Sheffield Central Labour Candidate - Abtisam Mohamed vs Eddie Izzard

[fromorbit]

If you are based in Sheffield please lend your support to Abtisam Mohamed a strong local woman candidate, a solicitor of Yemeni descent and longstanding Labour Councillor who has done valuable local work for the community including on nurseries. Sheffield Central is a safe Labour seat so whoever is selected is going to Parliament. Eddie Izzard has also launched a campaign but besides being a celebrity, has more glitz than steel, hasn't lived in Sheffield since being a student, plus as we all know is unclear about who they are.

Mohamed has an inspiring story, worked her way up to get a great career going and is focused on getting practical stuff done. She will make a great MP.

Abtisam Mohamed interview
www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics/sheffield-councillor-launches-her-bid-to-become-a-city-mp-3871921

Abtisam Mohamed Campaign page including a great video lots on her local concerns for the city:
abtisammohamed.com/

In contrast Izzard's campaign, getting loads of press coverage, is thin on detail:
www.eddieizzard.uk/

The local paper talked to people who questioned Izzard's chance of winning a few months back:

"In contrast, Jane Armstrong questioned her claim to run in the city.

She wrote: “I had heard this for a while and if she is fancying Central I know a lot of Labour members in that area who are really hostile to having her as a candidate. Not because she isn't nice person, but because people do not like celebrities being parachuted into wards above local candidates."
www.thestar.co.uk/news/politics/eddie-izzard-sheffield-readers-share-their-thoughts-on-comedians-bid-to-be-city-centrals-next-mp-3821984?itm_source=parsely-api

Apparently several other councillors may be standing as well so it should be an interesting contest.

I am not sure when the cut off point if you join Labour locally you will get to vote on who the candidate is. The actual contest has not yet begun yet but if I were local I would be signing up.

Does anyone know how the selection process works please?

twitter.com/DisabledJess/status/1579848351469957122?s=20&t=kL10_WUW1FRUX7YMJB8u9g

TRAs assuming that Eddie has got it already

Trans people should be treated exactly the same as everyone else.
Judged on their policies and commitment to the local area rather than how famous or special they are

Labour MP candidate selection process

1. Applications submitted
2. Party branches and affiliated organisations make

nominations

1. Longlisting and shortlisting by CLP selection committee
2. Campaign period (shortlisted candidates can canvass for

support from members etc.)

1. Hustings meeting - All local party members get to vote on who is selected.
2. NEC endorsement -

We ae at stage 1 so long way to go

Re KJK standing vs Izzard if Izzard wins the selection process, not sure it is needed. The already selected Green Candidate for Sheffield Central Alison Teal is like many members of the party Gender Critical. So either way there will be options.

twitter.com/alisonclareteal/status/1577341145297846273

Eddie’s not good enough for the TRA’s!

Whatever happens, the trans issue is going to be under the spotlight.

And as soon as Eddie gets asked any questions, it will be blinding.

Eddie was completely incoherent when somebody asked him about men in women's sport. Because there is no acceptable answer other than no.

Plus, the fact that a TRA has already come on saying how awful it would be for KJK to go up against Izzard is confirmation of what a great idea it is.

who has made islamophobic remarks in the past,

Posie criticised the hijab. Specifically for minor girls.

I think that would go down very well right now.

Eddie might be 'gender fluid', whatever the fuck that means, but when Eddie is in girl mode she/ her pronouns are used and presumably Eddie is a 'woman' and anyone who thinks differently is a transphobe.

I would LOVE to see the likes of Nandy & Starmer answer specific questions on why the likes of Izard should have the right to access single sex spaces.

Bring it on.

This is nuts. Dozens of misogynist Greens are saying they will campaign against the Green candidate and for Izzard. All the left and environmental policies don't matter a jot. They'll support a Blairite who's "trans inclusive" over their own party. They don't care about anything else. (Just search Sheffield Green Party on Twitter for this)

And if this isn't proof that there is an anti woman's rights agenda, I have no idea what is.

