This on the BBC website this morning:
'Former Environment Minister Michael Meacher - pictured left - is to announce he will challenge Gordon Brown for leadership of the Labour Party.
'Mr Meacher, who is on the left of the party, had said there should be a contest when Tony Blair steps down.
'He has told the BBC he has more backing from MPs than fellow left-winger John McDonnell, who has been planning a leadership bid since last July.'
As I’ve argued in previous posts, with the limited number of Labour MPs ready to back any challenge to Brown, Meacher’s candidacy effectively ensures that neither his name nor John McDonnell’s will be appearing on the ballot paper. Good work, Michael.
UPDATE: Press release from the McDonnell campaign:
’Responding to the announcement by Michael Meacher that he is attempting to be a candidate for Labour leader, John McDonnell MP, who is the only declared candidate to date, said: "We have been expecting Michael’s announcement for over 9 months. It doesn’t change things."
‘"It is clear that there should be an election for the leader of the Labour Party based upon a choice of policies not personalities. Michael’s announcement doesn’t change that choice.
‘ "Labour Party members will still have the same choice between my record of voting against the war in Iraq, voting against tuition fees, voting against privatisation of our public services and cuts in benefits and the record of those ministers and former ministers like Gordon Brown and Michael Meacher, who have consistently voted for these policies."
‘"Virtually every rank and file organisation representing the active membership of the left of the Labour Party and the Trade Unions are publicly supporting my campaign and indeed ASLEF as the first union to nominate has unanimously nominated me.
‘ "Our campaign on the stomp throughout the country is resulting in large numbers of people joining and rejoining the party and at long last young people are enthused by the prospect of a socialist challenge for the leadership."
‘"We now have about half the MP nominations required, with another 15 - 20 MPs who will support on the basis of a contest not a coronation. That leaves about 5 - 10 votes to fight for."
‘"I have asked Michael to come on board with our campaign but he's chosen to go his own way. Now let’s have the debate on policies and the election and let the members decide."’
UPDATE II: According to the Financial Times, Meacher is claiming 33 backers. Meanwhile, Bloomberg tells us what the bookies are saying:
'Ladbrokes yesterday gave odds of 50 to 1 on Meacher replacing Blair as the next Labour Party leader. Brown is the favorite at 1 to 10, followed by Environment Secretary David Miliband at 10 to 1. Ladbrokes didn't offer odds for McDonnell ...
UPDATE III: The Daily Telegraph reports on the campaign launch press conference:
’Launching his policy platform at Westminster, Mr Meacher, 67, promised to withdraw all British troops from Iraq, oppose the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent, and increase the minimum wage to £7 an hour.
‘He said he was "fully confident" of getting the support of enough Labour MPs - 44 - to allow him to get his name on the ballot.
‘The Oldham West and Royton MP said he represented a "centre-left" bid for the leadership. His campaign slogan is "peace, social justice, climate survival".
‘John McDonnell - chairman of the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs - has already announced his intention to run against Mr Brown, but Mr Meacher claimed he did not have sufficient support to get on the ballot paper.’
Posted at 09:44, 22 February 2007
Comments (22)
We'll see this off and emerge stronger, comrades. Chin up.
Everyone - send in letters to the Guardian and Mirror IMMEDIATELY on why you're supporting John - his grassroots support, consistent political record, etc.
Meacher's email address is meacherm@parliament.uk
I'm feeling rather confident about this.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6385285.stm
But Labour MP Stephen Pound said Mr Meacher was a "faintly ridiculous" figure, adding he would be surprised if the veteran left-winger managed to get the required support.
Contest not coronation
"It's a pity because, frankly, he's going to get humiliated," said the Ealing North MP.
"I suspect he knows that, if he put his ego to one side a bit he would realise that.
"Michael Meacher is a major figure on the British political scene, yet the majority of people I have spoken to, who came into Parliament in the last six or seven years, just said: 'Who?' They didn't know who he was."
Meacher is wrong.
But - next time the left really must find a way of chosing a candidate through a democratic forum.
Otherwise there is bound to be a clash of egos. Most people don't become MPs without an ego.
