Labour leadership « Labour Uncut

Posts Tagged ‘Labour leadership’

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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Andy Burnham’s Desert Island Discs

27/08/2010, 02:16:24 PM

In case you missed it: Andy Burnham is a working class Roman catholic from the north of England. Not the midlands. And certainly not the south. The north.

He has no aversion to posh people. Nor to protestants. Not at all. But he is not one of them. And it is important that you know that. Weirdly, Burnham has put his ‘ordinary’ northern origins at the centre of his Labour leadership campaign.

His desert island discs are parodically reflective of this. The only tune he’ll hear in paradise which hasn’t been recorded by either a Manc or a Roman catholic or both will be “Protection”, by the Bristol “trip hop” duo, Massive Attack. (more…)

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Nick Palmer wants to avoid the traps on animal cruelty

27/08/2010, 09:08:36 AM

One of the traps for the new Labour leadership is the notion that politics in Britain today is entirely about deficit reduction. How to do it? How fast? How much? Yes, we need to have an intelligent and balanced response to the Tory-Lib Dem government’s cuts frenzy, but Labour victories have always been based not just on good management but on policies to make our society better.

One element of the 1997 victory was the separate New Life for Animals manifesto, which set out a long list of ways that Labour would make Britain more compassionate. The best-known reform was of course the hunting ban, but arguably the animal welfare act 2006 will change the life of animals in Britain more deeply, because it makes it possible for future government to introduce easily-passed secondary legislation on everything from circus animals to pet markets. It was the first comprehensive animal welfare legislation for 96 years.

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Was David Miliband marauding before the gun was fired?

24/08/2010, 05:26:20 PM

THERE was an intriguing little tale in last week’s Independent diary. It’s a story that has been doing the rounds for a while. The question was whether or not David Miliband was running a “shadow” leadership campaign during the general election, when everyone else’s noses were firmly pressed against the grindstone.

The Indy reckons it has proof that Miliband Major was buttering up Labour members in safe seats rather than knuckling down to campaign in nearby marginals. The paper seems to have a copy of his campaign itinerary from 25 April that shows the then foreign secretary touring Burnley, Blackburn, Bolton South East and Manchester Withington, meeting “members and supporters” rather than actual voters.

Miliband’s people say the story is “absolute rubbish” claiming that the itinerary “was put together by the Labour party for David to follow, which he did.” Which is slightly strange. Why would the party put one of the best known faces in the government into safe seats rather than marginal ones? Senior members of the cabinet don’t get told where they must go. Most are willing to go with the flow, but some make demands that would make J-Lo blush. (more…)

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Labour leadership top trumps

24/08/2010, 01:04:40 PM

Uncut has commissioned Dave Howells to produce that crucial leadership contest accessory: the top trumps.

Like real top trumps, it won’t keep you amused for very long unless you are a small child. But with the Milibands’ respective movements for changes each trundling on and Andy Burnham’s new 9,000 word manifesto o’ t’North just out, we’re confident that there’s a market for minor distraction.

Readers who feel that any scores have been misassessed, or that new special powers should be added, are encouraged to record them below. (The graphic may take a while to load on slower connections).

You can follow Dave Howells on Twitter.

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Saturday News Review

21/08/2010, 09:29:17 AM

Kennedy talks step up

“Labour stepped up its attack on the Liberal Democrat wing of David Cameron’s coalition government by hinting Charles Kennedy, the former Lib Dem leader, has been in talks to defect to Labour and take several of his party colleagues with him.”– The Guardian

The fight down under

“Australians go to the polls tonight in what is predicted to be one of the closest battles in decades and offering a stark choice between two very different leaders.” – Wales Online

“The World Cup had Paul the “psychic octopus”. The Australian election – the closest in years – has Harry, the Australian saltwater crocodile with supposed predictive powers. Like Paul, Harry correctly picked Spain to win the World Cup last month. Now Harry has forecast a win for Julia Gillard in tomorrow’s vote.” – The Guardian

Posting the union vote

“Labour leadership candidate Ed Balls is to visit a number of post offices in the coming week, pledging his support to keeping the Royal Mail publicly owned. The shadow education secretary will launch his support in Glasgow on Saturday, followed by Durham on Sunday, Burnley on Monday, Wolverhampton on Wednesday and other parts of the country later in the week.” – The Press Association

Barmy Burnham

“Andy Burnham has long been a staunch supporter of Top of the Pops, so when he was asked at a Labour leadership campaign event in Nottingham this week whether he still planned to lobby for the programme to be returned to the BBC, his answer was a foregone conclusion, according to today’s diary in the Independent.

