Miliband stamps out an English battleground

Norm

Having done terrible damage to the economy and persecuted the English majority in just about every way possible I don't know why he's not banged up at Her Majesty's pleasure with the rest of the lunatics of the Labour Party.

The Bellman

Among the vapid twaddle emitted by this repellent little woinker in this monumentally pointless article, this surely is the crowning delusion: Gordon Brown "solved the Scottish question (of a Scottish prime minister governing the UK in an age of devolution)."

If the 'question' was 'How can we have a Scottish prime minister in an age of devolution?', Labour's answer was 'Because we will *make* Gordon party leader because we dare not have a contest.' It wasn't as if any alternatives were even considered. That is a 'solution' of sorts, I suppose; but only in the same way that your choice for dinner would be solved if you were allowed to eat only in a chip shop. (And exactly how resilient was that 'achievement'?)

And, FFS: 'translate a notion of Englishness into the veins of politics'. Who but an aching arsewit could write that without blushing?

Sir Compton Valence

A wonk in a leadership candidate's suit is still a wonk. I did think it was going to be Ed Mili who claimed the un-glittering prize but the longer this goes on the worse they all look, and I just don't know anymore. This persistent denial of the truth about public spending will one day have to be ditched. We all know that; they, as professionals, certainly ought to. Setting Diane aside, none of them looks worse than the subject of your article, and he would better employed as an extra in the next Star Trek movie.

Is there any chance at all that nice old Darling could be persuaded to do it? It would be a last hurrah for prudence, Scottish rectitude and his final triumph over Broon.

Charles Flaccidwidger

The Bellman at 4.17pm. Spot on.

davidk

If Cameron's rise has taught us anything, it's not about policy and vision it's about projection. Milisenior is the one and (as far as I can see) only Labour leadership candidate that has the stature to challenge the coalition leaders. His brother might have the edge in terms of substance, but he'll be perceived as an overgrown schoolboy by the electorate. Balls is a terrible performer.

I think we all know this deep down and would prefer Balls or Milijunior to prevail.

Osred

As they say down South Sheels' market, "Milliband y'er taakin' shite yee"

Chris lancashire

davidk: I don't care which of these losers wins the leadership. They are all, in only slightly varying degrees, pathetic little wonks with zero leadership ability.

Percy

The word dreary appears in an article about David Miliband.

davidk

Chris - "pathetic little wonks with zero leadership ability".

Replace 'wonk' with 'sleazy PR man' and this is the sort of thing Labour were reassuring themselves with in 2005.

Presentation can prove key in a close run thing...which I fully expect Election 2015 to be. Milisenior is a polished performer.

Simon Orr

Will Labour make the mistake of 'choosing' a second leader in a row with no ability to connect with the electorate? I think the westminster lobby is seriously underestimating the degree to which DM's gibberish will turn off the electorate. Whenever I read anything he produces I'm reminded of the quote from Harrison Ford on the set of Empire Strikes Back:

"You can write this s*** George, but you can't say it."

Even worse for Labour DM speaks the same way.

Boudicca

Who is Milipillock to tell us we don't want an English Parliament. I do; or at the very least I want English votes for English laws.

The last thing I want, though, is another Labour Government - ever. Fortunately, Labour has such a pathetic line-up of possible leaders that I shouldn't have to concern myself about that for quite some time to come.

yank

"Labour needs to work with the grain of local and institutional affiliations - from army regiments to hospitals, from fire services to local authorities."

.

.

In other words, he wants the party of government to grow the government as its power base, which seems the polar opposite of what the structural deficit requires, and what the coalition and Osborne seem to be executing.

Here as there, the party of government is heading into decline. We have no choice. It appears Mr. Milliband is too dense to see that, as his strategy certainly doesn't account for it.

I think Mr. Osborne will be opening up a Labor artery, and his coalition won't be quick with any tourniquets.

paulg

I think if Miliband had more passion his article - could have been more inspiring so i have offered an amendment....." There are more than one England for England is made up of many traditions and our traditions of: mutualisms, localism, co operative societies and organised Labour built the labour movement and shaped the England of today.
Once again the peoples’ party must strengthen and renew itself by allowing this tradition to transfuse the blood of the labour movement. Only when Labour root and branch, become one once again, the party of the people, can the English labour party say: we are the party of the people, organised by the people, representing the people and England to beat brazil 6-1.

personally I think mine reads better, its now up to the conservative party to co-opt this fine tradition and give it its proper home in the conservative cooperative movement. (Only Joking)

Dorothy Wilson

"Milisenior is the one and (as far as I can see) only Labour leadership candidate that has the stature to challenge the coalition leaders."

