The PLP’s mandate

The PLP’s mandate

I am fed up hearing about the PLP’s 9m vote mandate. Firstly, the total labour vote is ~8.7m. Secondly just above 5m voted for winning candidates i.e.the members of the PLP, the other 3.7m voted for Labour candidates that lost and thirdly, they won because they were Labour candidates, and that is chosen by the Party membership. …

Ed does Foreign Policy

Today, Ed Miliband spoke on Foreign Policy at Chatham House. He spoke of the result of Cameron’s and his government’s paralysis that the UK was losing influence around the world and that through lack of planning for post military support, Libya was close to becoming a failed state.

He argued that Labour would re-engage with the international institutions, including the EU. He empasised Cameron’s retreat from global leadership, which started on day 1, when he defined British interests solely as trade interests and a narrrow amoral view he has carried on throughout the administration as he seeks to appease UKIP and his own right wing.

This is a storify I made at the time and have transferred it to this blog and published as at the date created. …

Strength & weakness in leadership

The Defence Secretary, tries to label Labour & Miliband as weak on defence alleging that Labour would not replace Trident. Due to the unnecessary and scurrilous allegations made, the issues surrounding Trident are lost in the noise and the debate becomes one of character, which Miliband wins again!

This is a storify I made at the time and have transferred it to this blog and published as at the date created. …

Britain succeeds

Britain succeeds

Labour launches its Manifesto with the tag line, “We believe that Britain only succeeds when working families succeed”. In his speech at the launch, Ed Miliband further makes the point that the obverse, that just because it’s working for the few, be they rent takers, landlords, entrepreneurs or press barons doesn’t mean its working for everyone, in fact it’s a proof point that it isn’t. N.B. A leader of the Labour Party said that, although his words are better than mine. It’s the first time in a long while that the Tories are going to have to argue why it’s in the interests of the majority that the economy is structured in the interests iof the rich. It’s an end of consensus that “trickle down” works. …

We are all in this together

Oh Non Dom we’re not! Miliband announces that a Labour Government will abolish so called #non-dom #taxrelief and the Tories defend the rights of ultra rich to avoid paying their fair tax share. #ge2015. The story spirals out of the Tory’s control, becomes more about tax avoidance by the rich.

This is a storify I made at the time and have transferred it to this blog and published as at the date created. …

learnings of deptford, on the doorstep

New Cross in the a.m., 7:00 a.m.

I was out on the doorstep tonight, campaigning for Vicky Foxcroft, Labour’s candidate for MP in Deptford. I met a number of interesting people and these are my notes, thanks to those who spoke to me about tactical voting, the middle east, racism, welfare and Labour’s representation of its core suport, the working class. …