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We need a more sophisticated response to the big society, says Peter Watt

15/09/2010, 09:00:11 AM

I know what is best for me and what is best for my family. You don’t.

I suspect that most people in the Labour party feel the same about themselves and their families. By and large, we are a pretty independently minded bunch which doesn’t take kindly to being told what to do, how to think and how to vote in (say) internal elections. Presumably this is because we think that we are intelligent, capable of free thinking and able to take decisions for ourselves?

So why do we think that voters want us making so many decisions for them? We have set rules about what school people can send their kids to; what, when and how their home-support services are delivered if they are infirm; when they can visit the GP; which part of town they can live in and even what sort of food they can eat or feed to their families. Of course if you are wealthy enough then you can bypass the rules that we set and decide for yourself. No, our rules are very inequitable and only apply to those who can’t afford to buy their way out of sticking to them. Understandably people are beginning to say “enough – I want to make some decisions for myself.”

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Shadow Cabinet bun fight begins

14/09/2010, 11:32:02 PM

Following on from last week’s ballot of the PLP on the process for selecting the shadow cabinet, its make up, and whether to elect the chief whip, the decisions have all been accepted in a yes/no ballot today.

After the PLP voted in favour of a minimum 31.5% of the shadow cabinet being women, it has been set out today that each MP must vote for a minimum of 6 women and 6 men for their ballot to be valid.

The nominations for the shadow cabinet will kick off from the Sunday of conference, with the coronation of the leader likely to be a side show to those MPs plotting and scheming to ensure they make the final shoot out for the big jobs. Many are already hard at it, canvassing support, buying pints and calling in past favours – Paul Waugh appears to owe John Healey one or two.

The winners and losers will be announced on the 7 October, when the real fun will start for the new leader as they try to make the best of what they’ve been given.

From: O’DONOVAN, Martin
Sent: 14 September 2010 17:32
Subject: YES/NO BALLOT ON THE SHADOW CABINET ELECTIONS

FAO LABOUR MPs

The result of today’s ballot was as follows:

YES – 113

NO – 24

The PLP has now AGREED the changes from last week’s ballot and the standing orders will be updated accordingly.

We will now proceed to a postal ballot to elect our Shadow Cabinet, as set out in the below timetable. As agreed at the PLP last night, the election of 19 members of the Shadow Cabinet and the election of the Chief Whip will be held simultaneously.

Please bear in mind that all ballot papers need to be returned to the PLP Office by Thursday 7 October at 5pm.

BALLOT PAPER

A reminder that, in order to cast your vote in the Shadow Cabinet election, PLP members must cast a minimum number of 6 votes for women and 6 votes for men otherwise it will not be a valid vote.

TIMELINE FOR ELECTING OUR SHADOW CABINET

(Saturday 25 September   pm         New Leader elected)

Sunday 26 September      11am     Nominations open for Shadow Cabinet

Weds 29 September        5pm        Nominations close

Thursday 30 September 9-12       Ballot papers available in PLP Office at Conference. After this time they will be sent in the post to the same address as your ballot paper for the Party Leadership election.

Mon 4 Oct–Thurs 7 Oct    10-5     PLP Office open for MPs to vote in person.

Thursday 7 October       5pm         Start counting votes in PLP Office

Thursday 7 October       9pm         Announce results of election

Monday 11 October                       Parliament returns

Weds 20 October                            Comprehensive Spending Review

If you have any questions on the above please email me or call me on the numbers at the bottom of this email.

Best wishes

Martin

Martin O’Donovan
Director of Unit and PLP Secretary

Posted in Inside | 2 Comments »

The nuts and bolts of what we need to do, by Peter Wheeler

13/09/2010, 12:56:09 PM

Over the next couple of weeks, Labour party members will get plenty of voting practice as we vote for a new leader, national executive committee members and members of the national policy forum. In London, members will also be voting for a candidate for mayor.

The key vote will obviously be for our new Leader but that leader is going to need a party behind him which is strong, dynamic and well organised. A party which encourages the efforts of members to build support in their communities and recognises the central role our members play in winning for our party.

It is the national executive which is responsible for ensuring that happens and that’s why the elections are important.

