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Next Labour leadership candidates
BringBackZsaZsa
Posts: 329 Forum Member
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It is very possible that Labour will lose the next election. If that happens Ed Miliband will try and stay on but his enemies will force him out. I have decided to look at the three main contenders at the moment (the bookies' favourites) and analyse their support, views etc:
Chuka Ummuna
Office: Shadow Business Secretary
Age: 35
Constituency: Streatham
Politics: Blairite (but used to be a soft leftwinger)
Possible supporters: Stella Creasy, Tristram Hunt, Gregg McClymont, John Woodcock, Alison McGovern, David Lammy, Tessa Jowell, Liam Byrne, Gloria de Piero, Liz Kendall, Keith Vaz, Simon Danczuk, Tony Blair, Maurice Glasman, Jon Cruddas, David Miliband
Yvette Cooper
Office: Shadow Home Secretary
Age: 45
Constituency: Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford
Politics: Unknown (was a Brownite but no one knows what she actually stands for)
Possible supporters: Ed Balls, Gordon Brown, Barbara Keeley, John Robertson, Shabana Mahmood, Helen Jones, Diana Johnson, John Healey, Vernon Coaker
Andy Burnham
Office: Shadow Health Secretary
Age: 44
Constituency: Leigh
Politics: Was an ultra-Blairite but sees himself as the new figurehead of the soft left. However, still very tough on crime, liberal interventionist and tribal.
Possible supporters: Debbie Abrahams, Andrew Gwynne, Grahame Morris, Dianne Abbott
Tom Watson
Office: Backbencher
Age: 47
Constituency: West Bromwich East
Politics: Ultra-Brownite
Possible supporters: Someone who needs psychiatric help
Chuka Ummuna
Office: Shadow Business Secretary
Age: 35
Constituency: Streatham
Politics: Blairite (but used to be a soft leftwinger)
Possible supporters: Stella Creasy, Tristram Hunt, Gregg McClymont, John Woodcock, Alison McGovern, David Lammy, Tessa Jowell, Liam Byrne, Gloria de Piero, Liz Kendall, Keith Vaz, Simon Danczuk, Tony Blair, Maurice Glasman, Jon Cruddas, David Miliband
Yvette Cooper
Office: Shadow Home Secretary
Age: 45
Constituency: Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford
Politics: Unknown (was a Brownite but no one knows what she actually stands for)
Possible supporters: Ed Balls, Gordon Brown, Barbara Keeley, John Robertson, Shabana Mahmood, Helen Jones, Diana Johnson, John Healey, Vernon Coaker
Andy Burnham
Office: Shadow Health Secretary
Age: 44
Constituency: Leigh
Politics: Was an ultra-Blairite but sees himself as the new figurehead of the soft left. However, still very tough on crime, liberal interventionist and tribal.
Possible supporters: Debbie Abrahams, Andrew Gwynne, Grahame Morris, Dianne Abbott
Tom Watson
Office: Backbencher
Age: 47
Constituency: West Bromwich East
Politics: Ultra-Brownite
Possible supporters: Someone who needs psychiatric help
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Comments
Someone unknown as they are such an unedifying lot. At least the Conservatives have Theresa May and/or Boris
That's all of them. Contest over - he'll walk it.
Out of that list Cooper will win. I suspect another candidate may emerge, I just can't spot who.
Very good point.
I just pointing out the potential supporters didn't include the Affiliated Socialist Societies and Trade Unions, no need to be so touchy about it.
We are talking about the Labour leadership not the Best Dressed Man in the World competition.
Anyway, I thought the party had had enough of slick wealthy metropolitan lawyers. Ummuna has even less in common with the northern working person than Blair ever did.
Of the choices in the OP, probably Ummuna.
I can also see Abbott or McDonnell standing again, but they wouldn't have much chance of winning and would just split the trade union vote and make it harder to predict.
I personally would like to see Angela Eagle stand, but she'll probably support Cooper.
It would be hilarious to see Anglea Eagle stand. She's the most miserable person in politics (or is that her sister? I can never tell them apart) and makes Miliband look dynamic.
I'm sure everyone in the Tory party would too.
Her sister is the more miserable one, she is actually quite amusing in the chamber and on twitter.
McDonnell probably could get enough nominations if he was the only "hard left" candidate. Last time he couldn't get enough because of Diane Abbott, so withdrew to support her.
Considering how few actually really left wing Labour MPs there are, that wing of the party is basically choosing between McDonnell and Abbot regardless. Dennis Skinner would do better than either of them, but he's too old and not interested in it anyway.
Chuka Ummuna would be terrible, as indeed would be David Miliband.
Blair 2? No thanks.
On Tom Watson, I don't understand the negative comment in the OP.
Broadly, this is more difficult terrain for me than the Tories.
I am supposed to be more in favour of Labour but what it is now is so far removed from its past, it is just depressing. There is no soul there. It feels bland and yet alien. At least the Tories are still recognisable by historical standards.
A Blairite: A follow of someone who appeared to know where they were going, but who stops every five minutes to change direction. The follower never catching on that the 'leader' has been trying to shake you off for quite a while now.
A Thatcherite: A follower of someone who loaded up the Rolls with some rich friends and powered on to the destination regardless of traffic lights and pedestrians. Eventually crashed at the destination and expected the people they'd hit to then help them out.
Actually, all three have aspects of that Thatcherite description to them. They were admirers of the evil one after all. Not going to bother with Majorites, were they even a thing? As for Cameronites, well how exactly can you follow someone who doesn't appear to know how to lead or drive?
These Labour potentials filled me with so much interest that I wrote the stuff above. I have nothing to say about these candidates other than meh.
The only thing I would trust Watson to do is eat a bacon sandwich more convincingly than Miliband.
Had the leadership contest been run under one-member-one-vote Ed Miliband would still have won; and would have won by an even greater margin.
I'm not a fan of Ed Miliband but the reality is that he doesn't owe his leadership exclusively to the patronage of union boogeymen.
Another name to consider for the future might be Tristram Hunt.
I think the former Children's Minister will be keeping his head down today.