In the final days of last year’s general election campaign, Gordon Brown visited Skelmersdale, to a raw emotional reception. This was an election where Labour was too slow to realise that working class memories of what a Tory government is like were strong. Polly Toynbee, to her credit, did pick up that it was different from politics as usual, and [...]
Posts Tagged ‘David Miliband’
If David Miliband is the answer, its a bloody stupid question
Mar 13th, 2011 by Mark Seddon.It says something about the rather dismal condition of both British politics and journalism, that this week there was an amount of liberal fluttering over a speech at the London School of Economics by former Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who was beaten by his brother for the Labour leadership. Here is Miliband’s thesis; it is that [...]
What really matters about Labour Leadership elections?
Feb 17th, 2011 by Jon Lansman.Labour’s review of its structure is right to include the way it elects its leader but public attention has so far been drawn to the wrong things. That’s happened because Ed’s recent victory surprised many, not least his brother and his brother’s supporters, and some of Ed’s people see a need to spin away the [...]
Labour must renounce its ugly Blairite legacy if it wants to win
Feb 2nd, 2011 by Michael Meacher.Monday was a day of shame, the day they denationalised the NHS. Yet at the second reading of the Bill in the House of Commons the main line of defence of the increasingly isolated Andrew Lansley, who is clearly out of his depth, was that the Tories are only carrying on where Blair left off and [...]
Wanted: A (new) Labour General Secretary
Nov 25th, 2010 by Mark Seddon.Labour’s new leader has been in office barely two months, yet this hasn’t stopped a motley collection of ex Ministers, frustrated David Miliband supporters and it would seem some party officials, from moaning in the ear of one Dan Hodges, who last week launched into print in the New Statesman, giving vent to their – [...]
Ed Miliband needs to get a grip
Nov 22nd, 2010 by Mark Seddon.“If a week is a long time in politics”, as Harold Wilson once said, two weeks away from politics on paternity leave is clearly an age. Ed Miliband returns this week to Parliament after a fortnight helping to change nappies, only to find that some on his own front bench have been busy doing some [...]
Ed would have won by more under OMOV
Sep 25th, 2010 by Jon Lansman.The Tories have been criticising Ed Miliband because of the importance of trade union support to his victory, as if there was something wrong with the votes of 211,234 individual trade union members who support the party. Others – like the Guardian editorial and Andy Burnham – think that we should have a simple OMOV [...]
But what if David Wins?
Sep 22nd, 2010 by Andy Newman.Voting is almost over, and in reality I am sure that there are few punters cool enough, or indecisive enough, to be casting at this eleventh hour. At the outset of the contest Jon Cruddas made the wise observation that even though he had known all the candidates personally for 20 years, he didn’t really [...]
Panic about the Milibands
Sep 20th, 2010 by Michael Meacher.The last minute flurry of media columnists giving a lift to David M in a final effort to head off the Ed M threat, just before voting ends this Wednesday, shows how panicky they are that the safe haven of New Labour as an acceptable temporary option to the Tories may be about to end. [...]
Miliband Funding: Rich donors and Sun slurs
Sep 10th, 2010 by Jon Lansman.David Miliband is still way ahead in campaign funding, almost all of it coming from rich Blairites, according to the latest information published yesterday by the Electoral Commission . In line with its history of support for things Blairite, The Sun chose yesterday to present the “facts” rather differently. It falsely alleged that trade unions have [...]