Millisenior stature? Really? For the life of me I can't see where.

Hugh Janus

The usual vacuous tripe from Militwat, who clearly feels very much at home on the Planet Zog.

I would listen to him if he apologised for NuLiebour's wrecking of our economy, but I guess that's expecting rather a lot from this self-regarding and egotistical pillock.

TGF UKIP

"From army regiments to hospitals, from fire services to local authorities." Whoever wins the Labour leadership election is going to drive the party from the left and mobilize the footsoldiers in the unions, be they Unison, FBU, NASUWT, NUT or whatever. (But is Milipede intending to propose a squaddies union?)Local activism, with all the help it will get from the lefties who operate in local media, will be a powerful political weapon.

There is misplaced tendency by this site and by Guido to laugh at Labour, but my instinct is that they are going to provide the intensity of opposition to this government that was so lacking from Dave and his fellow bunch of wimps and wets to Labour.

Major Plonquer 1

I'm astonished that there is, above, a call for Alistair Darling to become leader of the Labour party and bring some 'Scottish rectitude' back to government. I think the nation's rectum has been chewed enough by these marxist morons. Mine certainly has....

Major Plonquer 1

If I were a conspracy theorist I'd be thinking that the shower of utter losers posing as potential leaders of the Labour Party are designed to make us all pine for the return of Gordon Brown.

If Robin Cook was alive today he'd be turning in his grave.

Robert Taggart

Liebour hate England !
England has never taken to Liebour with the same passion of the Celtic fringe. Just look at all those Celtic Liebour MP's carpetbagging their way into parliament on the back of English constituencies ! Just look at how few (any ?) English politicos do the opposite (Celtic racism perhaps ?).
Liebour can never square this argument... if assemblies / parliaments are the answer to other countries problems... why not England's ? We all know the answer... party political disadvantage !

Lee Jakeman

An 'English Parliament' is not the answer ...

Yes it is - England wants the same status of nationhood as Scotland and Wales.

We DON'T want to be balkanised into regions or towns.

IMarcher

What you mean is he wants to bribe the English to vote Labour.

Home Rule for England

I surprised he didn't say 'there is no appetite for an English Parliament'! That's the usual unsubstantiated tripe we English have to put up with. Despite the fact that opinion polls show the majority of English want their own English Parliament politicians like Milliband just won't listen. Remember when the previous Labour Government told us that England wanted elected regional assemblies? All the shananigans over thresholds etc. The vote was YES pushed hard and yet 76% of the people of the NE of England said NO in a referendum!
Why not promise a referendum Mr Milliband on an English Parliament! Or is finding out what the English people really want of no interest you?

Toque

It's all very well for Tories to slag off Miliband for venturing into the debate on Englishness, but can any of you direct me to anything worthwhile that David Cameron has to say on the English Question.

Despite winning a majority of seats in England the Conservatives have reneged on their promise to introduce rules to prevent democratically unaccounatble Scottish MPs meddling in England's domestic affairs, and have entrust Nick Clegg to "consider the West Lothian Question".

What is there to consider that the Conservatives haven't spent the last thirteen years considering? What was the point of Ken Clarke's Democracy Task Force.

Instead of offering us a referendum on AV we should be having referendums on what the people actually want: A referendum on an English parliament and a referendum on the EU.

i albion

"An English Parliament is not the answer" OH! well thats all right then. How dare this creature tell the English they can not have an English Parliament!
The English must have their own Parliament,
and the sooner Cameron get's that through his thick head ,the sooner the likes of this Millyturd will be shut up!!!

Stephen Gash

The LibLabCON is a coalition against the English.

All benches in the Palace of Westminster hate the English.

We English need our own parliament to focus on English needs once more, instead of having one eye constantly on the rest of the woefully named "United" Kingdom.

David Lindsay

If the metero-Marxist dynast had understood the passage that you quote, then he would never have put his name to it. Just as well that he didn't understand it, then. But who wrote it? How did anyone with such views, however well-disguised, ever make it to the position of writing David Miliband's Leadership pitch in the New Statesman? Well done.