would have. So what if she is Anti-War? Shouldn't we all be? I know I am. Ms Qureshi could be Green, Yellow, Black or Blue or even be from Mars. What matters is that she is a British citizen with equal rights and therefore should not be discriminated against. Surely if Ms Qureshi wanted to get on to the world stage she could find better ways of doing it than to represent Bolton S. East. As far as I'm concerned she has done extremely well to have got this far and she will definately have my vote.

I have a message for Jim Cottam and others who are unhappy with a candidate who is NOT from Bolton and who was born abroad.

Next time Mr Cottam is at the A&E at the Royal Bolton Hospitals will he refuse a medical examination by a nurse, doctor or consultant because he or she is NOT local? I didn't think so.
Absolute NONSENSE!

I have been a Conservative supporter for over 30 years and I know there is NO chance of a Conservative victory in Bolton South East. I will volunteer my services to Susan Williams in Bolton West.

Cllr Andy Morgan you are free to join us!

The sad thing about this row is that we already have in Bolton some highly competant people who could work well to represent Bolton South. These include people from all communities. Why on earth the seat went to a Londoner throws up real concern about the voting system being used. There are too many instances of MPs being parachuted into safe seats just to please the London HQ (this happens in all parties).

This is not a good move for Labour.

Jav,k - Just how democratic is a system where 250 constituency party members decide who should represent the 61,000 people of Bolton SE? You may argue that it will be decided at election time, but the fact that our undemocratic first past the post electoral system makes safe seats a reality effectively disenfranchises voters.

As it happens I myself am against the war in Iraq, but probably not for the same reason as you. However, saying "shouldn't we all be against it" leads me to believe that you don't really understand the concept of democracy at all.

Response to jav k
Ms Qureshi has been elected because Labour needed a 'safe' seat for her after managing to screw up the last safe seat she was parachuted in to. Not about race at all it's about dedication to the people of the ward she serves - people were saying much the same when the appalling Ruth Kelly got the nomination for one of the other Bolton wards. I repeat Ms Qureshi is more concerned with her career as a lawyer and her place in world politics - she will undoubtedly be fast tracked to a leading cabinet position (providing she keeps her real political beliefs a little more hidden than she has in the past)

First of all I would like to know what this outcry is. OK so few disgruntle members are taking their bat and ball. The local party will be bigger when comes the time of the election than it is today.

I was at the meeting and stood with others to hear the result announced. The room was filled with people whose first preference was for another of the six excellent candidates. There was applause from all sides when the result was announced and further applause after Ms Qureshi had said thank you.

What is the requirement that the person chosen should be local. Surely it should be the best candidate. Ms Qureshi told us that her constituents and their problems would be her first priority. Ms Qureshi has been a member of the party since her early teens, done voluntary work both here and overseas, is Human Rights adviser to Ken Livingston. Need I go on. She brings with her a wealth of experience and the party quite rightly chose her. I have no problems with any of the candidates. All would make an excellent MP and I wish them all the best for the future.

I would like to correct some other misconceptions expressed by others. Ms Qureshi is not rich, was educated at a state school and showed a determination to win selection.

She will have not only the Muslim vote. She will also have the Hindu vote, the Christian vote, even the agnostic will vote for her. We live in a multi cultural multi race country and the implied racism of the comment is uncalled for.

So what if she all the things complained of. I doubt that the party will worry about having such a person represent Bolton South East. There are plenty within the party with those views. She didn't lose the Brent East seat to the Liberals as it had been lost at the previous election. Ms Qureshi actually reduced their majority.

I haven't the space to show how different from the Tories Labour is. I do expect that some will hold the view that changing allegiances is the way forward. I on other other hand believe that we need a party that can and will make a difference. That party is Labour

Tev Fleming wrote:
First of all I would like to know what this outcry is. OK so few disgruntle members are taking their bat and ball. The local party will be bigger when comes the time of the election than it is today.

I was at the meeting and stood with others to hear the result announced. The room was filled with people whose first preference was for another of the six excellent candidates. There was applause from all sides when the result was announced and further applause after Ms Qureshi had said thank you.

What is the requirement that the person chosen should be local. Surely it should be the best candidate. Ms Qureshi told us that her constituents and their problems would be her first priority. Ms Qureshi has been a member of the party since her early teens, done voluntary work both here and overseas, is Human Rights adviser to Ken Livingston. Need I go on. She brings with her a wealth of experience and the party quite rightly chose her. I have no problems with any of the candidates. All would make an excellent MP and I wish them all the best for the future.

