Health secretary Alan Johnson has cleared the way for his younger colleague David Miliband to launch a leadership bid.Mr Johnson, widely liked in the party and considered by many to be the only figure capable of wrecking a Miliband ticket, gave strong indications he would not stand in the way of the foreign secretary when the time comes. By ruling himself out of standing, the doors are open to a 'dream ticket' of Johnson and Miliband. Praising Mr Miliband as "a real talent", Mr Johnson said: "I think David has a great future in the party". But Mr Johnson provoked outrage in Downing Street when he went on to describe how Mr Brown had promised to only serve one term as prime minister, a claim instantly discounted by Number 10. "Gordon Brown has said that if elected he would serve for one term, and when Gordon Brown has decided his one term is over , or when he has decided to step down, then we will have a discussion," Mr Johnson said. That statement marks the most outspoken moment of Mr Johnson's thoughts during Labour's current leadership crisis. It was followed today by comments from local communities secretary Hazel Blears, saying Mr Brown lacked "emotional intelligence". "When people think about Gordon, it might be that he's a bit serious and dour – but experienced," she said in an interview with the Independent on Sunday. "People make their political decisions not just rationally but emotionally as well and I think our government needs to be more emotionally intelligent, and the bit that Cameron has got is the language." Political observers have been keeping one eye on the local communities secretary following the glut of rebellious briefings and letters last weekend. Most of the Labour rebels – although not David Cairns, the Scottish Office minister forced to resign – were supporters of Ms Blear's deputy leadership campaign.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Johnson clears way for Miliband leadership bid
Health secretary Alan Johnson has cleared the way for his younger colleague David Miliband to launch a leadership bid.Mr Johnson, widely liked in the party and considered by many to be the only figure capable of wrecking a Miliband ticket, gave strong indications he would not stand in the way of the foreign secretary when the time comes. By ruling himself out of standing, the doors are open to a 'dream ticket' of Johnson and Miliband. Praising Mr Miliband as "a real talent", Mr Johnson said: "I think David has a great future in the party". But Mr Johnson provoked outrage in Downing Street when he went on to describe how Mr Brown had promised to only serve one term as prime minister, a claim instantly discounted by Number 10. "Gordon Brown has said that if elected he would serve for one term, and when Gordon Brown has decided his one term is over , or when he has decided to step down, then we will have a discussion," Mr Johnson said. That statement marks the most outspoken moment of Mr Johnson's thoughts during Labour's current leadership crisis. It was followed today by comments from local communities secretary Hazel Blears, saying Mr Brown lacked "emotional intelligence". "When people think about Gordon, it might be that he's a bit serious and dour – but experienced," she said in an interview with the Independent on Sunday. "People make their political decisions not just rationally but emotionally as well and I think our government needs to be more emotionally intelligent, and the bit that Cameron has got is the language." Political observers have been keeping one eye on the local communities secretary following the glut of rebellious briefings and letters last weekend. Most of the Labour rebels – although not David Cairns, the Scottish Office minister forced to resign – were supporters of Ms Blear's deputy leadership campaign.
Fighting talk: Brown outlines 'fairness' policy document
Gordon Brown says "radical" changes in the political landscape mean change is needed to keep Labour in power in a policy document published this afternoon.The prime minister, facing a fight for his political future at next week's party conference in Manchester, said he wants to achieve a "fairer and more prosperous society" in the Winning the Fight for Britain's Future paper. In a clear attack against Conservative leader David Cameron's description of Britain as a "broken society", Mr Brown says Labour does not have a "pessimistic vie that runs Britain down all the time". "This country has never been broken. It is not now. Nor will it be. "Instead with government passing more power and control to patients, parents, communities, and citizens, we have a real opportunity to forge an even fairer and more prosperous society." Mr Brown says "radical change" has given Labour "extraordinary new opportunities" and that these must be seized upon. "New times ask new questions and demand new answers. Only Labour can provide them for all the people of our country," he concludes.
