Gordon Brown ’seeks Lib-Lab coalition’
Sky News political editor Adam Boulton – writing in this week’s New Statesman – reckons that the prime minister in waiting could be about to spring a de facto Lib-Lab coalition government on Britain, partly to punish to those nasty lefties who tried and failed to get a second candidate onto the Labour leadership ballot [...]
Labour deputy leadership: support grows for Cruddas
Constituency-level support for Jon Cruddas’s bid to become deputy leader of the Labour Party is growing, according to the Guardian website:
The leftwinger Jon Cruddas has jumped to second place behind Hilary Benn in the running for the Labour deputy leadership after a hustings appearance on Newsnight last night, according to the party’s latest figures …
However, [...]
Alan Milburn markets Pepsi, George Osborne favours Coke
A speech from George Osborne today will officially confirm that the Tories regard themselves as the heirs to Blairism. Lots of commentators have been making the point for some time, but it is still slightly surprising to hear a leading Conservative spell it out as bluntly as that.
The shadow chancellor will then proceed to make [...]
Irish elections: another setback for the hard left
Bad news for the Socialist Party in the Irish elections. Its sole TD, Joe Higgins, lost his seat in Dublin West. And his comrade Clare Daly failed to make the cut by the narrowest margin imaginable:
Socialist candidate Clare Daly has been eliminated from the Dublin North constituency by just two votes following a nine-hour recount.
This [...]
A choice of viewing
Newsnight tonight will see Jeremy Paxman cross-examine all six candidates for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party. Hilary Benn, Hazel Blears, Jon Cruddas, Peter Hain, Harriet Harman and Alan Johnson will take part in the first televised hustings of the contest.
Or … you could watch me on 18 Doughty Street between 10pm and midnight [...]
Blogroll update
You can check out three more blogs by clicking on the links on the left. First up is the long-established Hak Mao, who I recently had the pleasure of meeting of meeting in person. Then there’s Grimmerupnorth, a relative newcomer written by comments box regular Susan, and specialising in Labour left matters. And finally, big [...]
Grammar schools, public schools and social class
The debate over the decision of Tory leader David Cameron – pictured – to ditch Conservative support for grammar schools overlooks two basic points.
First, this is not a ‘clause four moment’: the Tories will continue to support private ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange, as the best way of securing the full [...]
Council by-election: Brent Dudden Hill
It hasn’t been posted on the Respect website as a ‘triumph’ for the fledgling party yet. But the 5% or so it polled in the Dudden Hill ward in Brent last night was more than the margin between the victorious Liberal Democrats and second-place Labour:
Brent London Borough – Dudden Hill: Lib Dem 1262, Lab 1177, [...]
John McDonnell on the future of the Labour left
An interview with John McDonnell – the leftwing Labour Party leadership contender unable to secure sufficient nominations to get his name on the ballot paper – appears in the latest edition of The Socialist. You can safely skip most of it. The interviewer’s impatience is palpable until he finally cuts to the chase:
Of course the [...]
