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Archive for September, 2010

Eric Joyce on his journey to the shadow cabinet elections

22/09/2010, 09:00:27 AM

It’s often said that there are too few MPs with backgrounds other than purely politics. At first glance, the CVs of most former Labour cabinet ministers seem to confirm that. In fact, the Parliamentary Labour party is packed with people with other life experiences, from ex-miners like David Hamilton to teachers, social workers and – OK then – lawyers.

I think this largely unfounded perception of MP unwordliness stems from the way technocratic skills fuse with political patronage in contemporary government. That is not necessarily to be adversely critical; perhaps there is no other way. Tony and Gordon needed people in their cabinet with practical experience of how 21st century government works and naturally turned to people they’d trained up themselves. And while it’s been often remarked that it seems a bit strange for the Labour leadership to be contested by four people with essentially identical trajectories, two of them actually brothers, it’s fair to say that these people and others like them turned out to be very good at the job. (more…)

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Wednesday News Review

22/09/2010, 07:31:25 AM

Last day of voting

Supporters of each of the five candidates for the Labour leadership are making a last-ditch effort to secure votes before polling closes. MPs, MEPs and party members have until 5pm to cast their ballots, and votes are expected to be cast electronically via the Labour website right up until the last minute. Voting for members of trade unions and affiliated organisations closed on Tuesday. Polls suggest that shadow energy secretary Ed Miliband had closed the gap on brother David as the race came to the wire. But bookmakers Ladbrokes still made shadow foreign secretary David 1-2 favourite on Tuesday night, ahead of his younger brother on 6-4. – The Press Association

Today voting ends in Labour’s leadership contest. Mirror readers who are Labour members have until 5pm to vote. It takes just a minute online. I will be a leader who will make sure that Labour will again be a party which stands up for the hard-working majority in Britain. We all know what happened under 18 years of Tory rule. And just look at what they’ve done in their first few weeks – hiked VAT to 20%, slashed Tax Credits, frozen Child Benefit, threatened Winter Fuel Payments, axed new school buildings. Cameron promised compassionate Conservatism, but is showing that for the majority there is no such thing. – Ed Miliband, The Mirror

Left Ed, Right Ed

According to his critics, he’s a dangerous left-wing radical who, if he ever became prime minister, would take Britain back to the Socialist 1970s. According to his supporters, he’s the man who will lead Labour away from Blairism and reconnect the party with its core supporters and traditional values. Both his detractors and supporters are in agreement that Ed Miliband – who could well be Labour leader when the results of the party ballot are revealed this weekend – is the candidate for ‘change’. Miliband himself has as his campaign slogan: ‘Call for Change’. But if we look beyond the rhetoric and the sound-bites, a very different picture emerges. The reality is that Ed Miliband is not so much the ‘change’ candidate, but a politician who will deliver more of the same neo-liberal policies that both Conservative and Labour governments have followed over the past 30 years. – The First Post

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Shadow cabinet: vote for Mike

21/09/2010, 07:03:37 PM

Mike Gapes

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Shadow cabinet: vote for Pat

21/09/2010, 04:58:32 PM

PatMc

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Shadow Cabinet: a reminder to vote for Tom

21/09/2010, 04:50:50 PM

TOMH2

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Bold predictions in the internet age, by Siôn Simon

21/09/2010, 01:49:35 PM

Dan Hodges announced this morning that David Miliband has won the Labour leadership. Which is not literally true; it is a bold prediction, presented in the form of what Frank Johnson used to call a conceit.

My father – perhaps anticipating a theme – used to warn me that “there is a thin line between brave and stupid”. Dan Hodges is not stupid. Far from it. This is a brave piece.

Frank Johnson, when teaching me how to write newspaper columns, used to enjoin: “Make bold predictions. If you are wrong, nobody will remember. But if you are right you can always remind them.”

I passed this reassurance on to Dan Hodges yesterday.

James Macintyre employs the technique in the New Statesman today. I take the opportunity to do it myself here: on 2 August, before the bookies’ odds had narrowed, I said in Uncut that Ed Miliband was an evens bet:

“Ed Miliband, like his brother, has succeeded in converting his patronage-momentum into real political capital which should have made him an evens bet to be the next leader. It hasn’t – the bookies put David well in front – but Ed is the better value brother, because evens is the political reality.”

I still think this is accurate. It’s close. Lots of people have written how close it is. Not many, especially of those who are paid to call these kind of things, have been brave enough to make the call.

Frank Johnson was the great newspaper prose stylist of his generation and an underestimated editor of the Spectator. He was a deep mine of wise and idiosyncratic advice about writing. “Be counter-intuitive” was at the centre. The word “albeit” and the phrase “the fact that” were banned at the periphery. As they are on Uncut.

And he was right, in his time, about making predictions. But he is wrong in the age, which he largely pre-dated, of the internet.

Rather than test the benevolence of the blogosphere, in which case, I also offer this prediction of mine, written at the 2007 Labour conference.

It turned out to be wrong. As I have often been reminded.

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David Miliband has won, says Dan Hodges.

