Thinking Bloggers

Fellow bloggers have written some very thought-provoking things about me recently. Chris Paul for instance, who said: "But he is absolutely wrong and still blagging like a good arms industry lobbyist when he says that a decision is required on the submarines. This is absolutely and fabulously concise Akehurst guff. And just that bit weasely to boot." Parburypolitica, on the other hand, wrote the following kind words: "When do you know it's the end of an era and it's time to move on? When Luke Akehurst starts posting like this." And Labour's #2 blogger (after me), Karen Cross, voiced the opinion of many Labour Party members when she wrote: "Firstly, there must be some joking coming in from those participating in the vote if Luke Akehurst is seen as the future of the Labour Party."

Then there are some nice comments that I can't quite understand. This, for instance, posted on The Rotten Elements, which seems to be about me and Dave Spart: "We’re not interested in post-modern left lassitude, the embrace of kitsch; everything’s the same, so your stuck in Osler Dave’s/Luke Akehurst - join new labour gang, hard-drivin' hatred of change & any Clever Trevor theoretical conjunctures, life just keeps starting looking the same...".

It could be worse. At least nobody says anything really nasty, such as describing me as an unreconstructed Old Labourite for whom the years since 1977 never happened. Now that would really upset me!

The idea of this meme is that I have to name 5 bloggers who often cause me to think about what they've written - and they each have to name 5 more. That's fun. It's a sort of electronic chain mail. In a couple of months there will be over 4 billion bloggers posting about bloggers who make me think. My brain will be quite sore by then!

I'm nominating:

Boris Johnson MP - he's always thought-provoking even though he obviously hires someone to write the stuff for him.

Janine Booth of the Alliance for Workers' Liberty - who promotes a version of Trotskyism that is more attractive than the shouty slogans at the SWP. Referring to me recently as "Luke The Spook", she had me in stitches when she wrote: "I can't really be arsed to engage in a ping-pong with Luke about the rights and wrongs of expulsions - it would be the equivalent of arguing with Oliver Reed about the rights and wrongs of booze."

Not the Clissold Leisure Centre, just to prove that I have a sense of humour. These frustrated swimmers and nude cyclists are always having a poke at Julian and me, but they always get me thinking. Mainly they get me thinking that if I could find out who they are I'd stand outside their house with a large banner depicting a swimming pool being demolished. Now that would be really funny.

Paul at Never Trust A Hippy who was kind enough to link to all these posts of mine: Combative pro-Trident, Betty Boothroyd should have been PM, Get the whips out, Purgatory is on Euston Road and Hazel for Deputy with the kind endorsement: "to understand Labour, you need to read Luke." Oh, bless.

Finally, it has to be my old bunk-mate Thicko Watson who has provided me with more entertainment from his blog than all the rest of them put together. I still p**s myself laughing every time I think about Councillor Smith needing "sorting out". You're a cracker, Tom. Actually, you look quite like Cracker, too.