I would like to correct some other misconceptions expressed by others. Ms Qureshi is not rich, was educated at a state school and showed a determination to win selection.

She will have not only the Muslim vote. She will also have the Hindu vote, the Christian vote, even the agnostic will vote for her. We live in a multi cultural multi race country and the implied racism of the comment is uncalled for.

So what if she all the things complained of. I doubt that the party will worry about having such a person represent Bolton South East. There are plenty within the party with those views. She didn't lose the Brent East seat to the Liberals as it had been lost at the previous election. Ms Qureshi actually reduced their majority.

I haven't the space to show how different from the Tories Labour is. I do expect that some will hold the view that changing allegiances is the way forward. I on other other hand believe that we need a party that can and will make a difference. That party is Labour

When will you realise that people have had enough of your Labour spin.

The answers to your questions are in the posts of people on this thread, and the one before.

People have real concerns about this selection, but as usual you can't or don't want to see any point of view which may be contrary to your agenda.

trevor wrote:
Labour must be worried sick when they see Qureshi's record so far!
Anti-war, anti-Israeli. Pro Palestine, Pro Irish Nationalist, managed to lose Brent to the Lib Dems. The real issue is that this woman will not care about the ward she may be representing - bigger fish to fry in her attempt to get on the world stage

It is why Im so glad she is representing LAbour at the next elections.

It means hopefully another party can take the seat and I'm so hoping they will.

Its about time these voter sent Labour a clear message.

King Eric wrote:
Doesn't matter, she was democratically elected.
She will win the seat easily.
A few crib players throw their toys out of the pram.
Who cares ?

Those "small minded" people that you describe so quaintly, those people that live in the Borough and Town who care about their future.

Farnworth. Kearsley and Little Lever have so far been spared an influx of Immigrants. Past Labour Voters may consider this carefully when putting their crosses on the ballot sheet next time they come to vote.

jav.k wrote:
So what do we have here? Another race row? I cant believe the nerve of some of these people. They want to live in a democratic society but yet cannot accept what has been democratically decided. Ms Qureshi has been elected to represent this ward because she is committed and motivated and has worked very hard. It shouldnt matter whether she is Pakistani or that she is Asian, or the fact that she is a woman. What should matter is that she has overcome so many criticisms and tried very hard to get as far as she has and that she is a british citizen. What Ms Qureshi needs is your support, not criticism for not having visited your local. I never saw the last candidate at my local mosque as I do not go to the pub. I have not taken offence by this but just want to make the point that it must be difficult to see everyone in the constituency even if you are from Bolton let alone for someone who is from out of town. Ms Qureshi has been elcted because of her commitment and hard work, this shows that she is dedicated and would help the people of Bolton to put forward their concerns as much as if not even more than any one else would have. So what if she is Anti-War? Shouldn't we all be? I know I am. Ms Qureshi could be Green, Yellow, Black or Blue or even be from Mars. What matters is that she is a British citizen with equal rights and therefore should not be discriminated against. Surely if Ms Qureshi wanted to get on to the world stage she could find better ways of doing it than to represent Bolton S. East. As far as I'm concerned she has done extremely well to have got this far and she will definately have my vote.

ID like those labour members to show themselves.

IS it any wonder many of them used their secret ballot?

They were to ashamed to be honest about what they were voting for!

"Human Rights adviser to Ken Livingston."

Indeed that's why we cannot get rid of the Immigrant Killers in London who are taking peoples decent lives away then getting of scot free from being deported.

Whose Interests will she serve?

The people of Bolton or Immigrant Killers who refuse to leave the country?

Human Right Law MA at Brighton Univerisity


Cost = £2000K Approx

Enginnering MA at the same University

Cost= £12-15,000 approx

Human rights lawyers are becoming 10 a penny and I for one can see the bigger picture.

Engineering - should have said before some jumped up know it all comes back on to comment.

"She said last night: "People are trying to muddy the waters."

"The question should always be who is the best person for the job. Tony Blair had no real connection with his Sedgefield constituency.""


How arrogant to compare yourself with Tony Blair?

At least she has a taste for Blues music !