Alan Simpson's behaviour - split the parliamentary left and then bail - is a disgrace.
He must be suffering from stress.
Several democratic forums have backed John McDonnell - I'd be interested to hear of any that have backed Michael Meacher.
Of what I know grassroots organisations like the LRC, Welsh Labour Grassroots, Campaign for Socialism (Scotland), Network of Socialist Campaign Groups, and Socialist Youth Network have all voted democratically to back John.
ASLEF recently became the first union to back any candidate.
Meacher should put his ego back in its box.
Hey, democratic socialist principles compel us to allow the repressed minority of the completely barking mad to be represented.
I went to John McDonnel's public meeting in Willesden last week, and was impressed by his firm and principled approach, no tub-thumping nor parliamentary flannel, just a straightforward look at issues and affirmation of socialist policies, to a full and responsive audience, and on a weeknight. Any more of this and he will not only be reviving interest in the Labour Party but restoring faith in politics.
McDonnel has been addressing meetings like this one (organised by Brent TUC)around the country, and I know he has been invited to more than he could take in.
Now along comes Meacher, a yesterday man, whose only claim is that he has backing from MPs, and only offer is that he will split McDonnel's vote so probably the same MPs can line up behind Gordon. Yes, John McDonnel's campaign supporters have seen it coming, but I would not just condemn Michael Meacher for this, he is entitled to stand if he thinks it worthwhile; but what a devious and two-faced role has been played by some of the so-called Campaign group. While John McDonnel was out campaigning and talking to ordinary Labour supporters and trade unionists, they clearly prefer the wheeling and dealing in back rooms at Westminster.
You may be amused to hear that Ian Gibson - who chaired Meacher's press conference - is going round telling journalists that he's backing John McDonnell. Apparently he agreed to chair the press conference as a favour because Alan Simpson pulled out.
Well, that's it for McDonnell I suspect.#
Without Meacher or anyone else in the field he was dependent on trying to cobble together votes from Labour MPs from the soft left, centre and right. People who just wanted a contest or who hate Brown basically. The maths suggested that this was always a somewhat tenuous hope. With a soft left candidate in the field, it looks like even the tenuous hope is gone.
Meacher doesn't have to get more nominations than McDonnell for that to be true. He doesn't even have to be close. A handful of the maverick votes McDonnell needs will probably be enough to nail his campaign's coffin shut.
I hope I'm wrong about that, but I don't think I am.
I wonder though what the remnants of the Labour left around McDonnell will do if I'm right though? If what some of them have been honest enough to describe as the last chance of the Labour left gets nowhere? Will there be some serious thinking about whether New Labour is still a site for struggle? Or will we just be treated to embittered whining about how the nasty (but irrelevant and ultra-left) sects outside the Labour Party didn't cheer hard enough?
Well, nobody thought he was going to win, did they? The McDonnell campaign was always going to go tits up at some point. The only question was when.
Meanwhile, it has served its real role of putting a twitch of life back into the corpse of the Labour left. It ain't much, but it is something to build on.
I'd just turn the question back. Are any of the existing organisations outside of Labour 'a site for struggle'? They don't look that way to me.
Dave, I think that the trade unions and community campaigns are "sites for struggle" for socialists, rather than any currently existing political organisation. I certainly don't think that New Labour is any more. In fact I think that the McDonnell campaign has been quite instructive in that regard.
As you quite rightly say, we have been treated to the sight of the corpse of the Labour left twitching. It has mustered together the whole of its strength, tried to pull in people who had left the party... and where did it get?
It managed to gather a little of the flotsam and jetsam of small Trotskyist groups and ex-members of those groups. It held a few sizeable public meetings. It got a few motions through trade union committees. And, unfortanately, that's about it.
We are talking about a milieu that has gone from tens of thousands of activists to a few hundred. Which can pull perhaps 300 people to its main open conferences (the LRC for instance). Which can muster a youth organisation about the size of Workers Power's youth front. And which it now seems likely can't even get close to getting a nominee on a leadership election ballot. That isn't some kind of resurrection, it is, to use your term a corpse twitching.
