Next leader of the Labour Party should be.....

[tonyh29]

It seems that the Tory side of VT especially are not impressed, but TBH I don't give a monkeys about that and the fact they are not is a very good thing.

well my summary on Ed came from the radio and was based on opinions of people from the labour conference .. don't think any of them are from VT but I could be wrong ..

'd have thought that the war(s) would have had a pretty big influence

do you think people were voting based on this issue ? I know a lot of people are anti the war but would it have put someone off voting labour ?

[Gringo]

'd have thought that the war(s) would have had a pretty big influence

do you think people were voting based on this issue ? I know a lot of people are anti the war but would it have put someone off voting labour ?

Do you not think fighting illegal war is an issue for the electorate? Maybe not all people are solely motivated by money.

[markavfc40]

The world wide recession is what cost Labour the last election. The ironic thing being is that they had led the country out of it and would have continued to lead the recovery in a sensible manor over a sensible amount of time. What the condems are doing will lead us back into the mire as the cuts they are inevitably going to have to make to wipe out the deficit in five years are reckless and will cost millions of jobs both in the public and private sector.

I know a fair few Tory and Lib supporters who are already wishing they could have May 6th back again and put their X against a different candidate/party.

Ed Milliband will be this countrys next Prime Minster. Sadly though, unless the liberals see sense, he will have to wait till 2015.

[OutByEaster?]

do you think people were voting based on this issue ? I know a lot of people are anti the war but would it have put someone off voting labour ?

For me personally yes, but I think the change from Blair to Brown made that a less simple choice than it would have been and took some of the edge off the issue.

I hated Blair by the end of his reign - he arrived as a fresh voice, someone who had new ideas, a real will to change things and the possibility that he'd reflect the hopes of the nation, he left as a warmongering religious madman, liar and advocate of institutional murder. If he'd stayed I'd have gone anyone but Blair and for me his replacement by Brown went a little ways towards making the Labour party a more viable option. It'll take me a long time to forgive or forget his version of the Labour party which is why I'm hopeful Milliband will bring something new.

[tonyh29]

The ironic thing being is that they had led the country out of it

had they :shock:

would have continued to lead the recovery

:shock: :shock:

are reckless

and the deficit we had wasn't reckless ?

I know a fair few Tory and Lib supporters who are already wishing they could have May 6th back again put their X against a different candidate/party.

I agree with you , there a good fair few that wish they had voted in a Tory majority instead of a coalition ..

Ed Milliband will be this countrys next Prime Minster.

and I'm going to be the next Pope

[tonyh29]

noticed ED only got 12 % of the VT vote .. of course the poll is flawed as Ross Kemp should probably have got a higher % ..but even so .. the labour element of VT seem quite happy and are having their David Steel moment and yet they possibly didn't vote for Ed to start with ... so is anyone going to admit they aren't happy with the choice ?

[Ads]

It will prove a poor choice in the long term.

[Gringo]

for whom?

[LJRM050389]

Well, Ed got all three of my votes. Member, Unite and Students! My mum (after my persuasion) also voted Ed with her Unison vote!

Interestingly the result went in order of all my preferences!

Most Labour people I know, and forgive me as my base is of 16-24 year olds voted Ed too. I also got two people to become Labour members during the campaign, both voted Ed!

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

noticed ED only got 12 % of the VT vote

To be fair, the Tories didn't get a majority and they are shoving their policies up our bums.

When was the last time a majority counted in democracy, eh

[Awol]

noticed ED only got 12 % of the VT vote

To be fair, the Tories didn't get a majority and they are shoving their policies up our bums.

When was the last time a majority counted in democracy, eh

It's interesting the way the vote brakes down actually.

Senior Miliband:

53.436% of the MPs' vote (140 MPs),

54.405% of Labour members' votes (66,814 people), and

40.2% of the union vote (80,266),

giving him a total share of 49.35%.

Junior Miliband got:

46.566% of the MPs' vote (122 MPs),

45.594% of Labour members' votes (55,992)

59.802% of the union vote (119,405 votes).

Overall share of 50.65%,

So the new Labour leader wasn't wanted by the majority of Labour MP's or by the majority of Labour Party Members and is now in his position thanks to the Union vote, who conspicuously urged their members (well UNITE and the GMB did) to vote for him..

Result?

"Welcome, Comrade Ed. Here are your orders."

[saturdaygig]

Ed Milliband will be this countrys next Prime Minster. Sadly though, unless the liberals see sense, he will have to wait till 2015.

