Ed Balls’ fighting talk is getting him nowhere, yet

strapworld

Why this nonsense on failed politicians? I would have thought that Coffee House would have wished to place on record how well they thought David Laws did this morning -as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Frankly he was magnificent and would have done much to win many doubting thomas's over to the coalition.

Praise where praise is due coffee house.
Stop sulking like Mr Nelson!!!

Naomi Muse

@strapworld. Agree.

Balls is discomfited because his group of thugs are out of power in the playground, and as Brown's principal sidekick, he got used to jeering at smaller boys.

startledcod

The sheer, undiluted pleasure if the final nominaitons were to spit out:
Abbott - 34
Balls - 32

Brownloather

I wonder if Labour MPs have cottoned on to the fact that with Balls you get 'two for the price of one'? He and his ghastly wife come as a package albeit cyanide and strichnine. I suspect that the thought of this highly toxic couple appearing as the face of the Labour party to a discerning populus is quite a sobering thought to many Labour MPs however thick they happen to be. If Brown was "Poison on the doorstep" imagine the reception awaiting a Stalinist thug and that whining sanctimonious bossy boots. Precisely.

Fabian Solutions

@Naomi

I know you're being sarcastic but you really should be scared of Ed Balls.

I don't think you'd last five minutes against him in a debate, or in a fist-fight for that matter.

And neither would Cameron.

You and your beloved leader would be reduced to tears, whimpering and whining.

Walsingham's Ghost

So what?....

Captn P

Now, now ... there will be no outright winner in the contest after the nominations. I'm sure Ed Balls will point this out like he did after the election.

Every candidate will be a loser.

Vulture

This is really angel pinpoint dancing to delight only politics wonks. You are right, David : 'Who cares?'

The only question of interest being - which leader is likely to keep Liebore out of power the longest? The answer is obvious:

VOTE BALLS (for a complete cock-up).

You know it makes sense. It would even be worth joining the Liebore party for just long enougn to help the great man in his power-grab.

GeoffH

strapworld.

re David Laws.

Seconded.

David Blackburn

Strapworld and Geoff H,

Agreed on David Laws.

Robert Eve

Balls unloved?

There is a god.

dearieme

This "Miliband Major/Minor" stuff is a bit dull. How about Milibanana and Milivanilla?

Paddy

Fabian Solutions:

Balls hits women does he!

Paddy

Fabian Solutions:

Balls hits women does he!

Liz Brown

@Strapworld - I'll fourth or fifth that. He had clear mastery of his brief, was ready with the answers and nailed the failures of zanulab. I am pleased that we will be seeing a lot more of him.
CH -Can we please ignore the failings of the Lab leadership campaign. I am not alone in caring less about that bunch of shysters............

Fox in a box

As I've pointed out before, Balls' charisma has negative polarity.

People will no more rally around him than they would someone who'd just crawled from a latrine.

You can't go through this life being a total "see you next Tuesday", without people noticing.

ollie

fabian, Balls couldn't even better Michael Gove in the Tv debate they had together - the most mild mannered Tory there is. Cameron would kill Balls in a debate on his worst day.

This country has had enough of Brownian/Ballsian brute force, bullying and poison dripping.

Balls is the past - as is your absurd party.

Trafalgar

Strapworld, Vulture et al. I thought this *was* a blog for political wonks and that CH is meant to focus on political events from both sides of the divide? I for one am just as interested in the Labour leadership as I would be in a Conservative one.

Whether we like it or not, the future Labour leader matters. We need a strong opposition and the winner could end up being the future PM.

Please keep the news coming David.

Moraymint

I'll be astonished if even the Labour Party sees fit to elevate Balls beyond the rank of backbench MP.

Does anybody seriously think that Balls is officer material? Er, hang on. Since the officer class is roundly despised by the Marxists (just look at the savaging of the defence budget over the past 13 years), perhaps Balls is on to something by coming across as a vulgar, graceless thug?

Victor Southern

Too much discussion about the losers jostle for the remnants of power.

And Fabian, not only was my Dad bigger then your Dad but I am bigger than you or Balls. By your playground reasoing that makes me right.

Chris lancashire

Well I do care who becomes Labour leader because I want this useless, spendthrift party kept well away from the nation's wallet for as long as possible. Hence the most unelectable leader is a must - and that means Balls. Yes, Fabian, it's precisely because he is a nasty little bully that most of the electorate wouldn't vote for him. We really don't want a leader who does five minutes or five rounds with anyone (although I actually believe he's as big a coward as Brown and wouldn't go anywhere near a ring).

