“Expel him!”: Labour MP comes under attack at Compass rally

Ed Balls turns on coalition’s anti-poverty tsar.

By James Macintyre Published 13 June 2010 15:05

On this blog, I have repeatedly referred to Frank Field, the intriguing Labour MP who joined Tory grandees in begging Margaret Thatcher to stay in office when she was preparing to step down in 1990.

Now, it seems, he has come under attack for his eccentric politics, during a hitherto unreported session at the Compass conference in central London yesterday. The outcry came after Field was seen to have attacked "breakfast clubs" in schools. On Friday, he told the Times:

Why not get parents to give them their breakfast? Getting your children to school dressed, fed and on time is one star in our model.

Responding, Ed Balls, the former schools secretary and Labour leadership contender, made a passionate defence of the clubs and pointed out that many parents could not afford to buy breakfast. Balls received a loud cheer from hundreds of delegates, who then began to chant: "Expel him!"

It appears the Labour Party is losing patience with this independent-minded MP. Now, the question in Westminster is, how long can it be before he loses patience with Labour, and defects to David Cameron's "modern" Conservatives?

UPDATE: To clarify, hundreds cheered for Ed Balls, but only a handful booed Field's name and yelled, "Expel him." Still, this is a Labour MP we are talking about, so a rather unusual moment.

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11 comments

Thu, 2010-06-17 21:46 — Geoff (not verified)

Far from being a traitor FRank Field is spot on. Damn right these parents should be giving their children breakfast before they go to school. There is too much lowering of expectations of people nowadays. Socialism is about equalising inequality it should never be about wiping peoples arses for them.

Mon, 2010-06-14 20:51 — clem the gem (not verified)

Wrong target. Field is at best an embarrassment to himself, and at least never claimed to be a socialist, like some others used to. He sees himself as a free thinking radical. We are a broad church, and he kicks himself more often than he kicks us.
No, we should be expelling Lord Mandelson, for services to the super-rich, and bringing the Labour Party into disrepute.

Thu, 2010-06-17 22:40 — raymond392

This is just a short comment on the breakfast club, personally I think it is a brilliant idea and it works, where people might have an objection thinking it is the parent's duty to send their kids to school with breakfast in them. The reality is not all parents single or otherwise do send their children with a proper breakfast inside them, not because the school provides it because they cannot, either due to poor parenting skills, finance or just plain common sense, like sending children to school with a packet of crisps.

The say breakfast set up up for the whole day and that is the way ir should be sadly in Britain today that is not always the case.

The less well off areas in inner city schemes run these clubs to beneficial effect, nutrition is very important to growing children so is food education i.e eating the right things, you can love or hate Jamie Oliver but he did have the right idea about school meals what they should be he just forgot the option of choice. Would you believe some children think it is ok to have crisps for breakfast or can of juice. Parents as well as children need to know what is good for children to eat, fruit is high on the agenda on school breakfast clubs and dinners some kids think wine gums do the same job. I believe breakfast clubs provide a valuable service to children who get sent out to school undernourished and unprepared.

Sun, 2010-06-13 15:24 — Ian Davies (not verified)

This is cheap reporting - I was there yesterday and there was a loud cheer to Ed B's comment and I heard a shout of "expel him" but in no way, shape or form was there a "chant". Stick to the facts please, I expect this kind of rubbish from the Torygraph, not the NS.

Sun, 2010-06-13 15:58 — jeremiah

Frankie boy is a traitor. Working for the enemy and is a pal of Thatcher.

FYI Ian I don't give a flip who said what at some bloody meeting.

Field's record is well known in the party. He should join the Tories and stop pretending to be a Labour man, when he quite clearly isn't.

Sun, 2010-06-13 20:05 — swatantra nandanwar

Odds on that Frank and Kate will set up as the Independent Labour Party. Frank L and Kate DL.
We need more Parties in the Commons, like the old Commonwealth Party, Communist Party and UKIP, otherwise how are we going to make real coalition politics work. Belgium should be our model.

Sun, 2010-06-13 21:47 — Vlaams Blok (not verified)

"Belgium should be our model"

Didn't we have something to do with creating Belgium??

Mon, 2010-06-14 00:55 — PierreM

Frank Field did hold out against Gordon Brown's removal of the 10% tax rate which was aimed at helping low income earners, etc. so Frank is not all bad.
He does seem out of touch with the world that today's children live in however. With often 2 parents working to pay a mortgage, the breakfast clubs and after school clubs have proven to help children improve their grades. They should not be under threat.

Mon, 2010-06-14 05:55 — farcalled

Mr PierreM

Children in the UK, using the English language, do not have "grades". Roads and railways have grades as do aggregates and many other things but not children.

Children are given "marks" to track their achievements at school.

Mon, 2010-06-14 11:53 — BrianB (not verified)

I am a Labour Party member and also believe Field should be expelled.I also believe his 10p tax rate campaign was more about inflicting damage on the party rather than any desire to help the less well off-in short I believe he really is in the wrong party.In John Major terms he is someone within our tent peeing all over us at regular intervals.

I know several parents who send their children to breakfast clubs because they start work early, something Field seems not to understand.

Tue, 2010-06-15 22:42 — Graeme (not verified)

Field is a disgrace. If the electors in his area have finally seen the old Tory he is, he stands no chance of standing again. But I suppose he getting old in the tooth, so figures he is ready to retire after putting the boot into the people he claims to support. Sorry, but he really makes me sick.