21/09/2010, 09:00:32 AM

This Saturday David Miliband will become leader of the Labour party. He will have won a majority of his Parliamentary colleagues and the wider membership, along with sufficient support from unions and other affiliates to secure not just victory but an overwhelming mandate. The New Labour era will be over.

A few months ago I wrote that this leadership contest would tell us more about ourselves as a party than it did the candidates contesting it. It has. Less an election, more an exercise in psychoanalysis, we’ve delved into the deepest recesses of a party’s soul. Remorse, guilt, envy, hatred, love, fear, hope. Above all, hope.

We wept for the supporters abandoned to the government’s tender mercies. Felt shame for the crimes we committed in our own ruthless pursuit of power. Looked jealously upon those who wrested it from us. (more…)

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Tuesday News Review

21/09/2010, 08:07:34 AM

Liberal rebellion

Clegg’s speech was overshadowed by a massive revolt over the coalition’s schools policy. Party members overwhelmingly passed a motion opposing plans to create more academies and free schools, which are free from local authority control. The motion, which took party leaders by surprise, said there was a risk that the new schools would increase “social divisiveness and inequity in a system that is already unfair”. The defeat is particularly troubling for the Liberal Democrats because members are supposed to set official party policy at conference. That means the party leadership is in the uncomfortable position of promoting a policy that has been vetoed by grass roots members. – City AM

Liberal Democrat councils are on a collision course with Nick Clegg by campaigning against the creation of “free schools” in their communities. Following a rebellion by party activists against the Coalition’s flagship education policy, the conference voted to boycott the new schools because they increased “social divisiveness and inequity”. A succession of activists, including many councillors, protested that allowing parents to set up new schools beyond town hall control would benefit better-off families to the detriment of those in poorer areas, and could also lead to selection by the back door. In a snub to the party leadership, they convincingly defeated an attempt to water down a motion critical of free schools. – The Independent

Former MPs and PCCs back David and Ed (Balls)

The poll of former Labour MPs and prospective parliamentary candidates by Channel 4 News found overwhelming support for David Miliband, with former chancellor Ed Balls just pipping Mr Miliband’s younger brother Ed Miliband for second place. Channel 4 News spoke to former MPs who lost their marginal seats in May and to candidates who lost, despite standing in seats where there had been a sitting Labour MP.They all aspire to win back the seats Labour will need to secure if the party is to return to government. – Channel 4

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Shadow cabinet: vote for Stephen

20/09/2010, 02:16:24 PM

________________________________
From: TIMMS, Stephen
Sent: 20 September 2010 12:58
To: TIMMS, Stephen
Subject: Stephen Timms for Shadow Cabinet

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Shadow cabinet: vote for Ann

20/09/2010, 02:02:00 PM

________________________________
From: Ann McKechin
Sent: 20 September 2010 12:56
Subject: Ann McKechin for Labour’s Shadow Cabinet

Ann McKechin

Labour MP for Glasgow North

I am seeking your support for the Shadow Cabinet Elections.

Being in opposition is hard at any time but the coming months and years will be one of the most difficult periods in decades that this country and our Party will face.

We need to effectively represent the voices of those who will be hit hardest by the Coalition’s agenda to achieve a permanent “small state” solution but we also need to develop the right policies that will convince the electorate that there is a genuine alternative. Within the Parliamentary party we need to develop a new range of tactical skills that will require the Shadow Cabinet to work as closely as possible with backbench colleagues to maximise our efforts.

I believe I can offer a range of skills and experience to the role that will fit these challenges.

Resilience

I was chair of the Scottish Parliamentary group during the Glasgow East by-election and learnt by hard experience of the need to keep your resolve even in the toughest of times and maintain team morale. I took up my Ministerial position in the Scotland Office in the week of the Lehman Brothers collapse at a time when Labour’s support had slumped, but was determined to show that our decisions at the height of the financial crisis to take over Scotland’s major banks were the correct choice..

I took an active role in the campaigns that led to our subsequent victories in both the Glenrothes and Glasgow North East by-elections which paved the way towards our strongest electoral performance in Scotland for many years at the General Election.

Policy Development

I was Chair of the Manifesto group on International Development before the General Election.

As Chair of the All Party Group on Debt, Aid and trade I was one of the first parliamentarians to actively call for a currency transaction tax and to produce a detailed report on how it could be achieved.

Campaigning

Before I was first elected in 2001, I spent many years actively campaigning as a volunteer for OXFAM and as the Scottish representative for the World Development Movement.

As a Backbencher, I successfully lobbied for a full public inquiry on the causes of the Stockline Factory explosion in my constituency. This has led to a number of significant changes in Health & Safety practices including the current replacement of every metal LPG pipe in the country.

In this year’s Election I faced a Libdem target campaign against my seat and managed to increase both my share of the vote and majority at a fraction of the cost of my opponent’s campaign.

Understanding Opposition

As a Scotland Office Minister and now a frontbench spokesperson, I have spent the last two years on a daily basis working on how to put across our message and develop our policies against an SNP led administration.

I hope to speak to as many members of the Group as possible but if you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact me via email or by phone on xxxxxxxxx.

Kind regards,

Ann