Hoooooooon!
A couple of years ago in Labour Students there was a small group of us who jokingly (get that? JOKINGLY?) divided Labour MPs, supporters, what-have-you into "Hard Labour" (ultra-Blairites), "Pamphlet Labour" (Compass, Fabians), et cetera. It was ridiculously silly but was something which we would joke about whenever we saw one another at conferences and the like. Clearly someone was paying too close attention to this, because they failed to realise that when we were worshipping Geoff Hoon as something like a demi-god we were, in fact, taking the piss. Well, mostly. Over at The Daily, someone known as "Nick" comments:
[Peter] Hain is the number one hate figure of the self-proclaimed Hoonite faction of ultra-Blairite crazies in Labour Students and elsewhere, so there must be something going for him ...
Any animosity towards our Secretary of State for Wales is completely transitory, simply because at one point he suggested (in a pamphlet! Pamphlet Labour!) merging Young Labour and Labour Students, which is anathema.
The next commenter, "Henry G", plays follow-my-leader is also taken in:
Does Geoff Hoon have a faction? A kind of Labour First thing going on? All sorts of wild images come to mind from these [sic] thoroughly uncharismatic man. [...]
Faction (in chorus): "What do we want? Tanks and fags! When do we want them? NOW!"
"Ian G" (any relation?) has a bright idea which we never considered:
'Hoonatics' perhaps?
Now why didn't I think of that?
this is highly amusing.
you appear to have been designated a genune faction.
i just remember some songs. IE - fly me to the Hoon.
Posted by: Lola | August 12, 2006 at 07:50 PM
Which of course gave rise to the "Hoon at the Moon" howl referenced in the title of the post ...
You Ain't Nothing But A Hoon Dog?
Posted by: Rob | August 12, 2006 at 09:21 PM
I there was also Hooooon let the dogs out.
And quite a few others I do not remember.
Posted by: Lola | August 13, 2006 at 07:59 AM
Haha this is quite funny.
Peter Hain is my favourite cabinet member (well, there's ed miliband, and other brownies, and hilary), but that idea in the compass pamphlet is one of the silliest I have ever seen. LS is best at it's most independent.
On the Pamphlets!
Posted by: el tom | August 16, 2006 at 02:18 PM