So farewell then...

'locked out again...'

Well Tom Flynn is off to live and work in London today. A member of the Young Fabian Executive and a committed member of the local Labour Party in Southampton, he worked for the School of Nursing & Midwifery at Southampton University and as a director of Hill-Hamilton Media & Communications when I first met him. Like another political sparing partner, Jon Walters, he has also been involved in the local Unison branch quite a bit but I don't hold that against either of them! Tom will be quite a loss to Labour locally; as well as sorting out their website, he has been a fairly serious campaigner for them and he had a very credible set of election results in the Conservative stronghold of Freemantle last May;

Ward Results: Freemantle

Flynn Thomas Antony -Labour Party976
Moulton Jeremy Richard -Conservative Party 1310 Elected
Pickering Darren Carl -Green Party 446
Russell Ann Marie -Liberal Democrats 483

This is particularly impressive when one considers that he was up against Jeremy Moulton- a very hard-working and popular local Councillor. Although Labour is awash with its old style heavy metal dinosaurs and class warriors in Southampton, people like Tom who are normal (well as normal as anyone who is involved in politics can be!), up for a laugh and enjoy a drink, not to mention under 35 are quite a rarity so I will be sorry to see him go.

I have no doubt he will make his mark on the London political scene where the pace is a little brisker than Southampton.

Good luck Tom !