labour party Archives

Thursday

5 Feb 2015

What’s more important to voters? Coherent policy or the chance to ‘send a message’

What are you doing when you vote? Much of the discussion about elections assumes – implicitly or explicitly – that voters are making a judgement about policies being put forward by the parties; that they would only vote for a party which had policies with which they broadly agreed; and, moreover, that these policies will have to form a vaguely coherent programme, and be realistic and affordable. Even allowing for that fact that we know that many voters don’t know the details of the various policies proposed, it is still widely assumed that they would care if they knew. This is why there is so much discussion of policy proposals

Steerpike

Something to hide? Nick Clegg not mentioned on Sheffield Hallam Lib Dem leaflets

Nick Clegg is not having a good day. A survey of the Deputy Prime Minister’s seat claims he is behind Labour by 10 points in his Sheffield Hallam constituency. If accurate, this means that Clegg will be out of a job come May. Now it seems even his own team may have some reservations about his popularity in the local area. Mr S has got wind of a batch of Sheffield Hallam Liberal Democrat leaflets that don’t even mention him by name, let alone include a picture of their candidate. Mr S suspects that the omission of Clegg may be for the best. ‘There’s a big student population in Sheffield Hallam and a

James Forsyth

How Labour lost Scotland (and could lose the Union)

[audioplayer src=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/spectator/TheViewFrom22_5_Feb_2015_v4.mp3″ title=”James Forsyth and Alex Massie discuss Labour’s problems north of the border” startat=1118] Listen [/audioplayer]Just four months ago Scotland was the scene of great cross-party co-operation — unprecedented in peace-time politics. Gordon Brown was offering advice on David Cameron’s speeches, Douglas Alexander and the Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson turned themselves into a formidable debating duo, and Charles Kennedy was being hailed by Labour strategists as the man who would save the Union. Even George Galloway got in on the act. One of the oddest sights I have witnessed in politics was the Respect MP gushingly introducing the Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, at

Wednesday

4 Feb 2015

Steerpike

Labour break ‘no PM pictures’ pledge after just three days

‘Labour promises “no PM pictures”‘ reported the BBC three days ago: ‘The party said it would focus on issues rather than personalities. and not use negative personal campaigning. Its election strategist Douglas Alexander said the Conservatives were preparing to spread “fear and smear”.’ That was Sunday, and today is Wednesday and the official Scottish Labour Party Twitter account is punting out ‘negative personal campaigning’ using the PM’s picture. It seems there is one rule for billboards and quite another for social media: Who benefits most from more SNP MPs? The Tories. #VoteSNPGetTories pic.twitter.com/LJVNdYGxeg — Scottish Labour (@scottishlabour) February 4, 2015 They should probably sack the graphic designer as well as

Steerpike

Brian Cox bans Ed Miliband from using 1997 Labour anthem

D:Ream’s Things Can Only Get Better was the song of choice in the Labour campaign that saw Tony Blair win the 1997 general election. Alas, Ed Miliband won’t be able to use the tune this time around. Professor Brian Cox, who played keyboard with the band, before becoming a TV scientist, says in an interview with the Evening Standard that he would not let Labour use the tune in this election. ‘I’d probably say no to Labour using the song — there are immense pros and cons to all the parties and I can’t quite see a clear direction. It’s very different now than in ’97. In ’97, it was obvious that everybody supported Blair. But

Isabel Hardman

Ashcroft poll proof Labour needs to get moving – across the pavement

There are still perfectly reasonable, thoughtful Labour MPs who sincerely think their party has a good chance of winning a majority in May, even though most of their colleagues are reconciled to being the largest party. I’ve found more of them in Parliament in the past few weeks than I have found Tories who think the same about their party. But today’s Ashcroft poll may well mean that the verbs in that first sentence have to change into the past perfect. There were still perfectly reasonable, thoughtful Labour MPs who sincerely thought their party had a good chance of winning a majority in May. Then the Ashcroft poll came out,