Sir Graphus

Fabian Solutions is right, regrettably. I can't think of a politician whose skills are more suited to opposition than Balls.

However, he'll have made a lot of enemies in the last dozen years. He fully deserved a Portillo moment. Maybe he won't get sufficient nominations; Portillo-lite, if you like.

lescam

Balls is tainted by the curse of Brown. As Brown's most loyal supporter, it is hardly surprising that nobody wants to be associated with him. Quite apart, that is, from his being a thug of the grandest order. What goes around, comes around.

Tiberius

Balls got a good duffing up from Francis Maude on Newsnight yesterday, which was both a surprise and a joy.

If Balls does end up winning, there's a good chance the Labour party will lose its leader at the 2015 GE.

gordon foster

Surely even the most ardent Balls followers must realise that he is a bully, a poor communicator and too closely associated with Brown's failed tenure as PM & Chancellor! Surely!

Osred

Isnt Balls supposed to have Unite funded MPs in his pocket? Whats occuring with them?
Can the Spec break down nominations by major sponsors and their supposed preferences? At the end of the day it dont matter a hill of beans but a Balls/Abbott partnership would be a wonderful Chuckle Bros political pairing.

Nash

I do like Fabian Solutions suggestion that the Labour Leadership contenders have a fist fight to settle whose is most tough and thus who should become leader.

I suspect Ed Balls would beat the two Millibands but he would be no match for Diane Abbott.

David Parker

Perhaps Mr Test-i-cles would do better to apply for the forthcoming vacancy as the leader of the failed Greek Government.

Fox in a box

A fist fight with Ed Balls, eh?

The chance would be a fine thing...

Fabian Solutions

Ed Balls humiliated Gove by asking him GCSE questions.

He also destroyed IDS on the Daily Politics.

No wonder Cameron is scared of him.

YorkshireLad

Vote for Balls and let's have some entertainment!
Would be interesting if he was elected how many would defect and how long he would actually last with the poisoned chalice.

Charles

So, Fabian, if I understand you correctly.

Gove / the Change Coalition have proposed one of the most radical (& I believe exciting) reforms of the education system for 2 generations.

Balls, instead of building a coherent argument of how it can be improved or why it is a bad idea, chooses to ask random, silly questions from an exam? How is this relevant to the future government of our country.

What went wrong with Labour is that they fell in love with silly political games rather than actual government, and the people finally sat up and realised.

Cuffleyburgers

I think the correct expression is "so what?"

Occasional Ostrich

Dear Mr Fabian,
It may be your perception that "Ed Balls humiliated Gove by asking him GCSE questions" but that viewpoint is a long way from being universal. It is also a long way from being relevant; Gove was educated in the real world and can answer very well questions relating to it. The GCSE questions quoted by Cojones were, by their irrelevance and skewed world view, a clear example of the destruction of a fine education system under Labour.

matthew bell

I'd just like to ask fabian one question are you richard of york in reality. You halfwit

David Bouvier

Balls: the man who has the distinction of the being the only person every totally floored by Eddie Mair.

Oh yes, a great media operator. Bring it on...

Will

Er, David, surely it takes longer than 12 hours to become 'ubiquitous'?

Fabian.......oh, never mind.

General Zod

I predict that the Labour Party will (sdaly) have the good sense to cast Balls aside and that he will gracelessly stand down from his seat within the year, unable to face life as a backbencher in opposition.

Brown will do the same and the two of them will melt away into a bitter pool of resentment.

Holly ......

Why would we be scared of Balls...or his grisly wife...who got slapped down by the speaker yesterday for being an ignorant twit?
He is a small little bod who no one takes serious anymore.
Diane Abbott will beat him FFS!!!
He should sod off to his constituency and get on with wrecking/bullying/smearing his opponents there...T

Noa Zrk

General Zod

Thank you for that happy thought. May the pair of them be pickled in brine, to be dragged out at party conferences...

occasional ranter

General Zod - I agree that he will resign as an MP if he doesn't make party leader. He won't like living on basic MPs' rations and having to focus on constituency work to keep his majority. I'm sure his brother, or contacts like Shriti Vadera, will line up something paying rather better for him. I don't like him or his politics, but he's not actually stupid.