Next Leader of the Opposition

[Rincewind]

Just wondering would anyone had been more liable to vote Labour if Milliband had not been leader? I thought he seemed quiet on 'issues' until the election run in. Did a decent job but I thought it was too little too late to make an impact on the public.

That is one of the things that disappointed me about Labour. Not enough  fight or passion about the things that concerned me.

[Guest MattP]

Chuka confirms he'll run for leader.

Just wondering would anyone had been more liable to vote Labour if Milliband had not been leader? I thought he seemed quiet on 'issues' until the election run in. Did a decent job but I thought it was too little too late to make an impact on the public.

That is one of the things that disappointed me about Labour. Not enough  fight or passion about the things that concerned me.

 

What were those things Ken?

[Guest MattP]

Anyone think Labour need a leader not actually born and based in London now? One of the problems the party seems to have is that it's unofficial base is now seen as right in the centre of Islington held by the 'metropolitican liberal elite'. Do they need to move away from that totally after Miliband.

 

London was pretty much the only area where Labour actually did well in the election and given they were claiming that the South East was the only place benefitting from the recovery that's sort of quite ridiculous.

 

Is London so out of touch with the rest of the country now but not in the way we thought it was? It would rule out Umanna.

[Finnegan]

Most important thing they need is a leader with any presence or gravitas at all.

Milliband was a mute from the beginning. He got no publicity, no attention, made no fight in commons, was no noteworthy challenge to DC and only put any actual "opposition" forward when the campaign started a few months back.

An opposition leader should be working his or her testes/mammaries off solidly from the moment their rivals are elected til the moment we elect again. Opposition means opposing, not being an anonymous non entity.

DC got the shit kicked out of him by Blair to begin with but at least he was a presence from the off. Milliband was just a spitting image gag before he even opened his yap.

[Rincewind]

Chuka confirms he'll run for leader.

 

What were those things Ken?

What  Finnegan said.

[Benji]

Just wondering would anyone had been more liable to vote Labour if Milliband had not been leader? I thought he seemed quiet on 'issues' until the election run in. Did a decent job but I thought it was too little too late to make an impact on the public.

That is one of the things that disappointed me about Labour. Not enough  fight or passion about the things that concerned me.

 

I will always be open to Labour, but it would take more than a party leader to make me vote for them.  An aspirational message that is pro-business must come from within the party to be taken as genuine and not just a face of an election.  I'm happy for them to remain focused on compassion for the most in need, but I will not support them while they pander to the unions and try to villify anyone not within their core left.  I think this election could be good for Labour, in the past week at least three potential candidates have made noises along the lines of the above - I only hope they don't continue with Mrs Ed Balls and the same old rubbish because the unions are unaccommodating of something a bit different.

[Guest MattP]

Most important thing they need is a leader with any presence or gravitas at all.

Milliband was a mute from the beginning. He got no publicity, no attention, made no fight in commons, was no noteworthy challenge to DC and only put any actual "opposition" forward when the campaign started a few months back.

An opposition leader should be working his or her testes/mammaries off solidly from the moment their rivals are elected til the moment we elect again. Opposition means opposing, not being an anonymous non entity.

DC got the shit kicked out of him by Blair to begin with but at least he was a presence from the off. Milliband was just a spitting image gag before he even opened his yap.

 

If they do then it's a real worry looking at the list of contenders so far.

 

Can't agree with you on Miliband regarding the commons, I watch PMQ's every week and he was always very vocal, the problem was he was out of his depth and often wasted every single question he had on something very few people cared about outside his own front bench.

 

I don't think the problem with Labour lies with the leader itself, it's the whole image the party represents these days, the middle class white liberal elite, the sort of people who think it's racist to fly an England flag likeThornberry does, the sort of people who call people bigots for talking about immigration like Brown did. Add to that the anti-aspiration and anti-business policy it seems to have pursued that even leads to staunch Labourites like Sugar resigning and you have a whole package that is just making them unelectable at the moment. The of course it's decision making, any party that can go into an election with Ed Balls as a chancellor screams total incompetence.

 

Now they've lost Scotland I have no idea where they turn. To left wing for England, too right wing for Scotland.

[Guest]

Matt, isn't it more important what the Tories do for the next 5 years?

[Guest MattP]

Matt, isn't it more important what the Tories do for the next 5 years?

 

Of course.

 

Though Conservatives will also be extremely interested in developments in the Labour party over the next 5 years, after all, it's likely these days it's the strength of the opposition that decides who forms the next government.