Angry Hoon frustrated by Cabinet leaks
Government chief whip Geoff Hoon has expressed his frustration that details of a recent Cabinet meeting were leaked.His comments followed media reports quoting unnamed sources expressing frustration with prime minister Gordon Brown during a Cabinet meeting. He allegedly concentrated too heavily on the Conservatives when his own party are in dire trouble in the polls. It is not certain a member of the Cabinet had made the leak or leaks as several civil servants usually attend such meetings. But if it was a Cabinet colleague, Mr Hoon said in an interview to be broadcast tomorrow on BBC News 24, such an action would be "quite wrong". "If it is Cabinet colleagues who are responsible for those briefings ... it is quite wrong for them to breach the confidentiality of cabinet conversations," the BBC quoted him as saying. "The only way in which this group of people can deal with the kinds of problems the country faces is if we can speak frankly to each other, we can have the kind of conversations that are necessary to deal with the very difficult circumstances that this country faces - and they should not, ever, breach that confidentiality." The Labour party conference begins tomorrow in Manchester.
Labour MP: This will be Brown's last conference
A Labour has MP has predicted this weekend's party conference will be Gordon Brown's last as leader.Alan Simpson, veteran left-winger and Labour rebel, has written an article for the Morning Star, set to appear tomorrow as the Labour conference begins. In it, he launches a scathing attack on both Blairite and Brownite wings of the party, and Mr Brown's tenure as Labour leader. "Delegates at the Labour party conference in Manchester should be gentle with Gordon Brown," he writes. "It will be his last as Labour leader and prime minister. Gordon is like a Damien Hirst sheep. Trapped in formaldehyde, he lacks the qualities needed for a bold leap that would free him from his own goo." He goes on to compare the treacherous plots against Mr Brown to his own calculations in gaining power within the party. "There will be no direct challenge to Brown," he writes. "His demise will come from the drip, drip, drip of underwhelming support within the parliamentary Labour party. "There is a degree of irony about this. Brown himself worked obsessively to ensure there was no leadership contest when he succeeded Tony Blair. It was a contest Brown would have won hands down, but he wanted a coronation not an election. "More than that, he wanted to avoid the wide-ranging debate on policy that his potential challenger, John McDonnell MP, was already trying to open up." Mr Simpson is firmly on the left of the Labour party, and has the distinction of being one of the most rebellious MPs in paliament - only three other MPs have rebelled against their party whip more often.
Purnell and Milburn hint at Labour disquiet
Former Cabinet minister Alan Milburn stirred up Labour's leadership row today with a coded attack on Gordon Brown and a call for the party to embrace "change" if it wants to win back voters.Mr Milburn's criticism, in a pamphlet for the Blairite thinktank Progress ahead of the party conference, came as an opinion poll suggested that Labour are a record 28 points behind the Tories after the latest bout of infighting. And it follows comments by work and pensions secretary James Purnell in which he refuses to condemn those MPs calling for a Labour leadership election. Mr Milburn's intervention will focus attention on the leadership split, although he has made no secret of his distaste for Mr Brown since he resigned as health secretary in 2003, saying that he wanted to spend more time with his family. "One of New Labour’s key strengths has been its preparedness to face the future challenge rather than taking comfort in the past achievement," he wrote. "The willingness to change is what has made New Labour so dominant in British politics and forced even our most strident opponents into contemplating changes they once thought abhorrent. Now change beckons once again." In an interview in the New Statesman, Mr Purnell said he could understand why MPs wanted a contest, although he did not agree with them. "I think it would be ridiculous to pretend that you can't complain when you're worried. I mean, I'm worried that we're 20 points behind. I'm not going to condemn people or question their motives. [But] I don't agree with what they did," Purnell said. Purnell told the magazine he agreed with John Hutton, the business secretary, who also refused to condemn the rebels when he gave an interview at the weekend.
