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

[avfc443]

Oh dear lord she's a headcase.

In 1996 Abbott was accused of racism when she suggested that "blonde, blue-eyed Finnish girls" in her local hospital in West London were unsuitable as nurses because they "may never have met a black person before".

From wiki.

[chrisp65]

Oh dear lord she's a headcase.

In 1996 Abbott was accused of racism when she suggested that "blonde, blue-eyed Finnish girls" in her local hospital in West London were unsuitable as nurses because they "may never have met a black person before".

From wiki.

Voting record (from PublicWhip)

How Diane Abbott voted on key issues since 2001:

Voted moderately for equal gay rights.

Voted very strongly against the Iraq war.

Voted a mixture of for and against introducing ID cards.

Voted moderately for removing hereditary peers from the House of Lords. Voted very strongly for a wholly elected House of Lords.

Voted moderately for the hunting ban.

Voted a mixture of for and against laws to stop climate change.

Voted strongly against introducing foundation hospitals.

Voted moderately against Labour's anti-terrorism laws.

Voted very strongly against replacing Trident.

Voted moderately against introducing student top-up fees.

yeah, absolute headcase

(ironical)

not my cup of tea, bit of a media darling

[Gringo]

Iraq War a Balls Up

His greatest criticism is reserved for the Iraq war, which still saps Labour support. Mr Balls today becomes the first former Cabinet minister unequivocally to condemn the invasion, claiming the public were misled by “devices and tactics”.

“People always felt as if the decision had been made and they were being informed after the fact.” Though not yet elected as an MP, Mr Balls – as Mr Brown’s adviser – was party to top level discussions after attempts to get a second UN Security Council resolution failed.

“I was in the room when a decision was taken that we would say it was that dastardly Frenchman, Jacques Chirac, who had scuppered it. It wasn’t really true, you know. I said to Gordon: 'I know why you’re doing this, but you’ll regret it’. France is a very important relationship for us.”

Although Mr Balls concedes that, had he been an MP at the time, he would have voted for the war on the basis of the facts provided, he now concedes that not only was the information wrong but the war unjustified.

“It was a mistake. On the information we had, we shouldn’t have prosecuted the war. We shouldn’t have changed our argument from international law to regime change in a non-transparent way. It was an error for which we as a country paid a heavy price, and for which many people paid with their lives. Saddam Hussein was a horrible man, and I am pleased he is no longer running Iraq. But the war was wrong.”

[snowychap]

Meanwhile, Miliband Senior says:

link

David Miliband has attempted to slap down his leading rivals for the Labour party leadership, calling on them not to make the Iraq war an issue in the campaign.

The former foreign secretary, who is thought to be the front runner in the contest to succeed Gordon Brown, said the invasion of 2003 had been a divisive issue within the party but it was now "time to move on".

His comments came after two of his rivals – his younger brother Ed Miliband, the former energy secretary, and the former children's secretary, Ed Balls – sought to distance themselves from the conflict.

Balls told the Telegraph the war had been a "mistake" for which Britain had paid a heavy price, while Ed Miliband told the Guardian that it had resulted in a "catastrophic loss of trust" for Labour.

But David Miliband, who, unlike his two rivals, was an MP in 2003 and voted for the invasion, said much of the controversy about the war had dissipated.

"While Iraq was a source of division in the past, it doesn't need to be a source of division in the future," he said as he arrived at the annual conference of the centre-left Progress group in London.

"Iraq was a big issue at the 2005 general election, but the vast majority of MPs and candidates I have spoken to this time say that while it was a big issue then it was much less of an issue in 2010.

"I said during the election campaign that I thought it was time to move on."

...more on link

[tonyh29]

thing i can't work out is they had 13 years of power , won 3 elections and now everyone seems to be trying to distance themselves from NuLiebour ...

[TheWalletInspector]

Isn't that what happened post-Thatcher, Tony?

[Gringo]

thing i can't work out is they had 13 years of power , won 3 elections and now everyone seems to be trying to distance themselves from NuLiebour ...

