SO Binners finally ended the speculation (which had probably become an open secret anyway among the Tory ranks) that he would not be standing in Northampton South in 2015.
While his Westminster “adventure” may be coming to a close, far more important was the news he is in remission from the cancer which he bravely announced to the world last January. Northampton Labour was out of the blocks very quickly paying tribute to the big man’s effort and Aufona couldn’t help but think similar such public proclamations were a little short on the ground in the Blue Corner (Mikey Ellis, Norman Hacker to name just a few).
But when it comes to getting out of the blocks, The Mack moved remarkably speedily to announce, less than six hours afterwards, that he would be throwing his hat in the ring, a move that was met with a kind of yawning “surprise surprise” by the Chron’s online commentariat.
Many may think The Mack is a shoo-in for the role, but speak to those in the know and that’s anything but the case. “50-50” was one grandee’s assessment while another Tory at regional level just this week admitted to us it could be “months” before a candidate finally comes through, a factor that could help or hamper The Mack, who turns 34 in September. Anyway, rather than rake over The Mack’s credentials, we’ll throw another name in the mix for you. Conservatives know him already, but Stephen Mold is apparently the chap most likely to give him a run for his money. Stephen, a prominent Northampton businessman, has the advantage of having done his “porridge” having fought Derby North in 2010 where he lost by just 613 votes, narrowly failing to turn around a seat that had been held by Labour since 1997. He has his own website with the logo “Committed to a Better Britain” Educated in the comprehensive system, his website (below a lovely pic of his wife and kids) is a quaint line about his upbringing: “He had a normal upbringing, he climbed trees, played football, joined a youth organisation the Air Training Corps. This taught him tolerance, how to work with others through team-work and it certainly kept him out of trouble and also taught him responsibility”. There’s not much else to say for now. Except Stephen may well be the other one to watch...
GOOD week’s work for the UK’s foremost constitutional expert, Mikey Ellis, who has stepped seamlessly into the shoes of Thatcher “wet”, the late Lord St John of Fawsley. Mikey, resplendent in suit and tie and only a smidgeon of sweat on his brow, was touring the alfresco studios opining on what lay ahead while tipping George as the likely name of choice of the Royal Baby.
Last word on The Mack. He was VERY quickly onto Twitter on Monday to welcome the news and again 24 hours later at the first photocall. Extraordinary David, how d’ya do it?
LOVELY to see the Strictly Northampton contestants gathering at Kelmarsh which gave us a chance to see just how much work the bashful burger purveyor, Tony Ansell, has to do between now and November. Quite how the Tory councillor was persuaded out into the glare of publicity is itself a stunning achievement, but our resident snout described Tony’s dancing prowess as showing lots of promise...
Schools closed on Tuesday – a natural choice of day to bring the curtain down on an academic year – but not before one lucky primary had travelled to The George pub in Tiffield to try out, wait for it, zebra casserole. Aufona has eaten many odds things in life, but hasn’t yet reached Z. Curiously this was all part of the school’s project on Africa. So, presumably, next time David Attenborough pops up, whispering on the African veld on BBC2, will the same kids be screaming “EAT, EAT, EAT”?
AUGUST is fast approaching so business slows down to a trickle at County Hall and the Guildhall with no meetings of any description taking place.
We’re always keen to find out where our politicians like to spend their vacations (Tuscany or Torquay, Cannes or Cleethorpes, that sort of thing) so anything you’d like to impart please do so through the usual channels..
PS DID the (Labour) Mayor receive an official invitation to Paul Weller at Alive At Delapre? No, we thought not too...