New Beginnings

As the day draws to a close we can look at the whole Labour Party deputy leadership campaign and ask ourselves: what have we got, and where can we go from here? Well what we've got is Labour loyalist Harriet Harman: aged fifty-six; privately educated; aristocratic family connections through her aunt, the Countess of Longford; Wife of Labour Treasurer Jack Dromey. During her time as an MP we've seen the many sides of Harriet Harman's politics. Her voting record in many instances is altogether predictable, with strong support for I.D. cards, anti-terror legislation and the Iraq war. However, she perhaps needs to clarify her position a little more with regard to equal gay rights, on which her record is rather lukewarm.

But what we really have to look to now isn't what Harriet Harman MP did in the past; it's what Deputy Leader Harman plans for the future that is important now. She has expressed a deep regret over the decision to go to war in Iraq, suggesting to me that either she has had some sort of personality change since she voted so strongly for it, or she has decided that electorally opposing the decision is the way forward. It is almost certain that her outward expression of regret had a big effect on the constituency vote. It became clear to all of us fighting the May 3rd elections that Mr. Blair was fast becoming a liability in the constituencies, so perhaps Harman's victory here shows a desire from grassroots members to distance the party from Blair whilst still hanging onto the spirit of his modernisation.

But what will Harman do? Is she to follow in Big John's footsteps as both deputy leader and deputy prime-minister, or is she going to merely keep the party role? The deputy leadership election has been front page news for weeks now, but it always seemed to me that the only people who really cared about the result in more than a vague sense were the politicals amongst us. The general public didn't seem to be bothered, and I think this reflects the attitude of the public towards the office of the deputy prime minister. John Prescott himself said:

"Let us get on with the organisation, strengthening the party, bringing back enthusiasm into it, these are essential to win the next election."

Harriet Harman has a far more difficult job on her hands. As the new party chair, it will be her job to rebuild the membership and restore our supporters confidences. After years of struggle with government the Labour Party is finding itself shrinking in numbers even as the new Brown-Harman ticket has resulted in a surge in the polls putting Labour at 39-36 ahead according to a poll by the Observer. The same poll also puts Brown as having the confidence of 40% of the population, compared to Tony Blair's 32% and David Cameron's 22%. However, the Labour Party now numbers just 180 000 members, and Harman will be facing a big challenge in making Labour the party the people again- as opposed to the party of the person as we become inextricably associated with Mr Blair. Regardless of his legacy- and it has been shown in a very complimentary light by nearly all the broadsheets and news sites- he has became an electoral liability for us now, and renewing our image post-Blair will be Harman's biggest challenge. It was sad to see Alan Johnson beaten by a mere 0.86%, but we can expect him to receive a senior cabinet post at least, and continue his good work in the new government.

Order of Events on Sunday

10:30am, NEC is informed of the result.
11:30am I roll out of my hotel room with a terrible hangover and seek breakfast.
1:30pm Arrive at the special conference venue.
2:00pm Start making the video for 18 Doughty Street I promised.
4:00pm Leave the conference
4:01pm Find a William Hill to collect my winnings.
4:30pm Start celebrating Alan Johnson's victory with drinking
9:00pm Train back to Hull

Fairly easy day it seems.

Update: Bollocks

Benn Unveils Youth Support

Hilary Benn's campaign has emailed out a list of his supporters in the Youth section of the party .......... its got 6 names on it.

Prediction

With one week to go until the declaration I am going to stick my neck out and say.

Johnson to win
Cruddas to come second with a strong showing in CLP and Union section
big gap
Benn
Harman
Hain
Blears


I think Benn and Harman could come the other way around, Harriet clearly has stronger PLP support and despite nose diving support since the start of the campaign I think Benn's name recognition factor is still carrying something. Benn may take some left support through his constant parading of his dad however Harman has been marketing herself as a left candidate. Perhaps she is more likely to take support from those on the liberal-left of the party less likely to associate themselves with "Old Labour".

Focus

Well after crashing my car in the election I figured I better get an eye test, picked up a fairly strong perscription pair today. The difference is amazing.

Blogging, Lib Dem bashing and failing degrees will all be so much easier from now.

Crashed and Burned

Hazel Blears campaign has hit new lows as the national media almost universally condemned her for her comments. Hazel, well known for her outspoken comments, has perhaps overstepped the line this time. I'm sure that her supporters were cringing behind their clip-boards when the news of her speech's reception reached them. It's all very well to be seen to be taking a tough stance on crime, or even to propose greater restrictions on immigration. However, by suggesting that immigrants are the source of crime, drinking, broken housing laws- she has unwittingly made herself appear to be as stereotyping as the more right wing members of the Tory party. Though obviously her personal politics are fairly centrist public perception is everything, and I think that whatever support she expected from the middle-class uber-politically correct members of the party has quickly dried up.

"Now, the community doesn't object to the people - they object to the exploitation and the fact that that leads to people being on the street drinking and anti-social behaviour. They don't object to the people being there but they object if they are undercutting wages and not getting the national minimum wage and they are not abiding by health and safety, so you have got to enforce the law."

I see Mrs Blears point- ramming literally hundreds of people into just a few houses, not providing jobs and not showing a great deal of support is probably a very good way to cause a mess very quickly. But the problem is the situation, not the people who are in it, and if we tackle the root cause- overcrowding, unemployment and uncaring social services- then we will fast see the effects- poor hygiene, crime and alienation- die away. In addition to this, the response from members of Hazel Blears Salford constituency has been one of bemusement. One local seemed confused by the whole debate, claiming that most of the people he met drinking on the streets were more native than the bedrock.

The deputy leader of the Labour Party is as much an ambassador of the government as a leader. Voters will be asking themselves whether they want a deputy leader who makes gaffes like this one. The fact is is that with the election coming up Mrs Blears has not just stepped on the proverbial banana-skin, she's taken a running jump at it. Whether she survives or not will depend entirely on how many people are aware of her past record, her personal views and her politics before Blair announced his resignation... ah. Well. About nine people then.

Blears Campaign Collapsing

Literally it seems Mr Cremin, the chair of Labour Friends of Sarkozy is unhurt.