Monday, June 13, 2011

Fraternité

Last year I thought David Miliband would be a more capable Labour leader than Ed; I still do. But I worry about the idea of (somehow) replacing the one with the other.

The main thing most people know about Ed is that he beat his brother to get the job – and they think that’s a bit odd, and maybe a bit suspicious. That’s a pity. But for Labour to go on to dump Ed and install David would magnify this ‘dysfunctional family’ thing a thousandfold. And it could make the party look very short of talent. Speaking of which...

If there were another credible leader in the wings, the dynamic might be different, but I don’t see who that would be. So, for the time being, we’re stuck with Ed.
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2 comments:

Liam Murray said...

Douglas Alexander were he not Scottish but Yvette Cooper since he is.....

Failing that you have to wonder if it's like the Tories c.1997 - i.e. the man/woman to return them to power isn't even in the House never mind the shadow cabinet....

12:16 pm, June 13, 2011
John F said...

I am generally a LAbour supporter, but I think they are scoring a string of own-goals here as pertains to their leadership, and it looks like they will continue to do so for a while.

Mistake #1: Brown should never have made it into the Prime Minister's chair. He was tempermentally and publically entirely unsuitable for the role, and was dogged from the beginning by the "unelected" stain which he never truly washed out.

Mistake #2: Brown should never have been Labour leader in the May 2010 election. The country did not want him to be PM after several disastrous policy and PR missteps, and subsequently the election became much more about "do you want Labour/do you not want Labour" than anything else. Miliband D should have been supported for the leadership when he had the chance back in mid-2009. Brown should have read the writing on the wall that everyone else could see but he chose to ignore.

Mistake #3: The leadership position should have been decided FAR earlier than it did. Dragging it out four months was just absurd and the public were thoroughly sick of it by the time it happened.

Mistake #4: Miliband E should never have stood for the leadership. He is not taken seriously by the electorate and is not a credible leader. It doesn't matter that he stood against his brother; he should have never stood in the first place as he is not a leader by any stretch.

Mistake #5: (yet to happen) If Ed Balls manages to get his filthy paws on the party leadership (and don't think he doesn't covet it every minute of every day), the Labour party will lose every election they stand with him in the spot, guaranteed. It truly seems to have not sunk in at party headquarters how widely he is despised by the electorate.

12:43 pm, June 18, 2011

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