Ed Miliband and the Labour Party

[JCW]

It seems the are moves to get him out , they are behind in the ratings so want a change . His image to the public is not at its highest at the moment and if you look back in history you will see a Michael Foot up against Mrs Thatcher , only ever going to be one winner as even if he was a good MP he did not appeal to the voters . since then there has always been and image thing and Tony Blair fitted that to the tee , I am not talking about policies just image . will there be a change if so who ? Do you think it matters at all , I think it does

 

[Ethan]

I agree that Ed has been a disaster and the Labour Party regrets choosing him over David, who is politically little different but comes across a bit better. There is no obvious alternative. Alan Johnston would be a caretaker and none of the prospective future leaders have established themselves enough, and then ghosts of Blair and Brown still haunt the party. Labour has a crisis of identity. It is now a centrist pro-private, pro-business party which is trying to distance itself from its past, and as such doesn't really know what it is. There is no left in UK politics any more. I have never voted Tory, but at this election find myself in a dilemma, because none of the big three parties are any better than each other, although UKIP are much worse. So as a left leaning pro-European, who do I vote for? Greens?

 

[Foxholer]

Ed was the wrong choice in the first place imo! His brother would have been a better choice imo, but apparently not seen as sufficiently 'Union-friendly' for those with influence over that election. Won't be a change, disasters not-withstanding, until after the election - which they will lose! That might be the time for Yvette Cooper to step up! Certainly preferable to 'her old man'! And would remove any misunderstanding when referring to 'Ed'!

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Milliband is like Foot and Kinnock....unelectable.

Agree with Foxy that Yvette Cooper is the only option.

I only hope that the Scottish 'Home Rule' is decided before then as I hold out little hope for the UK with UKIP making major inroads.
I do not think there has ever been a time when the quality of the leadership of all the major parties has been so low.
The days of an experienced old hand at the helm seem to have gone.

 

[Ethan]

Milliband is like Foot and Kinnock....unelectable.

Agree with Foxy that Yvette Cooper is the only option.

I only hope that the Scottish 'Home Rule' is decided before then as I hold out little hope for the UK with UKIP making major inroads.
I do not think there has ever been a time when the quality of the leadership of all the major parties has been so low.
The days of an experienced old hand at the helm seem to have gone.

Yvette Cooper? Are you serious. OK, she is the most electable person in her household, but I think that is as far as it goes.

 

[Hacker Khan]

It should be Chukka Umunna in my opinion as he will change the image of the Labour Party in one fell swoop.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

It should be Chukka Umunna in my opinion as he will change the image of the Labour Party in one fell swoop.

The same one who mixed up the Miliband brothers recently ?

 

[Fyldewhite]

Blair (good public image - at the time!) delivers three terms for the first time. Has the Tories in turmoil and basically unelectable for a large slice of that (IDS? lol), hands over to Brown (poor image) and the Tories get in by the back door with a Tory version of Blair at the helm. They have a leadership election and David Miliband (pretty good image) loses to brother Ed (nice guy, so called "ideas man" but again poor image), largely because he is seen as too close to Blair!!! Comedy, you couldn't write this stuff. Unfortunately, modern politics is all about image when it comes to leaders and I think Labour will get hammered by SNP in Scotland and UKIP across the north and have no chance.

There is no natural successor though so I don't think he'll go. Best chance is to get in coalition with Lib Dems (if they have any seats) and hope that in government he could turn the image thing around. Strange how Gordon Brown was perceived in the Scottish debate compared to a few years ago....things can change. If they lose then he's gone.

 

[Foxholer]

B...Strange how Gordon Brown was perceived in the Scottish debate compared to a few years ago....things can change. If they lose then he's gone.

'Broon' was/is the classic 'hustings' style politician - as he proved in September! It's something I believe Labour is far better at than Tories - all a bit beneath their dignity in stereotype - or LibDems - far too 'fair-minded'. It's something I actually, if begrudgingly, admire about Farage - a right-winger who is prepared to 'kick-ass'! There have only been a few of those, and the one with a brick in her handbag was a bit too single/narrow-minded for my taste! Heseltine and Clarke have been the Tory 'big-hitters' that I have 'connected to' most! They happen to be seriously pro-Europe, but that's probably pure coincidence! They come (came these days) across as simply full of common sense, while other politicians trying to get a message across were/are just 'full of it'!

 

[Ethan]

Blair (good public image - at the time!) delivers three terms for the first time. Has the Tories in turmoil and basically unelectable for a large slice of that (IDS? lol), hands over to Brown (poor image) and the Tories get in by the back door with a Tory version of Blair at the helm. They have a leadership election and David Miliband (pretty good image) loses to brother Ed (nice guy, so called "ideas man" but again poor image), largely because he is seen as too close to Blair!!! Comedy, you couldn't write this stuff. Unfortunately, modern politics is all about image when it comes to leaders and I think Labour will get hammered by SNP in Scotland and UKIP across the north and have no chance.

There is no natural successor though so I don't think he'll go. Best chance is to get in coalition with Lib Dems (if they have any seats) and hope that in government he could turn the image thing around. Strange how Gordon Brown was perceived in the Scottish debate compared to a few years ago....things can change. If they lose then he's gone.

