We should take a David Miliband comeback seriously…it really could happen

We should take a David Miliband comeback seriously…it really could happen

As MP nominations for Labour leader close, Keiran Pedley argues that the main person to watch is not standing. David Miliband is on manoeuvres. There is no doubt about that. Having been out of the spotlight since moving to America, he now clearly intends to make his presence felt. He has made several high profile interventions in recent weeks on where Labour (and his brother) went wrong. Such interventions in politics are rarely accidental. They are planned and for a…

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Andy Burnham should make sure this focus group from 2010 gets a wider audience

Andy Burnham should make sure this focus group from 2010 gets a wider audience

Thanks to Danny565 for posting this video on last night’s thread, it is a clip from a Newsnight focus group from 2010 of twelve voters from Bristol who didn’t vote Labour in 2010, about the then Labour Leadership election which eventually saw Ed Milband win. Each of the five candidates had a three minute speech then a Question and Answer session with the voters, after all had been on, the voters were asked to give their verdict, of the twelve,…

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Is this the Old Etonian you should be backing as next Tory leader?

Is this the Old Etonian you should be backing as next Tory leader?

Can Zac do what Boris has done and become the favourite to be the next Tory leader? One of the main challenges for the Tory Party at the next election is holding on to all those voters dubbed the Blue Liberals in the marginals and the previously Lib Dem held seats which are now Tory seats. Without David Cameron, that challenge becomes harder, but who best to appeal to those voters? Zac Goldsmith could, he’s well known for his environmental policies,…

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Meanwhile in the LAB leadership battle Andy Burnham sends a text to party members

Meanwhile in the LAB leadership battle Andy Burnham sends a text to party members

Everyone in politics says you should try to give a straight answer to a straight question. pic.twitter.com/etngSF46N4 — Hopi Sen (@hopisen) June 13, 2015 He needs to word his messages better than this As Lynton Crosby always says – message matters most and we saw the success of that in the final weeks of the GE15 campaign. So it’s against this that we should judge the 3 or 4 still in the race for the Labour leadership. The Labour blogger…

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David Herdson says the government should call the SNP’s bluff on full fiscal autonomy

David Herdson says the government should call the SNP’s bluff on full fiscal autonomy

It’s time to slay Holyrood’s bogeyman The referendum was never going to be the end of the story and neither was the declaration of the unionist parties to implement the recommendations of the Smith commission. The closeness of the vote last September and the unprecedented landslide this May have understandably prompted the SNP to demand a lot more. It would be foolhardy for Westminster to refuse. The amendment that the SNP have put down is quite smart, not demanding a…

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Meanwhile in that other party leadership contest…Stodge on the Lib Dem race

Meanwhile in that other party leadership contest…Stodge on the Lib Dem race

Norman Lamb or Tim Farron? Next Wednesday I’m intending to attend the Hustings for the Liberal Democrat leadership election in London. As in 2007, I go to the event undecided between the two candidates and will listen with interest to what they have to say and how they see the future of the Party. Paddy Power currently have Tim Farron at 1/10 with Norman Lamb at 5/1 and while for many the choice of Liberal Democrat leader may be as…

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Why Labour needs to be as ruthless with failing leaders as the Tories

Why Labour needs to be as ruthless with failing leaders as the Tories

The latest from PB Guest slot writer – Don Brind It’s Thursday morning in Downing Street: The door to number 10 opens and the manager of the press office is striding down the road with a folder under his arm. I’m there as a BBC political producer and I know him well. I catch him up and with a little bit of persuasion I get my hands of the press release he’s taking to the Press gallery in the House…

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Local By-Election Preview including the big election in Tower Hamlets

Local By-Election Preview including the big election in Tower Hamlets

Wallington South on Sutton (Lib Dem defence) Result of council at last election (2014): Liberal Democrats 45, Conservatives 9 (Liberal Democrat majority of 36) Result of ward at last election (2014) : Emboldened denotes elected Liberal Democrats: 1,593, 1,558, 1,221 (37%) Conservatives: 825, 649, 571 (19%) United Kingdom Independence Party: 694 (16%) Keep Our St. Helier Hospital Party: 377 (9%) Labour: 374, 358, 283 (9%) Green Party: 301, 274 (7%) English Democrats: 110 (3%) Candidates duly nominated: Andy Beadle (UKIP),…

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