Hereditary Socialism - More on Stephen Kinnock

Stephen Kinnock's selection as Labour candidate in Aberafan at the next election has attracted less than flattering attention in the Danish press, whereas the response from the mainstream UK media has been decidedly muted.

Michael Bjerre, writing in Berlingske, manages to capture the sense of resignation and powerlessness felt by many locals as he spoke to people in the Working Men's Social Club:

"It doesn't matter what we think", said one. "In the case of Stephen Kinnock, it was decided at the top - by the party in London and the union - that it was him they want to see elected."

Another man, aged 69, said he was the third generation in his family always to have voted Labour, "but I don't think for a minute that we'll see him again once he's been elected. He's not from round here".

The union concerned is Community, headed up by General Secretary Roy Rickhuss who was elected unopposed in January 2014 (no, I'd never heard of him either). Rickhuss is a member of Labour's National Constitutional Committee, and Kinnock secured the union's backing.

So ordinary voters can only look on as they watch a carve-up of their constituency by party and union bosses, with strings being pulled from the House of Lords.

Stephen Kinnock, we learn elsewhere, set up some sort of home for himself in the constituency a few weeks ago (alongside his homes in Copenhagen and London) and has been busy talking to the BBC:

Vaughan Roderick ‏@VaughanRoderick 1h

BBC News - Stephen Kinnock to be 'truly active' if elected Aberavon MP http://www.live.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-26705031 

The BBC has dutifully reparroted Kinnock Junior's spin, leaving it to the Danish press to wonder exactly how he intends to represent his constituency. He told Berlingske that he planned to "live and work" in the constituency. 

The paper points out that is the sort of promise British parliamentary hopefuls make, and that it normally means spending weekends in their constituency and the rest of their time in London. Does that mean, Berlingske wonders, that Denmark will find itself being governed on a regular basis from South Wales, with Helle Thorning-Schmidt making the long journey from Copenhagen with the children to see her husband at weekends? 

Or will constituents wanting to get in touch with their MP find that their best hope is getting a pass for the BA business class lounge at Heathrow?

Another aspect of Kinnock's private life which has attracted considerable attention is the decision he made with his wife to send their eldest daughter to a fee-paying school. This has been covered by the Western Mail, the Left Futures blog and the decidedly un-left leaning Guido Fawkes.

Sending children to be educated in the private sector is just as controversial for Danish Social Democrats as it is for British Labour politicians, and Kinnock's first response was to react with a combination of bluster and contempt at such disgraceful and misleading suggestions.

Within days he was having to apologise for misleading the press on the matter. The fees he and his wife pay to send their daughter to school turned out to be twice as much as he had previously said.

Kinnock argues that the school, which they chose for "private reasons", is not like Eton or Harrow. True enough, but then there are no Danish equivalents of Eton or Harrow for Kinnock to send his children to. Berlingske notes coolly that in his interviews Kinnock downplayed the fact that the Ingrid Jespersen Gymnasieskole is one of the most sought after private schools in Copenhagen, while trying to give the impression that it was really just like a normal state school.

Labour supporters may be surprised to hear that "Gymnasieskole" translates as grammar school.

Back in Wales, Aberavon has one of the highest pecentages of children living in poverty in the country.

Jyllands Posten, like Berlingske, Børsen and Politiken a serious daily newspaper (just imagine that - a small county not much bigger than Wales which manages to sustain a clutch of high quality daily newspapers!), provides a handy run-down on Stephen Kinnock's biographical details to date.

It includes the following summary of developments concerning his tax affairs:

• In 2009 the Danish tax authorities investigated his tax status because of his job in Switzerland.
• The Copenhagen tax office approved his tax payments in September 2010, but there were accusations subsequently that Kinnock had been given favourable treatment, according to tabloid daily BT.
• Details of the tax affairs of Stephen Kinnock and his wife, Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, were leaked to the press. A commission has been investigating the leaks.
• The commission has also been looking into whether ministers, special advisers or other officials have been involved in handling the affair. A report is expected in the autumn.

After Michael Sheen's bravura performances as Tony Blair and Jesus, is Port Talbot's most famous son now preparing to re-enact the rise and rise of Stephen Kinnock?