Steerpike

Simon Danczuk in Ukip Twitter spat over mosque incident

Last year Simon Danczuk was accused of disloyalty by his fellow Labour party members after he was photographed meeting Nigel Farage for a pint. Ed Miliband’s troupe can, however, breathe a collective sigh of relief as judging by a recent incident relations between Danczuk and Ukip members are far from friendly. The Labour MP for Rochdale has accused his Ukip opponent of dirty tactics. Danczuk claims that Mohammed Masud, the Ukip PPC for Rochdale, was thrown out of a local mosque after he tried to badmouth him. Just hearing that my UKIP opponent has been thrown out of a Rochdale mosque after trying to address the congregation & clumsily attack me! — Simon Danczuk (@SimonDanczuk) January

Fraser Nelson

The implosion of Scottish Labour means the battle for Britain has only just begun

Gordon Brown is holding an adjournment debate on the union this evening, which comes after an Ashcroft poll which shows precisely what danger the union is in. If today’s polls were tomorrow’s election result, the SNP would have 55 out of 59 seats in Scotland. It’s even set to lose Coatbridge, where it picked up 67pc of the vote at the last election. Yes, all this will help the Tories in the short term: Cameron needs the SNP to destroy Labour in the north and the SNP need Cameron in No10 – remember, their political model is based on grudge and gripe. Without a villain, Alex Salmond won’t have a pantomime. But back

Isabel Hardman

Balls forgetting Bill is far less of a problem than Bill being Balls’ only supporter

To be fair to Ed Balls, everyone forgets names from time to time. ‘His surname has just gone from my mind at this time of night,’ said the Shadow Chancellor, looking sheepish. We’ve all been there, struggling to remember the name or Jenny Thingummer, or Tom Whatsisname. But the wider problem is that Balls couldn’t think of anyone other than this Bill Somebody when asked to name business leaders who supported Labour. It’s easy to forget a name. But not so much an entire list of names who support a party, especially when you’re on your way into a studio to claim that said party is very pro-business. Was Bill

Sebastian Payne

Ashcroft poll: Labour faces wipeout in Scotland

How much is the SNP going to harm Labour in the general election? Labour is already braced for a battering but a new set of polling from Lord Ashcroft shows just how great the SNP threat is. The Tory peer has polled 16,000 Scots in 14 Labour-SNP target seats and two Lib Dem seats — all areas that Ashcroft said voted yes for independence or the result was close. His snapshot reveals that the SNP is ahead in 13 of the 14 Labour targets and ahead in both of the Lib Dem targets. This represents a 25 per cent swing in the Labour targets. If you want to see the results for each seat, use

Tuesday

3 Feb 2015

Isabel Hardman

Why Labour thinks its battle with Boots is important – and what it needs to do next

Labour seems pretty keen to prolong its row with Boots chief Stefano Pessina. We’re on day three now. After Boris Johnson weighed in on this on his LBC show, Chuka Umunna said ‘the Mayor of London is right to set himself apart from the Prime Minister and make it clear he finds it disappointing when firms do not join the overwhelming majority of British businesses in making a fair contribution to the Exchequer’. Party sources point out that when a senior businessman claims a Labour government would be a ‘catastrophe’ for Britain, it would be odd if the party just shrugged its shoulders. That’s why Labour is defending itself so

Alex Massie

Unless something changes soon, Scottish Labour is doomed

The headline figures in today’s YouGov poll for The Times are brutal for Scottish Labour. Labour (27 percent) are still 20 points behind the SNP (48%). But that’s the good news. Because everything else is even worse. Consider this: 95 percent of SNP supporters think Nicola Sturgeon is doing a good job. That’s impressive or, if you prefer, slightly terrifying. But, hark at this: 39 percent of Labour supporters think Nicola is performing admirably. Her net approval rating amongst Labour voters is just -4. Jim Murphy’s net approval rating amongst SNP supporters, meanwhile, is -54. Or this: 67 percent of SNP voters say there is no chance they will change their minds before the election but

Steerpike

Former chairman of Pizza Express: Labour ignorant of way capitalism works

‘The Labour Party is looking to appoint a Business Relations Administrator’ according to their website. Is this the toughest job in Westminster? After a vicious onslaught from Tory sympathising CEOs like Boots’ boss Stefano Pessina and former M&S chief Stuart Rose, and more attacks expected in the run up to polling day, only those with a thick skin need apply. The lucky candidate will have to tackle allegations that Labour’s ‘business-bashing’ could harm the economy and that Ed Miliband is a ‘1970s throwback’. Another key part of the job will be ‘ensuring that the business relations database is kept up-to-date’. For all their hard work the lucky candidate will be remunerated to the tune of £26,131. Whoever gets the job can put

Monday

2 Feb 2015

James Forsyth

Is fear of Mandelson holding Labour back on tuition fees?