The issue as far as I am concerned is if people like yourself are planning to keep trying to make the corpse move or will do some serious thinking about strategy.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23386491-details/Meacher's%20challenge%20to%20Brown%20is%20marred%20by%20farce/article.do
'Meacher's challenge to Brown is marred by farce'
"Despite his claims of support, Mr Meacher, 67, launched his campaign at a low-key event in the Houses of Parliament where his only two backers present were Labour MPs Dr Ian Gibson and Kelvin Hopkins.
But the campaign descended into farce almost immediately when Dr Gibson, who chaired the launch, admitted he would not be backing Mr Meacher.
Dr Gibson said: "He has asked some people if we would respect his decision to run but that doesn't mean we will vote for him."
He then twisted the knife by pointing out that Mr Meacher owned a string of properties. "He's got a lot of houses and some people won't like that," he said."
Simon
Those "democratic forums" did back John.
But were any other potential left candidates given a chance to run?
I support John - but think this could have been handled better.
@ Mark P
Serious thinking about strategy? Yes, that's what I've been trying to do.
And the 'corpse twitching' imagery was of course deliberate.
I agree with all your points about the weakness of the far left. I've made many of them myself, repeatedly, and been slagged off as a pessimist for doing so.
I can see nothing better than involvement in the Labour left. It's certainly a better option than Respect or CNWP.
But hey! Mark P! Enlighten me with your strategic insights! Win me over, big boy ...
Oh no.........!!!
What is up with what is left of the Left?
Sheridan, Galloway, and now this headcase tearing apart whatever unity there could conceivably have been. Counter-productive? No hope left.
I agree - only the unions stand between full-blown neo-liberalism with the backing of the full force of an unbridled capitalist state, and the rest of us. No number of "maybe this time" campaigns, or endless attempts at political unity among socialists, will save us.
Lemmings come to mind.
I'm not terribly familiar with Brother Meacher. I know the fault is entirely mine for having missed his recent class struggle activity. Could someone more familiar with the Labour Party acquaint me with his left wing credentials?
Liam
Meacher on you tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc3RG5O69v0&mode=user&search=
Anyone who saw Meacher on Newsmight must agree he was great PR for John McDonnell.Utterly pathetic.Probably gained the John4Leader campaign several votes......
Both Meacher and McDonnell will be speaking at the CLPD AGM this Saturday, Feb 24th, 2007 sometime in the afternoon. The Annual General Meeting will be held in Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1.
Interesting to see Diane Abbott on the TV saying that she would use her nomination to ensure there was a contest but that she wouldn't support Meacher.
Dave, I'd agree that this fake-left 9-11 cosnpiracy nutter entering the contest is disastrous.
However, can I just remind you, Mark P et al, that MPs are allowed to nominate as many candidates as they like. An MP is free to nominate both Meacher and McDonnell if they want to, and Brown as well if they're really in the mood.
Did anyone see the bit on Newsnight last night? I thought it was excellent. It showed Meacher's campaign for what it is, all spin and no substance. He was flanked by two MPs looking very bored, one of whom said he wasn't supporting him anyway!
Meacher's a joke. And he's seen as such by left and right alike.
I can't imagine what was going on in his head to think that he'd be a credible candidate. McDonnell is being endorsed by serious labour movement bodies, CLP members, and left MPs. Whereas Meacher is being endorsed by 9/11 conspiracy nutters (oh, and Alan Simpson).
Really, it's a no brainer.
In actual fact, this is a huge boost for the John4Leader campaign: http://socialistyouthnetwork.blogspot.com/
I've included my thoughts on the role of the Brownites in all of this...
Michael Meacher is on the Simon Mayo show on Radio 5 Live this afternoon.
I have sent the following email to mayo@bbc.co.uk
Simon
I hear you are to interview Michael Meacher about running to be Labour leader.
I hope you will also interview John McDonnell who declared his candidacy months ago and has much more support in the party than Michael Meacher.
Thanks
Miles
Labour Party member
Manchester
I suggest others do the same.