Oh well! Like Cliff Said a nice Mix of people make it for all the more interesting election.

I am so looking forward to it. Just cant stop laughing at the fact Mr Meagher was so beat.

He must be writhing.

Haha.

Tom Thumb wrote:
"Human Rights adviser to Ken Livingston."

Indeed that's why we cannot get rid of the Immigrant Killers in London who are taking peoples decent lives away then getting of scot free from being deported.

Whose Interests will she serve?

The people of Bolton or Immigrant Killers who refuse to leave the country?

Spot on.

And with violent crime becoming an everyday occurance, these are exactly the concerns which the Labour party are failing to address.

We don't want our MP to be fighting for the rights of some drug dealing scum to have a commputer in his prison cell. We want our MP to be fighting for the rights of decent people to live decent lives.

Jav K - I am assuming that you are of Asian origin - if not then please correct me! BUT... if you look at all the arguments put forward so far - yes religious beliefs have been mentioned but the majority of people are opposed to her because she does NOT come from BOLTON. Race is not even a factor in that process - and in any case how many muslim people actually vote in any of the elections - its always a very very poor turnout in areas of high ethnic minority residents!!!

Its comments like what you stated in the first line of your post that does inflame the issue. and truth beknown there is a high problem of race relations not on in Bolton but the whole of the UK because of many perceptions that ethnic minorities seem to get for free or get away with.

Surely the point here is that she was elected by the Labour Party membership for that seat, democratically, in a fair vote. How on earth can the club now say "we didnt get what we wanted so we're pulling out". Clearly the membership who were there got what they wanted otherwise she wouldn't have won the selection.

Hopefully, labour will suffer a catastrophic defeat in Bolton SE at the next election. If Ms Qureshi is so keen to be a politician, she should try her hand back home in Pakistan!

I am so looking forward to it. Just cant stop laughing at the fact Mr Meagher was so beat.

He must be writhing.

Haha.

Jeez, the politics of the playground.

I personally would prefer local candidates who have a proven track record in helping the local community. I'm gobsmacked at Sun Tzu's rant about 250 people deciding who will gain the seat. The party members decide then the electorate endorse or reject that selection. If you don't like it Sun then join Labour - but you're a Tory and if a member have the right to vote for whom you think should stand for your party in your local seat. Ghengis Khan is dead so out of the question I'm afraid.

Are we now starting to focus on the real issue here.
Bolton South East has more than its fair share of terrible real time problems like,
1Endemic drug dealing.
2Murders.
3Manslaughter
4Knife and gun Crime.
5No go areas
6Severe ASB.
7Feral Youths.
8Concentration of homeless adults.
9Street Prostitutes.
10Kerb Crawlers.
11Depravation
12Immigrants.
13Asylum Seekers
14Refugees.
15Benefit fraud.

Just read the Papers for confirmation.

To be fair to any future Party candidate give them the chance of telling the Electorate their pledges with regard to the direct action they will take to secure improvements.Then make up your minds who to vote for.
In its wisdom the Labour Party machine in South East has spoken and all the vitreolic blogs in the world will not make any difference.It is the Election result that will count.

Sour Grapes indeed!!

I am presumeing Jim Cottam is a member of the Labour Party? If so, then hasnt he read his party rules on slecting MPs?

Also, did Mr Cottam object to any of the candidates not being from Bolton BEFORE the vote was taken? Are the local Labour Party officials such as Cllr Hornby going to take Mr Cottam to task over his sulk?

Surely if you a member of a political party, you abide by a democratcic vote whether it was your choice of candidate or not? If he dosent like it - he should get the hell out of that Party, and re-join the Tories - as he has once stood for them in the past it would seem.

Finally, it would appear that Dixon Green Labour Club actually made some nominations, as an affiliated body. It was reported in the BN that Dixon Green nominated Richard Jackson - from Cheshire, and a lady called Mubarak, from Bradford. So whats all that about then??? Its as clear as a bell that Mr Cottam is engaging in a school boy sulk! If I cant have it my way then I'll take my ball home!

Pathetic really.

As someone not born and bred in Bolton, I can say that my hometown constituency has not had a locally born MP since the mid-1950's, but all, including the current incumbent, have, before their election, familiarised themselves with the area and its problems, and have worked hard to resolve them. There is nothing to suggest that Ms Quereshi will do anything different. She should be given the opportunity to prove herself, and not subject to the racist rants of people such as Jethro Tull and Sun Tzu.

