Another Lib Dem defector – How many is that now?
Solihull Lib Dem councillor Simon Slater has defected to the Labour Party. At a press conference in Solihull High Street on Friday Ian Austin, Labour MP for Dudley North, welcomed Coun Slater to the Labour fold and hinted there could be more defections to come across the West Midlands. – Solihull News
The Mirror’s final pitch
So we urge MPs, Labour Party members and those in affiliated trade unions and socialist societies to cast their votes, online or by post, for David Miliband before the ballot closes next Wednesday. Supporters of Ed Balls, Andy Burnham and Diane Abbott should consider giving second preferences to David Miliband. The head must rule the heart. It might appear cool to vote for Ed Miliband but the sensible choice is David Miliband. – The Mirror
“If we make the wrong choice we’ll leave Labour stuck in opposition for many years, that’s why this is too important a vote to ignore and it’s the reason the Daily Mirror has backed David. The people who really want him to lose are the Tories.” – Alan Johnson, The Mirror
Kinnock wades in again
Kinnock airs their differences publicly when he tells a Channel 4 docudrama of his surprise at David Miliband’s behaviour towards his younger brother, saying: “David’s response to Ed running has, to my astonishment, been deeply resentful. David’s people are spreading all kinds of bloody bile about Ed being in thrall to the left and he would be in the pocket of the unions and all kinds of crap like that.” – The Guardian
Real Labour Leadership in action
Funding for 20 police community support officers (PCSOs) has been reinstated by Blackburn with Darwen council’s new Labour leadership. The party regained control of the council after a vote of no confidence in the ruling coalition this week. The coalition had announced the PCSO posts would go by October – but the decision has now been reversed. Council Leader Kate Hollern said the council wants to protect the community’s frontline services. – BBC News Lancashire
How to deal with those pesky Lib Dems?
Mr Balls said if Labour campaigners “simply focus on fomenting discord in the Liberal Democrats” they could “take their eye off the ball” and fall into a “trap” of not presenting voters with a credible alternative.
“David Cameron would love the Liberal Democrats to fall apart. And then to say, ‘you always knew these Liberal Democrats were always unreliable anyway, vote for the real thing’. If we haven’t won the argument with David Cameron and George Osborne at that point, a Liberal Democrat collapse could not help at all.” – Ed Balls, politics.co.uk
Woolas saga goes on
Two High Court judges hearing a challenge to ex-minister Phil Woolas’s re-election as an MP have reserved their judgement until October. Defeated Lib Dem rival Elwyn Watkins says the vote was swayed by false claims in Labour leaflets. Mr Woolas has defended the leaflets, saying it was legitimate to ask questions about how his opponent funded his campaign, the political company he kept and where he lived. – BBC News
Tags: Defector, Labour leadership, Neil Kinnock, Phil Woolas
