I am fully aware that the Conservative Party and their Selly Oak candidate Nigel Dawkins have come under a lot of criticism from me in the past. For this reason I have decided to even the score and publish a peice on Steve McCabe, the Labour candidate for our fair constituency.
Who the Hell is Steve McCabe?
A fair question, I would like to add. Steve McCabe's official biography found on his constituency site,
states that he was born in Glasgow in 1955. He trained as a social worker in the 1970s and moved to Bradford where he worked with young offenders and in child protection. He moved to Birmingham in the mid 1980s and began lecturing in social work at North Worcestershire Collage.
Elected to Birmingham City Council in 1990, McCabe was made chair of the Transport Committee and won an award for the committee's pioneering work. He was elected as MP for Hall Green in 1997.
Since 1997 McCabe has been a committed party loyalist and a blairite of the highest order. He has moved swiftly up the party ranks holding a series of Select Committee and (very) Junior Ministerial posts. Since 2007 he has been a leading whip.
McCabe's voting record
There have been few (or indeed no) times since 1997 when McCabe has voted against his parties leadership. As such it would not be unfair to describe him as 'lobby-fodder'.
His record on many topics sickens me and I do not intend to lend him my vote. According to They Work For You
McCabe has consistently voted against civil liberties: voting very strongly for Labour's "anti-terror" legislation e.g. 2005 Terrorism Act, Detention Without Trail for 28 Days (longer than in Iran, Russia and China), Control Orders and the restriction of habeas corpus. He voted for ID Cards and has voted against an Iraq War inquiry. He also voted in favour of renewing Trident and for the War in Iraq.
He has voted consistently in favour of Labour's privatisation and deregulation measures. This interestingly puts him way to the right of Nigel Dawkins. McCabe has voted in favour of top-up fees and Foundation Hospitals.
Socially McCabe has again voted at his parties beck and call. Here my support is more mixed. Whilst I am inclined to support McCabe's economic stance I feel that he mostly just acted as 'lobby fodder' and betrayed the beliefs of many of his constituents. On social policy I am pleased that he voted strongly in favour of homosexual rights, as a non smoker and a civil libertarian I am also pleased that he voted moderately for the smoking ban. However, he also voted for the Hunting Ban and did not go the whole way when it came to climate change legislation. Again this was fully in line with the expectations of his Party...
And on the issue of the moment? Steve McCabe voted strongly against a "transparent" parliament.
$Expenses$
McCabe's expenses record is below as is a link to the Daily Telegraph article on his Second Home Allowance over claim.
Expenses
Figures in brackets are ranks. Parliament's explanatory notes.
| Type | 2007/08 (ranking out of 645) | 2006/07 (ranking out of 645) | 2005/06 | 2004/05 (ranking out of 659) | 2003/04 (ranking out of 658) | 2002/03 (ranking out of 657) | 2001/02 (ranking out of 657) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Additional Costs Allowance | £17,109 (460th) | £12,092 (538th) | £11,488 | £14,010 (505th) | £12,970 (520th) | £14,597 (531st) | £16,276 (joint 140th) |
| London Supplement | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Incidental Expenses Provision | £23,103 (89th) | £27,961 (42nd) | £20,196 | £17,270 (399th) | £4,157 (655th) | £6,862 (643rd) | £15,675 (329th) |
| Staffing Allowance | £84,464 (428th) | £74,327 (566th) | £50,952 | £52,423 (638th) | £40,726 (655th) | £55,488 (582nd) | £42,909 (442nd) |
| Communications Allowance | £6,416 (395th) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Members' Travel | £9,399 (243rd)* | £7,745 (312th)** | £4,281 | £7,721 (436th) | £6,652 (457th) | £5,844 (494th) | £4,705 (482nd) |
| Members' Staff Travel | £1,007 (joint 99th) | £1,263 (93rd) | £1,555 | £0 | £163 (joint 379th) | £163 (394th) | £0 |
| Members' Spouse Travel | £0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Members' Family Travel | £0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Centrally Purchased Stationery | £1,351 (121st) | £4,063 (22nd) | £1,944 | £4,850 (22nd) | £953 (276th) | £729 (joint 457th) | £752 (429th) |
| Stationery: Associated Postage Costs | £1,945 (379th) | £11,530 (25th) | £6,903 | £13,630 (23rd) | £3,147 (248th) | N/A | N/A |
| Centrally Provided Computer Equipment | £1,566 (12th) | £1,371 (25th) | £1,895 | £1,748 (joint 491st) | £1,748 (joint 482nd) | £1,718 (470th) | £0 |
| Other Costs | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Total | £146,360 (332nd) | £140,352 (joint 277th) | £99,214 | £111,652 (529th) | £70,516 (656th) | £85,401 (632nd) | £80,317 (485th) |
* Regular journeys between home/constituency/Westminster: Mileage £874 (533rd). Rail £8,214 (82nd). Other: Rail £311 (61st).
Analysis
McCabe appears to have been a fairly effective Constituency MP (if anyone wants to contradict me please do so in the comment box). However, will he make a better Selly Oak MP than Nigel Dawkins? Dawkins strikes me as a bit of a maverick, but essentially lobby fodder. My guess is that he lacks what it takes to step into the shoes of Anthony Beaumont-Dark and Lynne Jones. Obviously I am inclined to support Selly Oak Ward councillor and Liberal Democratic candidate Dave Radcliffe.
As it stands I feel that McCabe is to close to the party leadership, to much of a brown noser, to be a truly effective MP. As it stands I feel that he is slightly better than Dawkins, only because Dawkins is untested and in my opinion lacks the qualities to be an MP even more than McCabe does. Dawkins propensity for ugly campaigning mars him in my eyes.
