The Blair memoirs loom over Labour's leadership struggle
Peter Hoskin 2:38pm
A day before the ballot papers get sent out, and the grey corpse that was the Labour
leadership contest has suddenly leapt into a crazy jig. Ed Balls is slamming the "soap opera" of the Mili-rivalry, while
calling for more social housing. Andy Burnham is insisting that he's still in with a chance of winning. Alan Johnson has - with a nod to
Jose Mourinho, of all people - labelled David Miliband as "the special one". And as part of
his rebranding exercise the former Foreign Secretary has even starting making fairly amusing gags. Welcome to the Twilight Zone.
But it's not just the prospect of imminent voting that is animating the contenders. Tomorrow, of course, sees the publication of Tony Blair's memoirs - and, with it, an escalation of the Old vs New, Brownite vs Blairite, left vs right arguments that have been simmering under the surface of this contest all along. As Tom Harris says, this may not amount to a civil war - but it could certainly fuel the idea that Labour hasn't really changed since the election. David Miliband, I fear, will probably have to reach for the joke book once again.
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Wily Trout
August 31st, 2010 2:54pm Report this commentIf the Labour Leadership contest was a grey corpse, you lot have certainly been flogging it with gusto over the past few weeks.
Michael
August 31st, 2010 3:02pm Report this commentGood grief. Was Milliband the foreing secretary?
We'll be reduced to sharing the navy with the French if that sort of thing has gone on!
charles hercock
August 31st, 2010 3:33pm Report this commentTony has charisma which is more than the current shower except perhaps Ed Balls
Cato
August 31st, 2010 3:45pm Report this commentThere's a line in "The Madness of King George" which goes something like, "We tell ourselves our Parliament is the envy of the world, but we live in the health and well-being of the sovereign as much as any vizier does the Sultan."
The 21st Century version of this is that we consider our democracy to be concerned with the competition of interests and ideas, but our future is still determined by the petty rivalries of ambitious men, no less so than in medieval England or Soviet Russia.
charles hercock
August 31st, 2010 3:49pm Report this commentWily Trout
They need all the publicity they can get
Shallow bunch-except of course Ed Balls
Naomi Muse
August 31st, 2010 4:19pm Report this commentBalls was only jumping up and down because he was left out. They still look like a complete shower. Not worth a mention.
In2minds
August 31st, 2010 4:27pm Report this commentIt's not just banana boy is it, it's banana party!
Chuck Unsworth
August 31st, 2010 6:27pm Report this comment@In2minds
Careful where you sit.
Tarka the Rotter
August 31st, 2010 6:51pm Report this comment"Tony has charisma which is more than the current shower except perhaps Ed Balls"
You have GOT to be kidding - Balls has the charisma of a Soviet Trade delegation
Paddy
August 31st, 2010 6:59pm Report this commentEd Balls is good for a laugh.
We'll have him for leader.
TGF UKIP
August 31st, 2010 7:47pm Report this commentSo just why did the Speccie's icon fail to win an election against this lot?
Verity
August 31st, 2010 8:04pm Report this commentRe What TGF UKIP¨posted above.
Answer the question!
Peter From Maidstone
August 31st, 2010 8:57pm Report this commentWell one reason was UKIP soaking up enough votes to cause a problem without any hope of being part of a solution to anything.
Holly
August 31st, 2010 9:34pm Report this commentThe Speccie's icon failed to win an election
against this lot,because of the lies,lies and more lies.Spewed out by Labour bods &
happily fed to us by the media,this along with the expenses scandal knocked the
stuffing out of a lot of people.
Who could we believe?
The difference now is,we have a government that will do what they say they will....It may not always please everyone,it may even be wrong on occassions,but unlike Labour,
they will do what they say they will.
Should we fault them for doing what they say they will?
A lot of it is hearsay at the moment,we gave Labour thirteen years,yet are not prepared to give the coalition the time of day.
It seems rather odd to me,that putting into action what has been said,is frowned upon by some,but years of broken promises,
spin and downright lies has been hailed as a 'progressive' government.
Nothing queerer than folk eh?
Verity
August 31st, 2010 11:04pm Report this commentHolly: It seems rather odd to me,that putting into action what has been said ...
Dave said we were going to have a refendum on continued enslavement by the EUSSR. We await his putting his promise into action.
Archie
September 1st, 2010 7:38am Report this commentSo according to these towering words which will pass into folklore and be handed down to generations yet unborn, "Diana was a manipulator"! Well, as our American cousins would say "No sh*t, Sherlock!" As to why Dhimmi Dave didn't win an election against the ghastly shower masquerading as our previous government: simple, the people saw through his sordid little act. Anyone who believes anything this man says deserves disappointment.
John Lea
September 1st, 2010 12:18pm Report this commentMy feeling at the time was that most of the media, certainly in the run up to the election, were behind Cameron. Nor should people forget that he had The Sun's backing too. To say that Labour manipulated and set the media agenda ahead of the 2010 election is simply untrue. If anything, I think Cameron got an easy ride, whilst Brown - whatever you may think of him - was crucified on an daily basis, sometimes quite unfairly.
Anne Wotana Kaye 1
September 1st, 2010 5:58pm Report this commentSome cruel bloggers have no compassion (that bloody word again) and say Diane Abbott looks like Mugabe. Nonsense, she is the spitting image of Idi Amin. What with Amin, the two deformed Millipedes and Bulging Eyes Balls, Madame Tussauds could open a new Chamber of Horrors.
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