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Category: Labour leadership

The new one member one vote rules will transform Labour’s leadership election

The new one member one vote rules will transform Labour’s leadership election

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Liz Kendall tells @afneil that she's a leadership runnerhttp://t.co/OKnfA55VAe — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) May 11, 2015 Dan Jarvis rules himself out while Liz Kendall tells Andrew Neil that she is in Well we are off in the race to find the next LAB leader. Last night one of the most heavily tipped possible runners, ex-army Major Dan Jarvis, announced that he would not be putting his name forward. A few hours earlier the relatively unknown Liz Kendall told Andrew Neil…

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Time for Labour to make a clean break from its economic past

Time for Labour to make a clean break from its economic past

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My bold prediction for the 2020 General Election, the economy will dominate it, as much as it did this year, even if the economy is performing badly, which will be particularly bad news if your name is Liam Byrne, as the argument will be framed in terms of the situation the Tories inherited in 2010. Ed Miliband’s refusal to admit that Labour overspent between 1997 and 2010 during Question Time a week before election day, was felt to be a crucial…

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Could my 50/1 bet on Liz Kendall being the next Labour leader be a winner in the next few months?

Could my 50/1 bet on Liz Kendall being the next Labour leader be a winner in the next few months?

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Is the 20/1 Liz Kendall really the favourite as the next Labour Leader? http://t.co/vvwklygK5o pic.twitter.com/1Jzucb6IXp — The Screaming Eagles (@TSEofPB) February 1, 2015 This afternoon it was reported that Liz Kendall has emerged as a new challenger in a future Labour leadership battle, exacerbating Ed Miliband’s difficulties as party leader. Although some Labour figures have dismissed the rumours around the Leicester West MP as “the Blair Witch Project,” she is emerging as a favourite among Blairite MP. Interest in the shadow…

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David Herdson on Saturday: Harriet Harman could become LAB’s Michael Howard?

David Herdson on Saturday: Harriet Harman could become LAB’s Michael Howard?

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The risks of an election can be avoided by not holding one Sixty thousand tweets of support for Ed Miliband this last week may have put a dampener on speculation about his leadership survival prospects, though not as much as the definitive statement from Alan Johnson ruling himself out of any future contest. For all the goodwill in the country, those who have the Labour leader’s future in their hands remain the MPs and shadow ministers at Westminster. For the…

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If the Miliband rumblings haven’t quietened down after the weekend then he could be in trouble

If the Miliband rumblings haven’t quietened down after the weekend then he could be in trouble

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Watch: New Statesman editor Jason Cowley defends the magazine's criticism of Ed Miliband #SkyNewsTonight http://t.co/y2rClEeNR3 — Sky News Tonight (@SkyNewsTonight) November 6, 2014 This article by the New Statesman's Editor has played big part in bringing LAB's Ed Miliband issue to a head. http://t.co/PlZNBPDE95 — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) November 7, 2014 What seems to have set this off – a New Statesman article Looking over the past couple of days the trigger for the Miliband leadership speculation appears to have…

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Andy Burnham rules out standing for the LAB leadership – get your money on Andy Burnham

Andy Burnham rules out standing for the LAB leadership – get your money on Andy Burnham

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EdM’s successor? Could be In the closing seconds of his interview on the Marr show this morning the shadow health secretary and 2010 leadership contender, Andy Burnham, was asked if he’d rule out standing the the job “in due course”. His denial was, to me, less than convincing. He’s come on a lot since his first leadership bid and I was quite impressed with the way he handled the interview. Both Ladbrokes and PaddyPower have him at 6/1. If EdM…

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Henry G Manson says get on Andy Burnham as EdM’s successor – it might be a good bet

Henry G Manson says get on Andy Burnham as EdM’s successor – it might be a good bet

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Andy Burnham the overwhelming leader in latest @LabourList shadow cabinet rankings pic.twitter.com/B6kaB8p8qi — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) July 18, 2014 Longstanding PBers will know that Henry G Manson’s has a great record with his tips on anything to do with LAB. He was dead right on EdM in 2010 and his guidance has proved pretty good over the years. This morning he emailed me to suggest that Andy Burnham was a great bet for next LAB leader. He cited as evidence…

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Why Blairites like John Rentoul have got to stop looking at GE2015 through the prism of 1997

Why Blairites like John Rentoul have got to stop looking at GE2015 through the prism of 1997

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From the recent @LordAshcroft CON-LAB marginals poll: Miliband's most enthusiastic backers – LD-LAB switchers pic.twitter.com/NJ6f8TaN7W — Mike Smithson (@MSmithsonPB) July 14, 2014 It’s a totally different election with very different dynamics There’s no doubt that Tony Blair’s GE1997 victory, coming as it did after four election defeats over the previous 18 years, was a stunning success. Blair did it by reinventing his party so it would appeal to large swaithes of voters who never before had done anything other than…

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