Patrick Wintour has a fascinating piece in The Guardian on Labour’s dilemma on tuition fees. Particularly striking is that Ed Balls is deeply concerned about how Peter Mandelson might react to any new policy. Wintour writes: ‘Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, also knows there are serious figures in the party, including the former business secretary Lord Mandelson, who will voice their concerns if a half-baked policy emerges that might damage the status of UK’s world-class universities. Mandelson made a technical criticism of the plans for a mansion tax, but supported the concept of a wealth tax. He will be less restrained if he thinks the revised tuition fees policy damages

Sebastian Payne

Labour is still not trusted to run the country

Labour may be level with the Conservatives in the polls but it is still not trusted by the public. Lord Ashcroft’s latest national poll has the two main parties on 31 per cent of the vote — both down one point from last week. 59 per cent say they have already made up their minds about they’ll vote on 7 May. There aren’t many positive views in this poll about the Labour Party. Although roughly half think the policies of the last few years have failed, a majority don’t think Labour has the answers. According to Ashcroft’s poll, 58 per cent think Labour has ‘not yet learned the right lessons from

Isabel Hardman

Which party has the strongest message?

One interesting nugget from Lord Ashcroft’s latest batch of polling is what his focus groups in two seats – Sutton and Cheam, and Elmet and Rothwell – had to say about the parties’ messages. Here’s a quick summary: Conservative: ‘Finish the job and get back on track’. Labour: ‘Vote Labour to save the NHS’, possibly adding ‘and stop the cuts’ or ‘and tax the rich’. Liberal Democrat: ‘Vote Lib Dem to balance the extremes – to split the difference’. Ukip: ‘Leave the EU and control immigration.’ Greens: ‘Vote Green to save the planet.’ Ashcroft was also struck by the cut-through achieved by the Greens’ now-defunct policy of decriminalising membership of

Steerpike

Meet the people who really, really, really like Ed Miliband

It’s not the narrative we have come to expect: a bunch of people who really like Ed Miliband. Yet Mr S was surprised to find such group exists. EM4No10 may sound like a dodgy chemical used to make sweets, but it’s actually the rallying banner for a unique clique of Labour Party devotees who think Ed is bloody brilliant. This loyal clan spend all day sharing supposedly inspirational quotations on social media, each trying to outdo one another with their photoshopping skills and love of the dear leader: The king of this niche online subculture is a chap called Jon Swindon. He describes himself as a c0-founder of the hashtags #webackEd

Isabel Hardman

Ed Miliband proves he can be normal

What do you say when asked what life experience you have as a politician? Probably not ‘I was an economic adviser in the Treasury’ and ‘I taught at Harvard’. But to be fair to Miliband, his answer to one of the trickiest questions levelled at him this morning on Sky wasn’t much different to the one the other party leaders would give, which is essentially ‘not much’. A political Four Yorkshiremen skit wouldn’t be particularly competitive. listen to ‘Ed Miliband discusses his qualifications for being PM’ on audioBoom

Isabel Hardman

Can Labour afford a battle with Boots?

Is Labour wise to go to war with the head of Boots for warning that a Miliband government would be a ‘catastrophe’ for Britain? The party, which has spent considerable effort trying to persuade business that it is friendly after all, seems to be reversing over that hard work by turning on Stefano Pessina in the way it has. Pessina’s company says his remarks were taken out of context, but Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna said voters would ‘draw their own conclusions when those who don’t live here, don’t pay tax in this country and lead firms that reportedly avoid making a fair contribution in what they pay purport to

Sunday

1 Feb 2015

James Forsyth

Labour MPs’ minds wander to a post-election contest

With the opinion polls so tight at the moment, we’re having to look for other ways to try and work out what the general election result will be. One indicator worth watching is which party is spending more time thinking about the leadership contest that would follow an election. Now, there has been plenty of speculation about this on both the Tory and Labour benches in recent times. But in the last few weeks, I’ve picked up more of it from the Labour side. One Labour frontbencher calculates that the focus of ‘half the party is on what happens next’. Last week’s Labour kerfuffle over NHS policy was driven, in large