Qureshi says she is now looking for a house here. And no doubt while she's down at Westminster representing Bolton SE she will be doing her "human rights" bit by renting the house out to a load of her housing benefit claiming countrymen.

Any constituency would be better off electing a Pot Dog, you will get more representation. The days of M.P.'s representing their constituents is long gone. They will all follow the Party line and vote as instructed. O.K. every now and then one votes against the Party line but it will never make a difference. We have truly arrived at the Sheeple populace.

If the voters of Bolton South East are the lap-dogs Labour so clearly believes they are then Qureshi will be elected. However I think the main qualification for standing as an MP should be that you are local. I think the time has come for a protest vote so that political parties of all shades learn to control their arrogance. O.K Bolton South East lap-dogs or what?

john wrote:
If the voters of Bolton South East are the lap-dogs Labour so clearly believes they are then Qureshi will be elected. However I think the main qualification for standing as an MP should be that you are local. I think the time has come for a protest vote so that political parties of all shades learn to control their arrogance. O.K Bolton South East lap-dogs or what?

It won't count for anything unless they are defeated, and the only party who could possibly do this are the Tories. As unpaletable as it may seem to many die hard Labour voters, the only way to make a potentialy effective protest vote is to bite the bullet and vote Tory. They are now the lesser of two evils.

john wrote:
If the voters of Bolton South East are the lap-dogs Labour so clearly believes they are then Qureshi will be elected. However I think the main qualification for standing as an MP should be that you are local. I think the time has come for a protest vote so that political parties of all shades learn to control their arrogance. O.K Bolton South East lap-dogs or what?

You could probably count on the fingers of one hand the total number of MPs local to the constituency they represent.

I can only think that there is something else about Ms Qureshi that Mr Cottam objects to.

I wonder what it is.

A LOCAL CANDIDATE?

I have just spoken with a colleague who is a Labour Party member and was at the meeting at Dixon Green Labour Club on Sunday.

It is pretty evident what Mr Cottam means by local is that a white male candidate was not selected!

Kevin Meagher lives in Sheffield with his wife. Since when did Sheffield become local?

I have been told there was NO local candidate (who was born and also lived in Bolton).

I think this "local issue" has been concocted and is a smoke screen for inherent racism.

All those that are claiming to support the Local Candidate know full well that Kevin Meagher is NOT local but rather he lives in Sheffield.

I was also informed that during the short listing process of reducing the candidates from 53 to 6 Dixon Green Labour Club selected on their short list of candidates a Pakistani Asian woman from Bradford (Mubarak Iqbal) who couldn't speak English. Where was the local issue then?

Shame on you Dixon Green Labour Club!

I knew the race card would be played. Perhaps we could have a list of her clients and how many are on Legal Aid.Northern towns should have local representatives regardless of race, colour or creed. The best NW MP for many years was Sir David Trippier who represented Rossendale AND still lives in the borough.I've said it before they MUST live in the area for 5 years and ONLY draw their massive pensions if they remain in the seat. Do you think Meacher, Straw et al will retire here. Did Castle? Local representation is a must regardless of party. Let's tell London to **** off.

Winston Churchill's political career wouldn't have gone very far if the voters in Oldham had taken the same attitude.

Bystander from Lancashire. Must I repeat myself!

There were NO local candidates!

"Dixon Green Labour Club selected on their short list of candidates a Pakistani Asian woman from Bradford (Mubarak Iqbal) who couldn't speak English."

Then Dixon Green is either having a laugh or they've been sampling their own (expensive) products !

Interesting that Dixon Green os also the hangout for the new Councillor Jean Cottam..any relation to big gob ?

Stop being cowards jim cottom, sun tzu and their likes!
Come clean about your true prejudices and agendas instead of disguising them with bull**** excuses.

No one is rising to your cheap bait

Your pointless agendas are transparrent!

vote Tory. They are now the lesser of two evils.

HA! HA!

What an excuse of a pitch for a tory vote sun tzu!



Tories are the evil of politics!(a truer pitch for the tory vote)

vote Tory. They are now the lesser of two evils.

HA! HA!

What an excuse of a pitch for a tory vote sun tzu!



Tories are the evil of politics!(a truer pitch for the tory vote)