Narrow field

“Concerns have been voiced about the narrow field. Some MPs wish it included women such as Yvette Cooper or Harriet Harman, a free-thinking backbencher such as Jon Cruddas or an elder statesman in the mould of Jack Straw.” – The Times

“That they are all white may be inconsequential; it may be of only passing interest that all were political advisers under new Labour and that none has had a proper job; it is probably of only minor significance that they all used to play football together. Probably more salient is that you cannot put a cigarette paper between their beliefs. But most blindingly obvious is that there will not be a single woman on the ballot paper.” – Diane Abbott

50/50

Harriet Harman calls for a 50/50 Shadow Cabinet

“Labour’s acting leader today called for half of the party’s shadow cabinet to be made up of female MPs. Harriet Harman said it is time for “Labour women to step out of the shadows” and for the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) to revise its rules governing the make-up of the Opposition.” – The Times

“Ms Harman also urged Labour MPs to nominate Diane Abbott to make sure there was at least one woman in the leadership race. She said: “Women in the Parliamentary Labour Party must no longer be in the shadows. I am going to be proposing that when we renew the rules for the shadow cabinet elections that we have 50-50 men and women.”” – The Mirror

“Ed Miliband has strengthened his pledge to promote women to senior political jobs by supporting a plan to ensure half of the party’s new shadow Cabinet team is female. Labour’s acting leader, Harriet Harman, announced she would be campaigning for a change to the party’s rules that would see 11 out of the 22 shadow posts given to women.” – The Independent

The third man

“It tells it as I saw it, working off the detailed notes, papers and diaries that I kept throughout my career,” he said. Describing the Blair-Brown feud as a “soap opera”, he said his account would contain a lot of emotion as well as historical detail.” – The Evening Standard

“Lord Mandelson, who wrote an article for The Times yesterday, adopting the lofty, gracious tones of Winston or Margaret in old age. The forthcoming Labour leadership contest, he said, will be the first since Michael Foot’s day in which he himself is not playing a role. It is a fine thing, he asserted indulgently, to have ‘a proper election between individuals’.” – The Daily Mail

“Lord Mandelson will this summer rush out the most eagerly anticipated political memoirs in many years amid a flurry of books by key Labour figures including Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell, and perhaps Alistair Darling.” – The FT

Local Labour

“TOWN Hall finance chiefs will defy gloomy economic warnings and move to raise the pay of the lowest earners who deliver council services. The new Labour cabinet in charge of Camden want to end a “blind eye” culture of ignoring what companies hired by the council pay their staff by demanding they give a higher basic rate.” – The Camden New Journal

The Candidates

Darling: David Miliband the 'right choice'

“Darling said he “believed strongly” the former foreign secretary was the right choice to lead Labour “for opposition and then back to power”, in a period he described as crucial for the party. In a letter to his Edinburgh South West constituency party, Darling said: “David is a leader … He has the judgment and gravitas to make tough decisions … we don’t know what will happen with the coalition government, the tensions in it are becoming clear … I have seen David up close – I know he can lead.” “- Alistair Darling nominates David Miliband, The Guardian

This is a key moment in the fight for Labour’s top job. Winning the support of a few crucial party figures is absolutely necessary for the wannabe leaders – and Darling is the perfect example of the vote all the contenders will be fighting for. – News of the World

“I’m more of a team player, while others see themselves as leaders. My role is to help get Labour back into power. Clearly, I want to back David and I think he has got what it takes to do just that.” – Douglas Alexander backs David Miliband, The Paisley Express (more…)

Today, all six Labour leadership candidates posted their pledges for the party on The Guardian’s Comment is Free.

There’s lots of rediscovery, reconstuction and reconnection.

David Miliband, mourning the “tragedy of the 2010 general election”, is promising to purge these 80s demons.

Is he talking about Andy Burnham’s campaign website?

You can read the rest of the candidates’ pieces here.

The Candidates

“The online nominations ticker last night recorded the leftwingers John McDonnell and Diane Abbott with the backing of six MPs and one respectively. Even if they pool their efforts, as they certainly should, they will probably fail to reach the hurdle of 33 which must be cleared before ordinary members get a say. The pair can sound naive in characterising public opinion, but on specific issues such as ID cards, Iraq and tax their arguments do not merely resonate on Labour’s radical fringe, but across swaths of middle England.”  – The Guardian

Abbott: making her case for the leadership

“Asked whether she could get sufficient support to get on the ballot paper, Abbott replied: “I want to make the very best case I can for taking part in the final debate over who will be leading the Labour Party. I think we are in a pivotal moment for the Labour Party.”” – The Voice

“This leadership election ought to be a showcase for the modern Labour Party and actually enthuse the public. And it ought to embrace all wings of the party. If the current front-runners are the only contenders, it will be a less lively debate and less true to the breadth of opinion inside the party.  So that is why I am standing in this election.” – Diane Abbott, Tribune Magazine

“We’ve always known that Alastair Campbell doesn’t have a great deal of time for Ed Balls. But it’s still gratifying to have this finally confirmed.” – New Statesman blogs on Alastair Campbell’s new diaries

Milibands: the sibling rivalry debate rolls on

“[Psychologist Dr Apter’s] opinion, which won’t cheer the families of the Milibands or any other brotherly duellers, is that the rivalry doesn’t end with the contest. “No amount of public or professional success puts to rest the question of ‘how do I measure up against him?’ ” says Dr Apter.

“With the Milibands there is the added dimension that their father, a charismatic left-wing intellectual, is dead. Dr Apter says that it is not hard to imagine their thoughts: “My brother may be Prime Minister but I’m the better son. My father would have been prouder of me. I’m the real heir.” – The Times 

 The Issues

“Pro-immigration groups and leftwing activists have spoken out against Labour’s leadership candidates for blaming the party’s electoral defeat on lax rules allowing too many people into the UK.  Hina Majid, legal policy director at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, told The FT the group was ‘worried about the direction the party might be taking’.” – The Financial Times

Jim Garner Enters the Leadership Race

“This blogger didn’t plan to post while on holiday, but news that the South Luxton and Wetfield MP Jim Garner is seeking nominations for the Labour leadership has reached Scrapbook” – Political Scrapbook

Jim Garner’s Bid

Lord Prescott and the Environmental Campaign

Lord Prescott

“In many respects, it’s not the 71-year-old political bruiser’s fault that he, once again, finds himself the subject of such ridicule – everyone knows that he has accepted the peerage so his delightfully charming wife Pauline, who has put up with so much over the years, can become Lady P and that this was one argument that Prescott was never going to win.” –Yorkshire Post

“John Prescott has claimed he only accepted his life peerage to continue his campaigning work on the environment…yesterday he insisted his decision to become Lord Prescott had been motivated by his desire to carry on with his work on environmental issues, having recently returned from China where he was in talks about the issue.” – The Scotsman 

Labour and Plaid Cymru’s War of Words on Defence

“While Plaid’s policy on defence and international relations will be discussed, the purpose of the conference is not to create official party policy. Plaid is a democratic party and our policies are passed by our membership at either the Annual Conference or National Council meetings. How Derek Vaughan can claim to be ‘shocked’ is beyond me. The Labour Party regularly hold academic conferences with various groups and think-tanks. With their disastrous track record in government in Westminster of leading us into illegal and immoral wars, Plaid will take no lessons on foreign policy from the Labour party.” A Plaid Cymru Statesman – Wales Online