Not everyone, balls and ed milliband have distanced themselves from the war, whereas newnewlabour leader favourite dave milliband has said that he like call me dave agreed with the war. Dave milliband represents the red tories the same way his leader tony did. Newlabour == tory, NewNewlabour = ??????

[Gringo]

I think labour now need their IDS moment, get a leader in, who is not going to fight an election, but show the party how to lose one. Step up Diane.

She won't get it, elder milliband will. And he will lead the party into the next election and lose it because he is an incompetent.

[tonyh29]

Isn't that what happened post-Thatcher, Tony?

true .. though while the Tories shunned her Blair kept inviting her to number 10 :-)

[Gringo]

Isn't that what happened post-Thatcher, Tony?

true .. though while the Tories shunned her Blair kept inviting her to number 10 :-)

I think that was gordon, and once.

[tonyh29]

Nah Blair did as well

[Gringo]

Nah Blair did as well

Maybe he just told you that, it's not like he would LIE is it. Regardless, he had monthly meetings with the real tory party leader and the cabinet office refused to disclose anything about these meetings under the FOI act. Bliar was a tory, he just saw an easier way to power by pwning the red party.

[Gringo]

Observer: Andrew Rawnsley"]Labour will only be on the road to recovery once it understands why it lost. Yet it is unlikely to win again if it is so consumed by regret and guilt about its failures that it also forgets what made it a success. Humility about the last government's vices needs to be balanced with pride in its successes which ranged from peace in Northern Ireland to the minimum wage. It did win three elections in a row, a very rare feat in British politics. That was an achievement the more remarkable given that Labour had never previously held on to power for two full terms. The core New Labour prospectus, that economic efficiency can be combined with social justice and decent public services, remains as attractive in 2010 as it was in 1997. They ought to take it as a compliment that the coalition accepts much of its legacy. At the last election, pollsters found that voters still preferred the values they associated with Labour to the values they associated with the Tories. The problem was that they were sick and tired of Labour government.

Time to concentrate on the people and not silly wars and daft ID card schemes.

[avfc89]

I think it will be David Miliband.

[Gringo]

I think it will be David Miliband.

Prepare for a decade or so in opposition then.

[avfc89]

I think it will be David Miliband.

Prepare for a decade or so in opposition then.

He likes twirls, how can you not accept him?

[tonyh29]

Should please those labour supporters who like Pop Idol style Politics :-)

Lord Kinnock, who is now regarded as an elder statesman of the party, has surprised many by favouring the younger brother of frontrunner David Miliband.

He told the Observer he believed that Ed Miliband, the former energy secretary, had the qualities needed to bring voters back to Labour.

He said: "I would say he has got the X-factor.

© Murdoch, Evil Since 2009

[Gringo]

Should please those labour supporters who like Pop Idol style Politics :-)

Lord Kinnock, who is now regarded as an elder statesman of the party, has surprised many by favouring the younger brother of frontrunner David Miliband.

He told the Observer he believed that Ed Miliband, the former energy secretary, had the qualities needed to bring voters back to Labour.

He said: "I would say he has got the X-factor.

© Murdoch, Evil Since 2009

In terms of misquoting the original interviews, murdoch is getting as bad as VT.

Kinnock describes the younger Miliband as a "modern democratic socialist because he has got strong values and he is very practical". He says he has an ability to "lift" and "inspire" people, but firmly rejects any comparison with Blair's gift for communication.

"Tony Blair is a method actor and there is no thespian in Ed Miliband, so it's that much more natural, much less affected as it were."

He adds: "I say that in an affectionate way for Tony because the thespian arts have got their place as well, but Ed is not an actor so it is not the Blair thing, it is just Ed, you know."

[privateer]

All but Burnham and Abbott are creepy ****. Should be amusing.

[privateer]

Oh, actually Burnham is a bit creepy as well because he is wearing as much eye shadow as Abbott!