Most Labour party members are, above all, loyal to their party. They have a strong inclination to back their leaders, even when they disagree with what they’ve said or done. And disagree they did, by and large, when Ed Balls announced that “the starting point….is we’re going to have to keep all these cuts” and accept [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Ed Balls’
The real divisions in the Labour Party and what Ed should do about it
Jan 25th, 2012 by Jon Lansman.
Not all Clause IV moments lead to victory
Jan 19th, 2012 by Andy Newman.Writing in yesterday’s Financial Times, George Parker and Jim Pickard, give expression to the popular idea that Ed Miliband’s confrontation with the unions provides him with the opportunity for a “Clause IV moment”, defining his independence as a potential prime minister from the legacy of labourism. Bookmarks Hide Sites
A call to arms
Jan 19th, 2012 by Owen Jones.For those who stand outside the austerity consensus, reading Len McCluskey’s column on Tuesday was like coming up for air. It is a cause of deep frustration that, as the Tories’ economic policies are shown to fail (in terms of jobs, growth, consumer confidence, economic inactivity and borrowing levels), the Labour leadership has moved to legitimise [...]
Don’t count on McCluskey to make the break
Jan 18th, 2012 by David Osler.Leeds United defender Norman Hunter, renowned for his perhaps overly robust approach to defence, famous advised young footballers to ‘get your retaliation in first’. The wisecrack metamorphosed into something of a New Labour catchphrase in the mid 1990s, with the line slightly altered to ‘get your betrayal in first’. Recent statements from both Ed Balls and [...]
It’s too late to build a Two-Ed-ist coalition against the Two-Ed detractors
Jan 18th, 2012 by Andy Newman.It is a paradox that the coalition building skills necessary to be a successful party leader are often not the skills of persuasive and decisive determination necessary to be a successful prime minister. Sadly, it seems that Ed Miliband may not have the attributes to be succesful in either role. Miliband is certainly ill-served by [...]
We need a growth policy to create jobs, not pay cuts
Jan 17th, 2012 by Michael Meacher.There is no doubt this is a defining moment for the Labour Party. No-one questions that Ed Balls cannot, with 3 years or more to go to the next election, promise to reverse this or that particular cut, because nobody can anticipate in this exceptionally fluid and febrile situation what will be the state of [...]
Ed Balls’ surrender is a political disaster
Jan 17th, 2012 by Owen Jones.I never expected to become a defender of New Labour’s record, let alone against its own most zealous supporters. At this point, I should clarify that I haven’t been kidnapped by Peter Mandelson and transformed into a Blairite drone. What I mean is that among all the disappointments and betrayals of the New Labour era, [...]
What is Balls up to?
Jan 16th, 2012 by Michael Meacher.What is Ed Balls up to? His statement this weekend, at the Fabian conference, that he endorses Osborne’s public sector wage freeze until the end of this Parliament – possibly 3.5 years away – and accepts all the government’s spending cuts finally crosses a red line. At a time when the central economic problem is [...]
What Balls said, what Balls means
Jan 15th, 2012 by Carl Packman.Is there any reason to believe Ed Balls supports the Tory-led cuts agenda? No. He said that he accepted the cuts, not agreed with them. He also said “I cannot make commitments now for three years’ time. I won’t do that. It wouldn’t be credible.” So does Ed Balls have ideas to the contrary to [...]
Ed Balls’ plan won’t work without a real jobs & growth strategy
Oct 3rd, 2011 by Michael Meacher.After unveiling his 5 point recovery plan in Liverpool, Ed Balls concluded with a flourish: “I don’t care what they call it, Britain just needs a plan that works”. I agree. Assuming the aim is to turnaround the slide into stagnation by generating sustainable growth which will steadily reduce unemployment, it is worth asking how [...]