CLP reps are elected for two years and the next two years will be crucial for the party. The conservative coalition could last five years but it would be a big mistake to count on that. The Lib Dems are not exactly known for discipline under fire and it wouldn’t be impossible for Cameron to decide that they had served their purpose and ditch them for an early election if he thought he could win it. I am not saying it will happen, but it could, and we need to factor the possibility in. (more…)

Posted in Grassroots | 2 Comments »

Saturday News Review

11/09/2010, 07:00:56 AM

Leadership

Mr Miliband’s brother Ed, seen as his closest challenger, is more likely to move the party away from New Labour and has been nicknamed “Red Ed” by opponents. He said: “I’m trying to persuade the Labour Party not to lose three or four elections before it bounces back.” – Telegraph.

First and fundamentally any renewal of Labour as a party of real power must be predicated on the alignment of socialism and democracy. Socialism, which all five leadership candidates have confessed an adherence to, can only be the collective capacity to change our world. For that we need a set of moral and practical rules; this is what democracy is and should be applied not just to Westminster but the state, our communities and workplaces. – Neal Lawson, Guardian

On 25 September, the next leader of the Labour Party will be announced. This is the person Labour believes should hold the keys to Britain’s nuclear arsenal. Yet, despite one of the longest leadership campaigns in memory, there has been no detailed debate about the role and scale of Trident, Britain’s continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent. – New Statesman

On the campaign trail

“What the coalition doesn’t seem to understand is that when they make cuts to things like building schools for the future, it isn’t just bad for our children’s education, it’s bad for private sector jobs. It’s the cavalier way they are going about these cuts which is going to be damaging to the region. What we need to be doing is showing that there’s an alternative.” – Ed Miliband, This is Exeter.

Hacking claims

“A very senior News International journalist told me at the Labour party conference in 2006, in the early hours of the morning, that his editor would never forgive me for resigning as a minister in Tony Blair’s government and that she would pursue me for the rest of my political career until I was destroyed.” – Tom Watson, The Guardian.

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Frank Dobson’s defence of an elected shadow cabinet

10/09/2010, 11:02:51 AM

From: xxx xxx
Sent: 07 September 2010 18:17
To: xxx xxx
Subject: message from Frank Dobson

Dear Colleague,

Elected Shadow Cabinet

In view of the efforts of the advocates of an appointed Shadow Cabinet to portray past elections as corrupt, leading to the election of popular dossers. I though I might remind colleagues that the last Shadow Cabinet election before the 1997 General Election chose, amongst others:

Gordon brown

Robin Cook

Donald Dewar

Margaret Beckett

Mo Mowlam

Harriet Harman

David Blunkett

Jack Straw

George Robertson

Ann Taylor

Chris Smith

Yours,

Frank

On behalf of Frank Dobson MP

Member of Parliament for Holborn and St Pancras

House of Commons

LONDON SW1A 0AA

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Wednesday News Review

08/09/2010, 07:01:11 AM

"Mmm, pass that guacamole stuff"

David Milibut

Miliband is only just recovering from the media derision that greeted his advice to Labour activists on how to organise a house meeting to support his campaign. He urged supporters to vacuum the house, buy some nibbles and turn on the oven. But it turns out that when it comes to his own culinary tastes, he’d rather save himself the bother. Questioned by the Evening Standard newspaper, he not only extolled the virtues of a “fantastic takeaway from Masala Zone in Camden”, but also listed “The Laughing Halibut fish and chip shop on Strutton Ground just off Victoria St” as one of his “favourite London discoveries”. – Channel 4.

Phone taps

Labour stepped up the pressure on the police when Harriet Harman, the party’s acting leader, wrote to the Met commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, asking him to inform any serving or former Labour MPs whose PIN numbers had been obtained. – The Guardian.

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Monday News Review

06/09/2010, 08:29:58 AM

Coulson & Cameron

Senior opposition politicians are calling on the government to respond to renewed accusations that Downing Street’s chief communications officer, Andy Coulson, encouraged reporters to illegally intercept messages from the cellphones of public figures when he was editor of The News of the World. At the same time, a number of people whose phone messages may have been intercepted by The News of the World during Mr. Coulson’s tenure are accusing the Metropolitan Police of failing to fully examine all the evidence in its criminal investigation in 2006 and 2007.- The New York Times

A senior Metropolitan Police officer said the force had asked the New York Times to provide any new material it had relating to the matter, including an interview it published with former reporter Sean Hoare. Mr Hoare has claimed David Cameron’s close aide was well aware News of the World staff were eavesdropping on private messages when he was editor of the paper. All five candidates in the Labour leadership contest also called for a fresh inquiry into unconfirmed claims reporters listened in to the voicemail messages of a long list of prominent figures, including politicians and celebrities. – Sky

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We must regroup, rebuild and consider ourselves electable says Claire French

31/08/2010, 10:41:00 AM

Following the events of the weeks post-election, I joined the Labour party as an enthused young person ready for the fight against the Con-Lib Dem government and their lust for cuts.

