Labour Deputy Leader race observations
SATURDAY, JUNE 09, 2007
Labour Deputy Leader race observations
The last few days I've been flooded with e-mail messages along with post from all the aspiring Labour Party Deputy Leader candidates(most of which is now lying in my recycling bin) having long made up my mind.
My observations of the campaign so far is that some of the candidates (especially Peter Hain and Harriet Harman) have been busy playing the opportunism card and I ask myself if they felt so strongly about many of these matters why did the stay in government in the first place? It's all very well being critical but you've been part of this government and still are, if they felt so badly then maybe they should have considered their positions. And the position of Jon Cruddas whilst not in the government is also very interesting, his record has shown that until quite recently he was very supportive of the government on issues like Iraq and foundation hospitals (some of his leftie friends seem not to have realised this), it's all very well criticising but does it have a slight whiff of bandwagon jumping and adopting policies of convenience.
Anyway, after getting my ballot paper I've cast my vote for Hazel Blears and given my second preference to Alan Johnson. In this blog previously I've stated my support for Hazel and nothing that has happened in the past few weeks has changed my mind. In debates she has shown consistently to be a candidate that speaks realism not opportunism. I hope that she does get elected as she will make a fantastic deputy to Gordon and her energy, enthusiasm and campaigning skills is what the party needs from a deputy leader. I also believe she is far more on the pulse of public opinion then many of the other candidates and realises that we've a record to be proud of in government. This is not the time for wholesale u-turns to appease a few in the party some of whom hark back to bygone days when we used to be a party with many well-meaning policies but always ended up losing elections and spending 18 years in the wilderness.
Only two weeks now to go before we know the outcome.
Labour Deputy Leader race observations
The last few days I've been flooded with e-mail messages along with post from all the aspiring Labour Party Deputy Leader candidates(most of which is now lying in my recycling bin) having long made up my mind.
My observations of the campaign so far is that some of the candidates (especially Peter Hain and Harriet Harman) have been busy playing the opportunism card and I ask myself if they felt so strongly about many of these matters why did the stay in government in the first place? It's all very well being critical but you've been part of this government and still are, if they felt so badly then maybe they should have considered their positions. And the position of Jon Cruddas whilst not in the government is also very interesting, his record has shown that until quite recently he was very supportive of the government on issues like Iraq and foundation hospitals (some of his leftie friends seem not to have realised this), it's all very well criticising but does it have a slight whiff of bandwagon jumping and adopting policies of convenience.
Anyway, after getting my ballot paper I've cast my vote for Hazel Blears and given my second preference to Alan Johnson. In this blog previously I've stated my support for Hazel and nothing that has happened in the past few weeks has changed my mind. In debates she has shown consistently to be a candidate that speaks realism not opportunism. I hope that she does get elected as she will make a fantastic deputy to Gordon and her energy, enthusiasm and campaigning skills is what the party needs from a deputy leader. I also believe she is far more on the pulse of public opinion then many of the other candidates and realises that we've a record to be proud of in government. This is not the time for wholesale u-turns to appease a few in the party some of whom hark back to bygone days when we used to be a party with many well-meaning policies but always ended up losing elections and spending 18 years in the wilderness.
Only two weeks now to go before we know the outcome.
posted by Martin Whelton at 5:13 pm
2 Comments:
Hmm, you voted for Hazel Blears? Do you realise that she has put Mitcham & Morden as a marginal seat in her campaign leaflet? How does your good friend Siobhain McDonagh feel about this categorisation?
I think she would welcome that categorisation after all it was a Conservative seat up until the 1997 General Election.
Post a Comment
<< Home