I have read the Wales Eye article "Peter Hain - the hagiography" by Daran Hill of Positif Politics which was recommended by Councillor David Lewis.

A hagiography is basically the biography of a saint or ecclesiastical figure but can be a piece of writing that treats its subject with undue reverence. Maybe that is why this piece has made an impression on Councillor Lewis as it will, by definition, be partisan and frame Peter Hain in a good light. It seems Daran sent his article on to Peter who duly pasted it onto his MP's website, tweeting his thanks to him. The article is linked to below:

http://waleseye.com/post/88219478689/peter-hain-the-hagiography#

Daran Hill has an advantage over me as he has personally worked with (for?) Peter Hain when he was the National Organiser of the successful "Yes for Wales" devolution campaign in 1997. He is now MD of the body Positif Politics.

http://www.positifgroup.co.uk/about/people/daran-hill

I would not seek to change Daran's high opinion of our MP. There is absolutely no doubt that Hain has a wide range of skills eminently suited to survival in the jungle of the political world. He has used these to good effect, not only for the Labour cause but also his own personal advancement. Some people would say just like cream Peter Hain has risen to the top. Others (not me) might use a far more earthy metaphor about what floats to the surface (see link at bottom of article).

I won't slavishly follow up on everything Daran wrote but these are the points I would make:

Firstly, Daran says the local party made a bolder choice of candidate than expected when Hain was selected to fight his by-election in Neath. That may be true - he is not found wanting when there is a trumpet to be blown - but not a very fair fight, was it? By the time Hain stood for the Neath candidacy he was already a ring-worn veteran in the electioneering world. He had fought two vigorous general election campaigns in Putney in 1983 and 1987 being well-beaten on both occasions. According to Hain's book Outside In, he had also been blooded in unsuccessful candidacy selections in Bethnal Green, Woolwich, Rotherham and Blaenau Gwent. He was advised (told?) to apply for the Neath seat which for years by his own words had had a "low profile" MP and the seat was described to him as "wide open" by a senior Union official. It was like sending Dai Greene to a Neath Harriers meeting to run the hurdles against the local old boys (except Dai is Welsh talent, not a parachuted import). Hain had the support of key Union figures but also Neil Kinnock, the party leader himself. In his book Hain writes that Kinnock had to remain officially neutral but "his office let it be known he was a friend". At the final meeting of candidates, pre-planted questions were put to Hain so he could give his carefully scripted answers - all designed to influence the crowd - all things learned from those earlier defeats. Little wonder he got the selection.

I accept that as Daran says, Hain was initially "a shot in the arm to Labour in Neath". He was bound to be. Just look at the difference in background, age, vigour, probably beliefs, between a young, ruthlessly ambitious, in-your-face firebrand and the product of a different generation, dyed-in-the-wool, previous MP, Donald Coleman, who had represented Neath since 1964. Shots in the arm may be a thrill in the beginning but as any drug user will tell you their effects soon wear off and they can eventually lead to the decay and destruction of the host body.

And I've no doubt about the major role he played in securing devolution for Wales. He makes it abundantly clear in his book again - and again and again ad nauseum. Here, his extensive experience and good grasp of running campaigns came to the fore. The right man in the right place at the right time - if you are a supporter of devolution of course. Indeed, although I've not finished the book yet, I wonder if we might have been better off dispensing with our whole Parliamentary system and just left Peter to run the country (oh, maybe the world as well), such is the impression the memoirs give. Having seen the state of things in our NHS in Wales and Welsh education I'm beginning to wonder if devolution is a poisoned chalice anyway. Perhaps it's not devolution I should blame for that but those we choose to run the system.

Daran's article also states that Hain was the only Labour MP from Wales to be appointed to a Cabinet position beyond Wales or Northern Ireland during the entirety of the Blair/Brown years. Read this carefully. An MP from Wales - not a Welsh MP. What has happened to Welsh born MPs rising to top positions in the party? I wonder if the Labour Party's fingers were so badly burned by their last big Welsh investment, one Neil Kinnock, that Welsh born MPs shall forevermore be as welcome at the Cabinet table as someone with HIV at a swingers' party.

Despite Hain himself regarding the role he played in Northern Ireland as one of his greatest legacies, Daran does not mention it. Fair enough - his article essentially has a Wales/Hain theme to it. I await with interest to see the "on-the-runs" review/inquiry published to see how, if at all, that legacy has been tainted.

Then Daran talks about Hain's Deputy Leadership bid and that "he was a serious contender to become the deputy leader of the Labour party before his campaign collapsed through mismanagement by those trusted to run it". This statement is very misleading unless you know the story of what went on. It can easily be interpreted as linking Hain's failure to win the vacant post with failings in his management team. The truth is it was nothing of the sort. Hain's campaign was already long over when undeclared donations came to light (November 2007). He was a poor fifth out of the six candidates when the Deputy Leadership was decided in June 2007, a pretty lamentable performance for a "serious contender" don't you think? Especially when he spent far more than any of the other candidates on his campaign. The only candidate below him was Hazel Blears - remember her? He describes the campaign as the biggest mistake of his political life. Yes, Peter, I could agree with that. Like a gambling addict selling his house and putting the proceeds on a roll of the dice. (Not a bad analogy that - six candidates, six sides on a dice). Big, big mistake. It effectively destroyed Hain's future progression up the Party ladder. The phrase "sh*t or bust" comes to mind - it is a well known saying amongst the white working class once so beloved, now sorely neglected by the Labour Party. Whether the middle class boy from Pretoria is familiar with it I do not know.  He's been lodging in Neath long enough to have picked it up - but maybe not, in the hallowed circles he moves in.

Moving on a bit, Daran refers to Hain being the most senior Shadow Cabinet member to back Ed Miliband in the 2010 Labour leadership bid and that the current leadership is perhaps another thing that is partly his legacy. Now I know you're pulling our leg, Daran. This hagiography is a wind-up isn't it? If backing Ed Miliband is something to put on your CV, then you and I are definitely not living in the same world.

There are descriptions of Hain where I can agree with Daran - "a tribal figure", "campaigning, media-savvy and ruthless", "a key figure not just in Welsh Labour but for the UK wide party". Given the nature of Daran's consultancy work I leave it for the reader to decide how objective and balanced his piece on Hain can be. In fairness to him he labels it a hagiography. It's certainly that.

One thing I will give Daran real credit for. His hagiography must be the only pro-Hain article I have ever seen that doesn't mention how Hain saved the world from apartheid, nor does it mention his best pal, Nelson Mandela. Now that takes some doing - and I've ruined mine by mentioning them. Damn!

But if you want to see a more balanced view of how others view Peter Hain one of the sites I would recommend is YouGov. Do a search on opinions on Peter Hain and then see what other people think of him. I can assure you that I haven't personally posted on it or had any influence into the opinions that have been posted there. In fact I'll save you looking it up. The link is below.
 

https://yougov.co.uk/opi/browse/Peter_Hain


Have fun reading them.

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