If there was anything to show that friend and colleague John Spellar was right to call for the abolition of the post of deputy leader of the Labour Party it was the OTT outburst by Peter Hain yesterday.
I’m not quite sure what the origin of the story about the possible introduction of new powers for police to “stop and question” people is, but the reaction has been ridiculous. To warn that we should guard against a “domestic Guantanmo bay” is just wrong. I’ve admired Peter’s tenacity and determination in this race but the comments yesterday do him no good at all. All credit to Tony McNulty for sticking to his guns.
You are either in the Cabinet or you are not. The great advantage to Mr Cruddas is that he is not bound by collective cabinet responsibility so can speak his mind more freely. The disadvantage to Mr Cruddas is that he hasn’t got a department from which he can build a media platform. Swings and roundabouts.
You can’t have it both ways though. I wonder, for example, what the Police Service of Northern Ireland have said on the potential policy for example. What have the Northern Ireland office said for that matter?
Imagine an education spokesman in 1997 commenting on private schools and their relationship with the state sector in the way that Alan Johnson did at the weekend. How do you think the Downing Street apparatus would have reacted for example?
All these outbursts are fueled by the need for candidates to differentiate themselves from each other.
In one sense, you have to admire Hazel Blears for not tacking one degree left of her colleagues in government. I also admire Harriet Harman who has cleverly managed to find policy areas that do not undermine the work of her colleagues but give her “definition” – support for working families and gender equality to name but a few of her issues.
13 comments ↓
I think he was spot on Tom, for once Hain appears in touch with common feeling. Just cause he has Cabinet responsibility doesn’t mean he can’t speak his mind it also doesn’t mean he has to have blind faith in what appaers to be a woeful, thought-on-the- back-of-a-ciggy-packet-down-the-boozer idea…perhaps others should follow suit.
Absolutely right. To manage to offend both sides of the public/state schools line shows the sort of clumsiness the party can do without in its leaders. And at least JC is talking about Iraq. After the appalling day there today, the other candidates might want to take note.
John Spellar IS right. Extreme right, some would say, athough I couldn’t possibly comment.
Talking about Iraq isnt goig to solve the problem though is it? Right now the party line on Iraq remains firmly fixed, and theres little or nothing coming through as to how the depressing cycle will ever be broken.
On the other hand, Hain is to be conratulated for speaking out on an issue which Labour would much rather go unchallenged.
OTT? These are our civil liberties a Labour(!) government is taking away.
Guys,
I think that you are deliberately misinterpreting my comments. It’s not particularly the issue that’s at stake here. For what it’s worth, I think that the possible, notional proposals to consult on a modification of police powers to allow random questioning could be open to abuse.
It’s the fact that a cabinet member, bound by collective responsibility would use an OTT reference to get a headline and dividing line between his opponents in an internal party election. To compare any extension of police powers in the UK to Guantanamo Bay is just factually incorrect.
Granted you may agree with him on the particular matter. My point is that the election of deputy leader is dividing people who should reamain united.
I think this deputy leadership race needs to put more emphasis on the issue of housing. I think Harriet Harman and Jon Cruddas have brought it up but they really need to make a pledge on it. The last 10 years has brought many great achievements, however the failure to control rampant house price inflation has been a great failure. They need to get Gordon to make more of a concerted effort on this. I feel this issue is paramount on equal with crime, transport and health. There needs to be a cabinet position for housing. There is enough time before the next general election to win people over on this, it’s not too late!
Do the comments, themselves, point to the problem of the Deputy Leader or the problem of the role itself?
Indeed, Jon Cruddas has said he’d take a position outside of the Cabinet and abolish the role of Party Chair. Why not do the opposite: abolish the role of Deputy Leader (which in the Party rules, as they stand, makes much more sense in opposition) and reinstate the Party Chair as an elected position?
The Deputy Leader (both in opposition and government) could be the person who comes second in a leadership election, therefore adding to the draw of stnading and contesting such elections.
The Liberals’ Deputy Leader is elected by the MPs alone; but the membership elect the post of President, who ‘represents the party in the country’, chairs the Conferences- and is ex-officio on all their major bodies; and connects the grassroots to their pitifully low level of MPs.
It sounds like Jon is trying to make the Deputy Leadership like the Liberals’ concept of President. Would it be easier just to call the post ‘President’ and be done; or to move to the Liberals idea- as they have nicked many of our good ideas over the years?
Harriet Harman – ARRRRRRRRRGH! Why she keeps banging on about being A Woman as if it’s a USP is anyone’s guess. The woman nauseates me.
“I would not have voted for the Iraq war if I knew then what I know now.” Cruddas.
Jon won £10M on the National Lottery, using the numbers 03 15 19 24 28 34 (bonus ball 17) and will leave politics.
I’m assuming this considering if he knows now what we all wished we’d known then, then perchance we would have all won £10M each on saturday. Or at leats 10M of us would have won a quid!
Jon give us a clue to this wednesday’s numbers and you’ll definitely be getting my vote. GUARANTEED!
ps. If Bob Piper had hindsight (like jon wished he had)he wouldn’t write anything!
Gary
Deputy leader as runner up in Leadership contest is an interesting thought, but will not always come out well for the party. Though a vacancy until there is another leadership contest would not be so bad.
What about giving the power to nominate for L and DL to the other parts of the LP and taking away the PLP hegemony? That should be a priority IMO rather than trying to change the % as some are attempting.
No misinterpretation, deliberate or otherwise Tom. Surely all candidates want to differentiate temselves somehow?. Rather than simply debating finer points of Cabinet policy, its quite enlightening to see someone stand out from the crowd with their own opinions.
Rather like Kate Hoey with her excellent article on safe standing in yesterdays Telegraph.
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