It’s fair to say that the appointment of Ed Miliband’s ex-campaign director Spencer Livermore to the House of Lords hasn’t gone down well in Labour circles. Harriet Harman was said to be in a battle to get a similar honour for her own press chief Ayesha Hazarika if Livermore got one, but her name was absent from yesterday’s Dissolution Peerages.
Now word reaches Steerpike that party members are questioning what exactly Livermore — who also worked on Gordon Brown’s election-that-never-was back in 2007 — is being rewarded for. While Mr S is yet to learn the answer, it is fair to rule out his election judgment. On polling day, Livermore wrote a blog claiming the BBC’s exit poll looked ‘wrong’.
‘I’ve been involved in a lot of elections and, I have to say, I am sceptical of this BBC exit poll. It looks wrong. Exit polls have been very wrong in the past – indeed, the YouGov poll is very different. It’s going to be a long night because we will need to see the results to know which of the polls is accurate.
But here’s something that is really important for everyone to keep in mind: the coalition came into this campaign with a majority of 73. Even if the BBC exit poll is right – and it’s a big if – that majority has been all but wiped out.
Who forms the next government will depend on who can deliver a majority in the House of Commons. That looks set to take some time to become clear.’
Only it became clear rather soon after his blog went up that the Tories would return to power, this time with a majority. On the bright side, one former colleague says that Livermore’s talents may finally be put to good use in the Lords. ‘If Spencer is able to have the same effect on the House of Lords as he did on Labour’s numbers in the House of Commons we’ll have a substantially reduced Lords in no-time,’ Mr S’s mole joshes.
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