Not sure but think the bulk of students will be in the Sheffield Hallam constituency.

Perhaps it will wake up some of the long established Green members who are really in it for the environmental issues?

Labour will pull your membership for supporting a rival candidate online (counts as campaigning against your own candidate) wonder if the Greens have a similar policy?

Students through history have shown very little interest in voting full stop. I don't see that suddenly changing for this one event, especially after the lib dems nick Clegg complete fuck up.

I think the issue is that the Labour candidate will have to get through party selection in the constituency first, which is going to have a strong student bent. The students who are Labour party members in the constituency obviously aren't going to be representative of the student population as a whole, and constituency parties are never representative of the electorate, but it's a hurdle that will have to be passed.

Izzard is more towards the Blairite wing of the Labour party and has a long history in that capacity, and both constituency parties and student Labour members usually prefer more left leaning candidates instead. This is a generalisation though, I don't have specific local knowledge of Sheffield Central.

twitter.com/reallorraine/status/1579885962087215105

ODFOD

Appalling handmaiden

Not sure how Kelly-Jay Keen criticising the hijab is Islamophobic considering what is going on in Iran right now. It's about choice. You want to wear it? Fine. That's how you feel you want to present yourself to the God you believe in and the world around you. However, you don't get to force anyone else to do it.

They used to be. But they are gradually all moving nearer to the centre.

I live in this ward, EI got a lot of social media publicity for doorstep campaigning recently (lots of selfies).
However, I was appalled by their performance on BBC Question Time when it came from Sheffield some weeks ago, Louise Haigh (local labour MP, shadow cabinet I think) responded really calmly and knowledgably to a fairly aggressive line of questioning. EI seemed to give the same answer (that without a windfall tax, the energy companies should voluntarily handover their profits) to every single question - it was bizarre, he literally had nothing else to say.
For that reason and for the fact that Abtisam Mohammed has been working in and for Sheffield for some years, EI will not be getting my vote.
Interesting point made by PPs about a white privileged male parachuting in

Quite. People talk a lot about how the hijab is empowering, but surely that can only be the case if you have a real choice about whether to wear it or not.

Abtisam_Mohamed is her Twitter handle, if anyone wants to find her on Twitter. Lots of evidence of her engagement with the community.

I don't know what KJK said, but slagging off hijab on kids is a pretty mainstream view.

And especially with Eddie - what’s his hold over Lorraine? There has got to be some back story!

who has made islamophobic remarks in the past

Tell us twitterengineer, do you think that any group of males should be protected in any way from being scrutinised when it comes to safeguarding children or women? That when investigating crimes against children and women no group should be considered untouchable for any reason?

Tell us teitterengineer do you understand how the Rotherham gang continued for so long? Are you not angry that a group of males raped and sexually assaulted children and there may have been unacceptable reasons they were not caught earlier?

Are you not determined to make sure that doesn’t happen again with ANY group of males?

Or are you just repeating things you have pick up on twitter without going and seeing the context of what she said and why?

Or did you just plop that post down again, as you typically do and never once answer the posts that point out your falsehoods?

Just taking a moment to enjoy how close Sheffield Central is to Miriam Cates’ constituency…

The third candidate is Abdi Suleiman is a former student at Sheffield Uni, activist, Corbyn supporter and seems like a pretty impressive speaker. Think this is going to be an interesting campaign.
abdisuleiman.co.uk/

Abdi might take a lot of the student vote and also the left vote rather than more Centerist Izzard... especially as some of the Trans crowd are going to talk Izzard down

The fourth candidate is Mike Buckley a former aid worker, Labour advisor etc. twitter.com/mdbuckley/status/1578397675401220101

Abtisam seems the most grounded so far. Being a leading local councillor means she is going to have a lot of local support.

Mike Buckley has been Sheffield CLP campaign coordinator for quite a while so will probably have a good level of support within the constituency.