The party have suffered immensely without a leader to fight the government and its austerity package. While selecting somebody on merit and without debate would have been a mistake, the subsequent infighting – both in the leadership race and between the candidates to represent Labour in the London mayoral elections – is putting us on a slippery slope.

Opposing parties see us and those who represent us in parliament as no threat at all. We appear uncoordinated; we are stale and out of ideas.

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Tuesday News Review

31/08/2010, 07:00:24 AM

Ed hits back

Ed Mil hits back

Labour leadership candidate Ed Miliband has hit back at veiled criticism from Lord Mandelson, insisting the party needed to change. Mr Miliband’s comments came after Lord Mandelson said Labour could be left in an “electoral cul-de-sac” if its next leader tried to create a “pre-New Labour party”. Lord Mandelson appeared to be referring to Mr Miliband in particular, in what is being seen as a personal attack. Mr Miliband said Labour must “move on”. – BBC News.

Positive press in the back yard

More than 1,000 councillors provided the Shadow Foreign Secretary with a huge boost at a crucial moment ahead of the ballot drop next week. Support comes from all corners of Britain as the father-of-two goes head-to- head with his brother Ed, Andy Burnham, Ed Balls and Diane Abbott. – Shields Gazette.

Blair: book trouble

Blair’s book

High-profile book launches are meant to be a bit of a circus. But it is hard to find a parallel for the mixture of hype and hatred that will attend the publication of Tony Blair’s memoirs on Wednesday. – Financial Times.

Burnham takes Lib Dem pulse

“You hold the key to the future of our NHS. People who voted for you at the election did not vote for such a radical break-up plan. I urge you to listen to them and stand up for our NHS in the face of this attack, which threatens to unpick its very fabric.” – Andy Burnham to Lib Dems, The Guardian.

Cruddas

Jon’s brand of socialism is based on moral foundations – don’t forget he’s a Catholic. When asked why he was backing David he reeled off a list areas on which they agree: “responsibility, family, duty, the importance of community.” I say this with no special knowledge or insight and I stand ready for an angry phone call rebutting the suggestion but it struck me that the fact David is married and Ed Miliband isn’t could also have been a (small) contributing factor in winning the Cruddas vote. – Jason Beattie, The Mirror.

Mullin’s diaries

‘When it’s all over, the big question will be how Gordon ever got there in the first place.’ – unnamed cabinet minister in Chris Mullin’s Decline and Fall, The Independent.

Abbott: Facebook slur

Abbott slur

A tory high-flyer has been forced to quit after writing a vile, expletivefilled rant about Labour MP Diane Abbott on his Facebook page…After the Sunday Mirror contacted the Party, Hallam’s details were removed and he quit his post. Last night he apologised, saying: “It was inappropriate.” – The Mirror.

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Sunday News Review

29/08/2010, 08:37:36 AM

“Fratricide”

Vincent: It’s a tight battle for the Labour leadership. If your younger brother Ed wins, will you serve under him?

David Miliband: I’ve committed myself to serve my constituents in South Shields and I have committed myself to British politics. – Sunday Mirror

“I would definitely serve under David if he wins. I would expect him to do that same because that’s what he has said. But if I win, that will be his decision.” Ed Miliband – Sunday Mirror

The former foreign secretary is said to be ‘simmering with sibling rage’ at his brother challenging him for the post. Publicly, he has repeatedly said he would serve in a Shadow Cabinet headed by Ed. However, reliable sources say he is ‘dreading’ the prospect and will either boycott his Left-wing brother’s team or accept a job briefly before finding a diplomatic way out. – Daily Mail.

So, a “well-placed*” source tells the Guardian that while David Cameron would like Ed Miliband to be the next leader of the Labour party, he thinks the party would be best-advised to select Ed’s brother David. This news, scarcely earth-shattering to anyone who isn’t already a Labour party member (and obvious even to many of those that are) has Labour types suspecting some Deep Tory Game is Afoot. – The Spectator’s Alex Massie.

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