Blair is a strange case. He raised expectations so much that the disappointment was ever more crushing when all was revealed. I remember that election night in 1997 when he won, watching the election coverage into the night and going to bed happy when Portillo lost. Now Blair continues to lurk at the fringes as a reminder of just how much Labour sold its soul, and "Blairite" is almost as damning a description of a politician as "Thatcherite", although, ironically, they are actually very similar. Funnily enough, I quite like Portillo these days. He seems to have settled into a less arrogant persona.

David Miliband is a much more capable politician than Ed and would have been a stronger opponent against Cameron, although that chance has now passed. I assume most Labour types assume that they will regroup after an election loss and prepare for 2020, or maybe hope that UKIP and Europe will sink Cameron.

 

[Hacker Khan]

The same one who mixed up the Miliband brothers recently ?

Depends if you think it was purely accidental or if it was a deliberate gaff to further undermine Ed and enhance his chances of becoming leader if Labour do poorly at the next election with Ed in charge.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Depends if you think it was purely accidental or if it was a deliberate gaff to further undermine Ed and enhance his chances of becoming leader if Labour do poorly at the next election with Ed in charge.

So either he isn't very clever and can't remember peoples names

Or a snake in the grass trying to undermine his boss

Perfect MP then

 

[Foxholer]

Blair is a strange case. He raised expectations so much that the disappointment was ever more crushing when all was revealed. Now he continues to lurk at the fringes as a reminder of just how much Labour sold its soul, and "Blairite" is almost as damning a description of a politician as "Thatcherite", although, ironically, they are actually very similar.
...

Just to divert - again!...

Blair has always struck me as like Private Walker (from Dad's Army). But he did get Labour elected, something that Kinnock failed to do - though it was close in his last effort, so getting Labour electable wasn't something just down to 'Tony'! Blair also managed the media far better than anyone had before him - even if , in the end, it was down to bullying! Will never forgive him, and his government machine, for driving Dr David Kelly to suicide! :rant:

 

[Ethan]

Just to divert - again!...

Blair has always struck me as like Private Walker (from Dad's Army). But he did get Labour elected, something that Kinnock failed to do - though it was close in his last effort, so getting Labour electable wasn't something just down to 'Tony'! Blair also managed the media far better than anyone had before him - even if , in the end, it was down to bullying! Will never forgive him, and his government machine, for driving Dr David Kelly to suicide! :rant:

True, he did make them electable, at least in the short term but he may have ruined them for the long term by dragging them into the Tories natural territory of business and abandoning their traditional electorate of the working man. Then it turned out that business was in fact the big evil in the world. Oops. Now they have severed a lot of links with the unions and have a party made up of a mixture of old Labour union types and new professional politicians who have been at the same PPE courses at Oxford as the Tories from whom they are indistinguishable, and Labour is talking about private providers in the NHS, and trying hard to show they won't spend money on public services. They can't out-Tory the Tories, so perhaps they should stop trying.

 

[MarkE]

I agree. Labour have blown their chance big time with Ed at the helm. They have absolutely no chance next year. Get Chukka in now to invigorate Labour. I don't agree with the notion of getting in an old head to see them through the election (may as well stick with Ed). Let Umunna get settled in with his team for another 5 years of opposition.

 

[patricks148]

I agree that Ed has been a disaster and the Labour Party regrets choosing him over David, who is politically little different but comes across a bit better. There is no obvious alternative. Alan Johnston would be a caretaker and none of the prospective future leaders have established themselves enough, and then ghosts of Blair and Brown still haunt the party. Labour has a crisis of identity. It is now a centrist pro-private, pro-business party which is trying to distance itself from its past, and as such doesn't really know what it is. There is no left in UK politics any more. I have never voted Tory, but at this election find myself in a dilemma, because none of the big three parties are any better than each other, although UKIP are much worse. So as a left leaning pro-European, who do I vote for? Greens?

You need to vote for Big Eck

 

[Ethan]

You need to vote for Big Eck

I think Salmond is a masterful politician. He took an issue which was a fringe romantic ideal of a small minority and against the massed ranks of all three of the major UK parties, brought it close enough to realisation that it made the Government very nervous indeed. Like Seve said after the 1983 Ryder Cup at PGA National, it wasn't really a loss.

 

[c1973]

I think Salmond is a masterful politician. He took an issue which was a fringe romantic ideal of a small minority and against the massed ranks of all three of the major UK parties, brought it close enough to realisation that it made the Government very nervous indeed. Like Seve said after the 1983 Ryder Cup at PGA National, it wasn't really a loss.

It really was you know.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Ed is a disaster. Yvette Cooper is a soulless politician. All very dispiriting. Chukka is good as is Andy Burnham. The rest are forgettable. Big brother Dave was the answer but the unions scuppered that. Considering how poor Dave "U turn" Cameron is the Labour party should be ashamed that they are not a mile ahead in the polls.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

You need to vote for Big Eck

Soooooooooo yesterday

Its Ms Legohair now.