Feature: Labour conference
The Labour conference begins today following fierce speculation about Gordon Brown's future as party leader.Three large protests against Labour (Iraq, public sector and postal workers) will hit Manchester while delegates congregate in the secure zone, and an alternate far-left conference is taking place down the road, tempting veteran Labour left-wingers like Tony Benn and Jeremy Corbyn away from the main event. Apart from that, there are some specific focal points to look out for. Charles Clarke will be delivering the Unlock Democracy lecture on Sunday. There's always a chance he'll make further comments along the lines of his New Statesman article telling Mr Brown to step down "with honour", although the last time politics.co.uk spotted him being questioned on the subject by an eager journalist (at the Lib Dem conference) he came within an inch of punching him in the face. Mr Clarke pops up again on Monday to go head to head with journalist Andrew Gilligan at a debate entitled 'Who calls the shots – politicians or journalists?'. It could be interesting. Not only was Mr Gilligan the journalist blamed by the Hutton inquiry for being less than accurate in his Iraq war reports but he is also credited (or despised) for leading the campaign against Ken Livingstone's attempts to be re-elected as Labour mayor of London. Later in the day David Miliband makes his speech to the main conference hall on foreign policy. Pundits and obsessives will be scanning his words with a political decoder to spot any hidden leadership pitch. They probably won't find one, but you never know. There's a good panel for the debate on how Labour can win the next election, featuring education secretary Ed Balls, one of Mr Brown's most loyal lieutenants, health secretary Alan Johnson, consistently a highly-rated leadership contender, Ken Livingstone, who needs no introduction, and Jon Cruddas, the backbench left-winger who retains tremendous popularity within the party. Then on Tuesday, it's Mr Brown's make or break speech to the conference. Or at least everyone presumes it's Tuesday, because that day's plenary for the conference hall lists precisely nothing. There are reports the speech was finalised a month ago, boding ill for its chances. Most of the best speeches, the professionals say, are finished hours before delivery, fresh and written in blood in the early hours of the morning. Things are about as bright for Mr Brown as he could possibly have hoped them to be at this stage. Whoever leaked whichever name on whatever occasion, the drip feed of briefings, letters and resignations over his leadership appears to have subsided. Furthermore, his part in the Lloyds TSB – HBOS merger has been widely praised, and there are reports he may be busy fixing up another one between EDF and British Energy. It all plays well with his strategy of presenting himself as a good man to guide us through bad economic times. Will it be enough? Probably not. We'll soon find out. Stay with politics.co.uk throughout the week for the most comprehensive conference coverage available on the web. Ian Dunt
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Determined Gould wants Labour "fight"
Harry Potter author JK Rowling has donated ВЈ1 million to the Labour party.She said her donation was motivated by the party's record on child poverty and criticised the Conservative's plans to provide tax breaks for married couples. The financial gift will come as a major boost to prime minister Gordon Brown ahead of the Labour annual conference, which begins this weekend. In a statement Ms Rowling, who is worth an estimated ВЈ560 million, said: "I believe that poor and vulnerable families will fare much better under the Labour party than they would under a Cameron-led Conservative party. "Gordon Brown has consistently prioritised and introduced measures that will save as many children as possible from a life lacking in opportunity or choice. "The Labour government has reversed the long-term trend in child poverty, and is one of the leading EU countries in combating child poverty." Ms Rowling, who is known to be a personal friend of Mr Brown and his wife Sarah, added that the Conservative's tax plans discriminated against single parents. "David Cameron's promise of tax perks for the married, on the other hand, is reminiscent of the Conservative government I experienced as a lone parent. "It sends the message that the Conservatives still believe a childless, dual-income, but married, couple is more deserving of a financial pat on the head than those struggling, as I once was, to keep their families afloat in difficult times." In response, Mr Brown thanked the author for her donation, stating: "I am delighted that JK Rowling, who is one of the world's greatest ever authors, has made such a generous donation. "I thank her for supporting the Labour party and our values of social justice and opportunity for all." A number of celebrities have donated to the Labour party this year, including comedian Eddie Izzard, who gave almost ВЈ10,000 of his own money to the party.
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