Harry’s Place readers looking for a new job might consider applying for the post of Political Adviser To The Respect Group, advertised by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in yesterday’s Grauniad.
Key passage:
As Political Adviser your work will directly assist the group to address the challenges it faces. You must be committed to the Respect Group’s political aims and have excellent communication skills in dealing with members and officers of the Council, the media and the public. You will be expected to co-ordinate and service meetings and undertake research, working on your own initiative and often under pressure.
The main source of pressure you’d be likely to encounter is the near-unbridgeable gap between the RESPECT councillors, who all have deep roots in the local community, and the hated Socialist Workers Party hacks, who the councillors regard with very deep suspicion. Indeed, in July RESPECT council group leader, Abjol Miah, tried and failed to pack a RESPECT party meeting with 45 new recruits, with the intention of turfing out the SWPers, and replacing them with locals. Readers will know that the coup failed after the SWP barred the new recruits from the meeting, and Galloway had to be called in to help paper over the cracks.
They’re offering a salary of £29,292 – £31,320: a fairly decent sum. Therefore, in the current climate, I’d expect there to be a little bit fight within RESPECT over whether the spoils of office go to a local or to one of the imported SWPers.
Which is where Harry’s Place readers come in. I reckon that a split between the constituent parts of RESPECT means that the appointment will be far from a foregone conclusion. You might genuinely have a chance of getting this job.
So, in no more than 100 words, explain why you’d be the best choice for the position of Political Adviser to the Tower Hamlets Respect Group.