Nick Herbert MP, Shadow Justice Secretary, who weakly accused the present government of hypocrisy and excessive "spin," leaving this observer with the sense that if that's the best criticism the Tories can put up, it's not surprising they've spent the last ten years in opposition.
- The Earl of Onslow, who proudly proclaimed himself a relic of the 18th century and whose anachronism was refreshing and entertaining.
- Iain Duncan Smith MP, Former Leader of the Conservative Party and by far the finest speaker of the night, who lambasted Labour for the state of the NHS, lack of promised improvement in inequality and poverty, and made it clear that a vote for the motion was not a vote for the Conservatives, but simply an indictment of Labour's failures.
- Quentin Davies MP, who defected to Labour several months ago and was roundly criticised by the other side for his floor-crossing, but was a very engaging and impressive speaker.
- Daniel Zeichner, current Labour candidate for the Cambridge area, who seemed a populist Labour leftist but a forgettable speaker.
- William Redfearn, Publicity Officer of the Cambridge University Labour Club, who I hear was notified just hours before that he would be replacing a local union leader on the slate of speakers and made a valiant attempt despite being thoroughly outgunned. The Earl of Onslow correctly but cruelly declared "A wise move," when Mr Redfearn indicated that he would be wrapping up his remarks.
In other news, the Union decided in the emergency debate beforehand that Facebook does not cause more harm than good. Between the "no confidence" debate and the unintentionally hilarious Qaddafi speech earlier in the week, I think I'm well on my way to getting my money's worth out of my Union membership.
No comments:
Post a Comment