Labour Leadership Contest

[Mise]

Blair didn't want Brown to become PM, according to his memoirs.

 

[Quackers]

Link to video.

Marxist-terrorist sleeper cells!

 

[Takhisis]

Blair didn't want Brown to become PM, according to his memoirs.

I read an excerpt about him knowing that Brown would be a failure or something liek that… if he really knew that, he's one real bastard and risked the future of the UK to honour a ridiculous pact.

 

[GinandTonic]

I read an excerpt about him knowing that Brown would be a failure or something liek that… if he really knew that, he's one real bastard and risked the future of the UK to honour a ridiculous pact.

Blair clung onto power for all he was worth, precisly to keep Brown out of power. In fact I dont think there is a person in the country who worked harder to keep Brown out of power.

Blair became unpopular and was outmanovered.

 

[Takhisis]

But then why not say openly that Labour needed a new leader? now you get Groovy Dave to rule.

 

[GinandTonic]

But then why not say openly that Labour needed a new leader? now you get Groovy Dave to rule.

Because Brown was popular at the time. Essentially 95% of those who were opposed to Blair went over to Browns camp, and increasing resentment of Blair simply made Brown stronger. Blair was clearly hoping another player might emerge but they didnt. Not least because not only was Brown popular but he was a tough operator. No-one was willing to stand as a stalking horse in a race they would lose against a tough-guy not in the least noted for being forgiving. Add to that that Brown had the solid middle ground of the party. The right were discredited by Blair. The centre-left had been rooting for Brown against Blair for years and the far left were too few in number to make a difference. There was no space in the spectrum for a candidate to gain a plausable level of support.

Brown positioned himself perfectly, and distroyed anyone who could be a threat to his sucession. Whatever one may feel about him he was a pro.

 

[ComradeDavo]

Well, the problem with the South is that most ordinary people yadda yadda yadda. The left is still the default for most people past the Humber, even if there's limited support for socialism proper. A lot of people round here would quite like a bit more in the way of unions and left-lurching, it just so happens that they're not the marginal voters who win elections.

There's alot of 'left' down in the South, they've just been voting Lib Dem! Places like Bristol, Swindon, Exeter still have big Labour support..all the cities really!

Well I admit I'm just being bitter cos my man lost

On the plus side alot of Lib Dem voters like myself will now make the switch to Labour!

I think David was the candidate Labour thought would do well winning back votes gone to the Tories. However smart Labour people realised thats going to be alot harder than what Ed will do, which is win a hell of a lot of votes from the Lib Dems!

Yougov poll out tonight basically shows Tories unchanged (on 39%) whereas Lib Dem has gone down to 12% and Labour up to 40%! Fist poll lead for them in 3 years! And that Tory lead will only errode as people start to see the cuts efecting their daily lifes!

 

[Traitorfish]

There's alot of 'left' down in the South, they've just been voting Lib Dem! Places like Bristol, Swindon, Exeter still have big Labour support..all the cities really!

Pffft, that's the centre-left, not the real left. Liberals to a man, nary a socialist among them.

 

[Takhisis]

The real left is the Anarchy!!!!!!!!!!!! hence my new avvie+user title.

 

[ComradeDavo]

Pffft, that's the centre-left, not the real left. Liberals to a man, nary a socialist among them.

True

I'm very happy with Ed Milibands speach today, said all the things I wanted really! Put a big distance between himself and the Blair/Brown era!

 

[Azale]

So guise, honestly now, how much of a shot does he have at defeating Cameron?

 

[Takhisis]

More than you'd think but not as much as the Labour Party would like.

 

[ComradeDavo]

So guise, honestly now, how much of a shot does he have at defeating Cameron?

Alot.

More than you'd think but not as much as the Labour Party would like.

I'd actually say more than alot of the Labour party think. The Lib Dems will see their MP's at least halfed at the next eelction if things keep like they are, and as well as Labour taking seats there they will take many from the Tories due to Lib Dem swapping there. Also Ed will really get out the core vote and the Tory vote will drop a bit as people feel the cuts. This all adds up to a Labour victory.

Of course, I could be wrong, and as time goes by we shall see how it turns out!

 

[Brian Shanahan]

So guise, honestly now, how much of a shot does he have at defeating Cameron?

A good one if he puts forward strong economic policies based on Keynesism (sp?) and the best of Social Democracy (i.e. the state being the vehicle of equality in society). If he falls into the same pro-business trap as the last government then Labour are in trouble.

Consider that the Lib Dems committed suicide when they went with the Tories (a common occourence over here when small parties ally with FF), mainly due to ignoring their base to gain the Ministerial Mercs. and Osbourne is acting like he thinks Friedrich Hayek is too soft on the ordinary people, Labour if they get their act together will be able to dictate terms for quite a while. 2015 (at the most) will be like 1997 all over again IMO. But by then would a sensible Labour want power?

 

[ParadigmShifter]

Considering the CFC election poll came up with a landslide win for the LibDems, we're probably wrong.

David Milliband bows out of front line politics though - not sure that's a good plan.

 

[Mise]

I predict Lib Dem support rising to 20% by the next election, with Labour having a plurality but not majority. They'll form a coalition gov't with the Lib Dems.

Really, the shattered support for LDs is frustrating for those of us who look to Europe and see, for example, a Green/CDU coalition in Germany and wonder why on Earth we can't have such an unholy union of centre-left and centre-right in the UK. In fact, I'm sure I'm alone in saying this but I think I'd rather vote LD than Labour, if only to support the principle of a left-right coalition.

My biggest fear is that this government, which is too right wing, will end up producing a government which is too left wing at the next election. It's hard being a centrist

 

[GinandTonic]

How does the mutant hybred Tory-gerrymandering/ Lib-PR bill fit into the predictions?

 

[Flying Pig]

Right, seems like we've got a Tory government for the next ten years... back to the good old days of Labour in the unions' pockets it seems

 

[ParadigmShifter]

Not really, all the union members vote and block voting doesn't apply anymore.

 

[Takhisis]

Right, seems like we've got a Tory government for the next ten years... back to the good old days of Labour in the unions' pockets it seems

Which is what Labour is supposed to be, instead of that corrupt elitist piece of crap it became under Blair.
EDIT: x-post!