Dave Martin - pragmatism and principle

THE affairs of the Labour Party in Sefton have recently been in my in-tray.
It is a week since the sad news of the death of group leader Cllr Dave Martin broke and his funeral was held today (Thursday). Tributes from all sides of the council chamber have been fulsome. I particularly appreciated the opportunity to speak to Cllr Martin’s old comrade and friend Joe Benton, MP for Bootle and his predecessor as group leader.
 

Mr Benton placed Cllr Martin – who by all accounts was something of a fearsome firebrand at the height of his powers – as “slightly left-of-centre� within the Labour party’s broad church. Yet the MP explained how the group leader’s socialism was a practical creed, and he knew when to compromise – and how far to go – in the near-unique political situation engendered by Sefton’s composition. A powerful tribute from one highly regarded politician to another.
Cllr Peter Dowd, Cllr Martin's deputy, played the role of acting Labour leader for the final months of Cllr Martin's illness. But predictions from a number of sources are that we will soon witness a succession contest – and the field currently wide open.

The late Cllr Dave Martin - kept the red flag flying, in Sefton's chilly cross-breezes

It may be going off the point a little, but pondering the red thread that runs through the core of Merseyside local government reminded me of reading one of the best political books - ever.
That is 'Left Behind', an expose of Liverpudlian Labour machinations during the height of the Militant era, by Mr Benton's friend and neighbouring MP, Walton's Peter Kilfoyle.

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