Tag archive for ‘Labour’
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Why Brent leader Ann John is backing Ken
One of the many people backing Ken Livingstone’s candidacy for the Labour nomination for Mayor of London is the leader of my local council, Ann John.
Ann led Labour’s campaign in Brent to win back the the council after a tough night in the local elections four years ago. The previous Labour administration in Brent – also led by Ann John – was replaced by a Tory-LibDem coalition until this May. It’s good see Ann and her local Labour colleagues back in majority control. Local victories like that point to [...] -
235 NEC nominations for Ken
The nominations for the constituency section of the Labour party NEC are now starting to be published. Ken Livingstone has received 235 nominations, with only current party chair Ann Black securing more.
Paul Waugh has tweeted that this means ‘Newt Labour’ is set for a national comeback. Of course the outcome will be decided on the basis of the votes cast rather than the nominations from Constituency Labour Parties but nonetheless it’s a strong showing for Ken, reflecting the same kind [...] -
Moving on
With the general and local elections well and truly over, Thursday was my last day at the Labour party. It was a great experience to work on a general election campaign and a pleasure to work as part of a team that gelled so well together. From campaigning against Boris Johnson’s January fare increase to Gordon Brown’s marathon ten visits in one day on the last weekend of the campaign there was – as the cliche goes – never a [...]
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Conservatives should be disappointed by the London election results
There’s a very interesting article on Conservative Home by Alex Crowley in which the author concedes “Nowhere should Conservatives be more disappointed with the recent election results than in London.”
Crowley writes:
“On a night of mixed results, Labour got the most votes in London and performed far better than they did in the rest of the country. As a result, the Tories were denied marginal seats, and key councils turned red.
“How did Labour manage such a good result?”
Crowley’s piece hits the [...] -
Labour’s great night in the borough elections
Congratulations to the many newly elected Labour councillors. It’s a fantastic result that’s changed the local government map in London. Here’s a quick summary of how Labour did in London in the borough elections.
Labour now control seventeen London boroughs, up 8. The Conservatives control eleven, down three. The Liberal Democrats hold two, down two. There’s no overall control in two boroughs, down five.
Labour has gained Brent, Camden, Ealing, Enfield, Harrow, Hounslow, Islington, Southwark, Waltham Forest.
Labour won Barking, completely wiping out [...] -
Labour in London exceeded expectations
“Labour has done much better than expected in London”
David Dimbleby, BBC Election Results programme, 7th May 2010
I didn’t have time to post this yesterday, but here’s Tessa Jowell’s comment on the London general election results, where Labour held a succession of seats that were predicted to be going from red to blue. That’s in addition to the succession of local government victories in London that have seen Labour take back council after council.
Tessa Jowell said:
‘‘From the results that have been [...] -
A lash-up with Cameron is bad news for LibDems
BBC News 24 is running spin – clearly from the Liberal Democrats – that Gordon Brown had an angry conversation with Nick Clegg last night. Immediately the BBC has got onto the issue of whether Gordon Brown should go.
But the root of this is more likely not a serious attempt to get the Labour party to agree to a putsch against its leader. It is far more likely to be explained by the difficulties Nick Clegg is having in persuading [...] -
Maximising the Labour vote
The Guardian today carries a letter opposing the Guardian’s editorial backing for the Liberal Democrats.
The letter’s signatories say:
“Your editorial (1 May) makes clear that neither a Tory government nor a Tory-Lib Dem partnership woube considered by the Guardian as the best outcome. We, however, strongly believe that your conclusion – vote Liberal Democrat – is deeply flawed and undermines the possibility of stopping the Tories coming to power. Given the current position of the main political parties in opinion polls, [...] -
Crossrail is on the ballot paper
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Guardian economics editor draws a different conclusion…
The Guardian’s endorsement of the Liberal Democrats has had plenty of coverage, but its economics editor is taking a different view of the issues in the election.
Larry Elliott breaks ranks with his paper’s editorial line today, backing Labour as the party offering the best prospect of social justice.
Of course, Larry Elliott is critical of Labour. He sets out what he thinks Labour has got wrong, and where it has been right.
But he also he openly questions the paper’s recent editorial decision.
“It [...]