But as well as praising the show, he went on to complain that the BBC was too “London-centric”, perhaps referring to the ongoing controversy over the reluctance of certain BBC bosses to relocate to new premises in Salford. According to Burnham, the Beeb has also lost touch with “ordinary people” — and he went on to rachet up the rhetoric, saying that “they’d never hire someone like John Peel now”.” – The New Statesman blog

How to host a party by David Miliband

“Under the headline “What you should be doing”, the document starts at 5:30pm: “Get in from work, give the place a quick vacuum and general tidy (or not, if you’re not that type).” In case the idea hadn’t occurred, hosts are told to “prepare food and drink… no one can resist a delicious spread of food!”…” – Sify.com

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Friday News Review

20/08/2010, 08:07:26 AM

The campaign crosses the border

“The Shadow Energy Secretary, who today begins a three-day tour of Scotland with a visit to Govan shipyard, is said by his camp to have secured most first-preference votes among Labour MSPs and is doing “particularly well” on second preferences among Scottish Labour MPs. A source close to Ed Miliband told The Herald: “We are not taking anything for granted but are encouraged by the response among Scottish parliamentarians. We’re confident that, by the time people vote, Ed will have majority support in Scotland.” – The Herald Scotland

“Ed Balls explaining why he thought he was not doing as well as his opponents north of the Border: “It’s partly having had an English portfolio. It’s partly through people thinking to themselves we need to move beyond Gordon Brown and I started off as being the person three months ago who was closest to him.” – The Herald Scotland

The Philip Green agenda

“Sir Philip has been hired to advise on Whitehall efficiency. His wife Tina is a Monaco resident and as owner of Arcadia received a £1.2bn dividend in 2005 on which UK tax did not have to be paid. Alastair Campbell, the former Downing Street spin doctor, said the deficit would already be smaller if billionaires paid the same amount of tax as everyone else.” – The FT

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David Mirrorband’s banana

13/08/2010, 10:57:43 AM

As momentum starts to shift towards David M in our breathlessly exciting leadership contest, word reaches Uncut of tortured deliberations in the offices of the Daily Mirror. Their inclination to break for the elder statesman of the Miliband clan is, we understand, being tempered by painful memories of the 2008 ‘bananagate’ debacle.

This, you will recall, was when the Mirror produced a major profile piece extolling the virtues of the then foreign secretary as part of a carefully choreographed leadership challenge, only for their support to be undermined by his arrival at conference wielding a banana, rather than a knife, and professing his undying loyalty for Gordon Brown and all his works.

Given that the Mirror is now the only Labour-supporting daily in the land, and is regarded as the greatest editorial prize by all five leadership contenders, the results of this soul searching may have a significant impact on the outcome of the contest.

Sources say that the clever money is on the paper finally taking the plunge for DM, though a commitment to avoiding yellow herbaceous plants of the genus Musa is likely to be the price of their endorsement.

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Wednesday News Review

11/08/2010, 08:58:56 AM

Blackburn: cuts

Grim up North

Labour Party councillors in Blackburn have failed to overturn plans to cut £4m from the council budget.Blackburn-with-Darwen Council is trying to save about £40m in the next four years as it prepares for a reduction in grants given to local government. – BBC NEWS.

Jimmy Reid

Tributes were paid this morning to Scots journalist and ex-trade union activist Jimmy Reid, who died on Tuesday night. The 78-year-old, who led the campaign against the closure of Glasgow’s shipyards in the 1970s, passed away in hospital at 9pm. He is believed to have suffered a number of heart attacks and had been in poor health for a number of years.On Wednesday, his former colleagues said they were in mourning for a “great Scot and a true internationalist”. – STV.

Charlie

Charles Kennedy, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats, has separated from his wife Sarah, the couple’s lawyers have confirmed.
The couple said their “amicable” separation would be “an entirely private family matter… Our ongoing and overriding priority will obviously remain our son.” – Sky News.

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