[Rincewind]

That's true. At one debate IDS sneaked out laughing.

[Guest MattP]

That's true. At one debate IDS sneaked out laughing.

 

Put the Daily Mirror down Ken.

[Rincewind]

Has anyone posted this yet? Its a list and biography of candidates.

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3078064/Chuka-Umunna-announces-Labour-leadership-bid-promise-win-England.html

[Guest MattP]

If Labour do want some help in appealing to people they should watch the appearance on the Daily Politics today of their new MP for Hampstead and Kilburn Rupa Haq.

 

Lovely smile, very affable and then answered every question with honesty. Then when pushed on who it was when she said one Labour MP had already asked for his support in the leadership debate she replied with "I'll give you a clue, he reminded me of Obama" with a giggle.

 

Contrast that to Stella Creasy yesterday who didn't answer a single question properly and then refused to even say if she'd been contacted by anyone and didn't even want to put forward one name who she thought would make a good leader.

[Guest]

Lovely smile, very affable and then answered every question with honesty. Then when pushed on who it was when she said one Labour MP had already asked for his support in the leadership debate she replied with "I'll give you a clue, he reminded me of Obama" with a giggle.

 

 

sounds like a little schoolgirl who'll be ripped to pieces by the NASTY horde.

[Guest MattP]

sounds like a little schoolgirl who'll be ripped to pieces by the NASTY horde.

 

Leave the porno fantasies out the thread this is about politics.

[Alf Bentley]

If Labour do want some help in appealing to people they should watch the appearance on the Daily Politics today of their new MP for Hampstead and Kilburn Rupa Haq.

 

Lovely smile, very affable and then answered every question with honesty. Then when pushed on who it was when she said one Labour MP had already asked for his support in the leadership debate she replied with "I'll give you a clue, he reminded me of Obama" with a giggle.

 

 

Matt and Rupa

Sitting in a tree

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

First comes love

Then comes an erection

There goes Red Matt

It's a political defection! 

 

p.s. Rupa Haq (sister of ex-Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq) is MP for Ealing; Hampstead MP is Tulip Siddiq)

[Guest MattP]

Matt and Rupa

Sitting in a tree

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

First comes love

Then comes an erection

There goes Red Matt

It's a political defection! 

 

p.s. Rupa Haq (sister of ex-Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq) is MP for Ealing; Hampstead MP is Tulip Siddiq)

 

 

Whoops, I got them confused, it was Tulip Siddiq on the show, not Rupa Haq. I'm now considered racist in many London boroughs.

[Alf Bentley]

 

Whoops, I got them confused, it was Tulip Siddiq on the show, not Rupa Haq. I'm now considered racist in many London boroughs.

 

That's both of us, then, as we both mistakenly called her "Haq", when she's Huq. I used to have a GP (rather worryingly) named Dr. Haq, that's my excuse.

 

I should also ask for crimes of sexism to be taken into account, as I was just comparing their photos to see which I fancied (neither it turns out; I'll stick with Konnie)

[Bellend Sebastian]

Rupa Huq is the one that was (allegedly) manhandled by one of Boris's boys.

http://www.ealingtoday.co.uk/shared/eabrayhuq001.htm

I wonder if she said 'Don't you know who I am? I'm Konnie Huq's sister!'

[Dr The Singh]

Matt and Rupa

Sitting in a tree

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

First comes love

Then comes an erection

There goes Red Matt

It's a political defection!

p.s. Rupa Haq (sister of ex-Blue Peter presenter Konnie Huq) is MP for Ealing; Hampstead MP is Tulip Siddiq)

Wait till White Dee finds out

[Voll Blau]

Burnham standing. G'won lad.

[Dr The Singh]

Burnham standing. G'won lad.

Another cvnt

[Guest ttfn]

If Labour do want some help in appealing to people they should watch the appearance on the Daily Politics today of their new MP for Hampstead and Kilburn Rupa Haq.

Lovely smile, very affable and then answered every question with honesty. Then when pushed on who it was when she said one Labour MP had already asked for his support in the leadership debate she replied with "I'll give you a clue, he reminded me of Obama" with a giggle.

Contrast that to Stella Creasy yesterday who didn't answer a single question properly and then refused to even say if she'd been contacted by anyone and didn't even want to put forward one name who she thought would make a good leader.

She's my local MP (Tulip). I didn't vote for her but she's already extremely popular particularly in the Kilburn part of the constituency.

[Bellend Sebastian]

Vaz has been quiet.

Too quiet

[Dr The Singh]

Vaz has been quiet.

Too quiet

Is he dead?