There's very little precedent for candidates getting elected as leader, losing an election and then staying on. After he loses the next GE he'll be out on his arse.

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

It's interesting the way the vote brakes down actually.

Senior Miliband:

53.436% of the MPs' vote (140 MPs),

54.405% of Labour members' votes (66,814 people), and

40.2% of the union vote (80,266),

giving him a total share of 49.35%.

Junior Miliband got:

46.566% of the MPs' vote (122 MPs),

45.594% of Labour members' votes (55,992)

59.802% of the union vote (119,405 votes).

Overall share of 50.65%,

So the new Labour leader wasn't wanted by the majority of Labour MP's or by the majority of Labour Party Members and is no in his position thanks to the Union vote, who conspicuously urged their members (well UNITE and the GMB did) to vote for him..

Result?

"Welcome, Comrade Ed. Here are your orders."

He is most definately the Unions man, hence why I think we'll see a re-run of the 80s. An unpopular Government but an even more unelectable Labour, clashes between the aforementioned guvmint and the unions.

I haven't much of a problem of a leader wanting to take the party back towards the left (which is fair enough, New Labour were essentially Tory-lite) but it depends on how they play it. If they manage to maintain and build upon the distrust the public has towards the City then they could find themselves in power sooner rather than later. But if they let the Unions have a bigger say than they should then Ed will be Neil Kinnock MkII.

But, looking at the bigger picture, both of the bigger parties have far too many vested interests (Tories with the City, Labour with the Unions). It's a problem that needs sorted out or we'll constantly have Guvmints that put the needs of the few ahead of the many.

[Gringo]

Result?

"Welcome, Comrade Ed. Here are your orders."

How? They now have no power whatsoever to remove him. He is not beholden to them in any way now, in a way that elder milli wouldn't have been subject to the 40% of union vote he got. His bosses now are the MPs - no one else can remove him.

[Gringo]

He is most definately the Unions man, hence why I think we'll see a re-run of the 80s. An unpopular Government but an even more unelectable Labour, clashes between the aforementioned guvmint and the unions.

He was the choice of the unions because he's closest to the labour ideals. The unions have for a long time been an important part of the labour movement. The unions don't support labour. They are labour. Without a worker led socialist foundation, labour would still be a bunch of upper middle class idealists talking in smoky coffee rooms (until zanulab banned smoking of course).

The re-run of the 80s you talk about is solely the responsibility of the current and past tory govt. The current tory govt (blue) want to use the economic problems to reduce workers rights further, whilst the previous tory govt (red) supported people like willie walsh in forcing new terms of employment upon their staff.

Mervyn King recently spoke how the current crisis was none of the unions fault, but they make a good kicking bag.

[Awol]

Result?

"Welcome, Comrade Ed. Here are your orders."

How? They now have no power whatsoever to remove him. He is not beholden to them in any way now, in a way that elder milli wouldn't have been subject to the 40% of union vote he got. His bosses now are the MPs - no one else can remove him.

The Labour party are broke and the only thing keeping them afloat is union cash. Just like with any other walk of life, if you want to know who is pulling the strings you follow the money*. In this case it leads back to Derek Simpson, Paul Kenny and Dave Prentis - radical Trots' to a man.

*Cue tax haven toffs etc....

...Worth pointing out Ed is from a millionaire property family and followed the traditional Labour route of: Oxford: LSE: Party researcher: working for Brown. Swap Brown for Thatcher and you've got Cameron Mk2, but expect to see Ed M spun as some kind of working class hero in the near future.

Honestly, I'm chuckling my bollox off about this.

[Mantis]

God forbid Ed Miliband actually becomes prime minister one day.

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

Don't bother your wee tory hearts too much about the though, by then Sarah Palin would be President and have started WWIII, meaning Ed Miliband being PM will be the least of our worries...

[Awol]

Mervyn King recently spoke how the current crisis was none of the unions fault, but they make a good kicking bag.

No they were not responsible but unfortunately for their members too many jobs were created in the public sector which, even in the times of plenty, had to be supported by Government borrowing more than it 'earned'. When the music stopped it's their job to try and protect their members, I accept that, but it has to be tempered with at least a degree of realism about what the country can and cannot afford in terms of public sector jobs.

The union leaders will be ok though:

We are all equal, but some are more equal than others.

[Mantis]

Don't bother your wee tory hearts too much about the though, by then Sarah Palin would be President and have started WWIII, meaning Ed Miliband being PM will be the least of our worries...

I'm sick of hearing about that woman. Seems like all those people who hate her love going on about her and making her look more significant than she actually is.