Daily Mail gets its priorities right

Does it criticise Ed Miliband because of his reliance on the unions to secure victory? No. Does it criticise him on his comparative inexperience compared with his brother? No. Does it criticise him for his involvement in the 2010 manifesto? No. Does it criticise him because a survey of Labour rank and file saw his brother as the superior candidate in the leadership race and a PM in waiting? Ummmm, No.

So what then?

Ohhhhh.

Irony?

He will have many challenges ahead in these next few days, but if he wants to be taken seriously, the first thing he's got to do is own up to his role in creating the mess that Britain is in and tell us what he'd do to fix it...Now is the time for Mr Miliband to tell us what he'd do instead. He promised us a Labour spending plan before the spending review, now we'd all like to see it....

The new Labour leader now has a clear choice. He can either serve the national interest by joining with us and the Liberal Democrats and set out how he would cut the deficit...The fact that Ed Miliband owes his position to the votes of the unions does not bode well. At the moment this looks like a great leap backwards for the Labour Party.

This is the instant reaction from Sayeeda Warsi to the Labour leadership result. Obviously Cameron is staying above the petty political fray, and letting Warsi off the lead. Keir finds it rather ironic that Co-Chair of the Conservative Party in her initial reaction quote to Ed Miliband's election said these things, especially when the following are true.

• David Cameron refused to spell out where and when cuts would be made to front line services before the election from opposition. So why do they expect Ed to do so four years from an election?
• At a risk of rehashing old arguments, a coalition government doesn't exactly have a popular mandate, either.
• Warsi is a fine one to talk on the legitimacy of Miliband's election based on his union support. Especially as she has never faced election. Let me paraphrase: The fact that Sayeeda Warsi owes her position to the whim of David Cameron...

It's Ed

A Day At The M4C National Assembly

Look at that photo. Just a group of people with common purpose.

Keir attended an event that took him way back yesterday.

Virally promoted on Twitter and driven by personal relationships, not press releases, David Miliband's Movement for Change National Assembly was probably a very new experience for many of the 1,000 people who had gathered. Keir's recent experience of political meetings and gatherings has been far from inspiring. Dull branch meetings in smokey rooms aren't what people join for, yet that's often what we get.

But the National Assembly was so far removed from those meetings. It showed that the people have the ability to turn those meetings on their head and turn politics on its head. The Assembly was by the people in it and for the people in it. It was in their experience; there were unscripted outbreaks of Zimbabwean song and dance, leaders of the allegedly conservative Pakistani community on their feet shouting and hollering, beach balls, flags and technical glitches that caused the Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland to do a small dance followed by a few lines from a popular song. It was fun and it had some small mistakes; that is in people's experience. Passing resolutions and minutes is not. It was also in their experience in other, more serious ways. Testimonies from our Labour people who are going to be affected by the Conservative cuts made the Assembly what it was: moving, powerful, important and a stimulus for continuous action.

"The coalition's cuts could kill me" began one of our people. It was no exaggeration. The gentleman's story could not fail to resonate with any person in the room. And then the story of the young carer: her life, changed at the age of 9 when she had to begin caring for her mother and siblings, reminded the people why they were there and why they are Labour. The Tory cuts to the organisation that helped her through her life and into University will mean people like her will not be given the chance to succeed; all of them, our people.

Finally, the white, working class man with a white, working class family. Some suggest we lost our way and stopped helping this family. That argument is hard to believe after hearing the story of how the NHS helped him provide for his young disabled son. Shoes to help his son walk, shoes that would have cost £100, free on the NHS. "I don't want the world", he continued, explaining that all he wants is the continued chance for his family to live a dignified life.

And at no point in the personal testimony was there the tone of the victim. Dignity and determination flowed from the testimony-givers, who were not professional speakers, as they told their story to the thousand gathered.

So when David Miliband got up to speak the atmosphere, above all other things, was one of solidarity. Keir's fond of a good speech: Obama in the rain, Gordon against the world on May 3rd , JFK's "we all breathe the same air", Dr. King telling the people not to let dogs or water hoses turn them around and Malcolm X scaring the life out of the Establishment all rank among the favourites. Let's be frank: as good as David Miliband is, this was not going to be an MLK speech. But Mr. Miliband did not lecture, he did not preach and he did not patronise. He spoke to each person in the crowd. Of course he was the main event and of course he seemingly has hero status with many people, but he was part of the Assembly like anyone else. He spoke with them, was angry about the same things they were angry about and determined in the same way they were.

The speech was superb. Sadly, Peter Mandelson, as much as Keir respects him, has hijacked the headlines. It is all getting a bit tiring now. So the people's Assembly was not as high on the news agenda. But ask the 1,000 people there what the biggest event that day was and you'd get a different perspective. Ultimately, that is all that matters: the people.

Kudos to Stella Creasy and Willie Bain too. A nice presentation about the birth of our party with lots of pictures of Keir. Stella is clearly going to be a crucial member of the parliamentary party for many years. She spoke on stage about real things in the community that matter to people's everyday lives and also managed to recruit, on stage, a 15-year-old Walthamstow pupil to the party. Adding to the Walthamstow connection was a stunning song and performance from a 14-year-old girl who had seen the effects of violent crime in her community. You can follow her on twitter @mizzcamara. I'd recommend you do; she will be a big deal.

And Jim Murphy...what a guy. Keir can confidently say that he has never seen a Shadow Cabinet member do a little jig and sing in front of 1,000 people.

What's important now is that Labour members make the right choice. David Miliband is the only man who will win us an election. Elect any other candidate and we face a decade in Opposition whilst the Conservatives destroy the lives of the pensioners, the young carers and the working class families: our people.

LetUsFaceTheFuture.

The Continuity Myth

Something's been bugging Keir recently in this arduous Labour leadership race. It is partly due to the fact that the contest hasn't been front page news what with a World Cup and a country having it's head resting uncomfortably on the spending guillotine. The fact is, this Labour leadership campaign hasn't hit the news as heavily as we may have hoped. And this has lead some of the coverage to be lazy and presumptuous. The result of this has been that David Miliband, Keir's chosen candidate, has been portrayed as a "Blairite", continuity candidate. In much of the coverage, Ed Miliband is being presented as the new man for change and renewal. And some are believing it.

Frankly, that's nonsense.

Ed Miliband is a good guy. Sure he let us down a bit at Copenhagen after so much build-up and blamed it on others, but he tried his best. However, let's be clear, he does not represent renewal and change as much as his brother. For all Ed's talk about strengthening the grassroots of the party and engaging new members and people as a whole, he hasn't actually done anything to show his commitment to that. David has.

The Movement for Change, as Keir has previously pointed out, is not just words. Whilst Ed talks, David acts. People throughout the country are being trained to effectively organise within their communities and strengthen the movement as a whole. This is unprecedented for someone who is still merely a leadership candidate to be investing in. If David Miliband was already Labour leader and he'd invested money in something like the Movement for Change, we'd say "great". That he is doing it whilst only a candidate shows this man's love for the party and his dedication to strengthening the movement.

And then onto policies. One thing that really grates on Keir is Ed Miliband's relationship with the living wage. Can we all be clear about something: the living wage is NOT Ed Miliband's idea and not his campaign. London Citizens began this campaign. Boris Johnson and HSBC, among others, adopted the living wage before Ed started piping up about it. And all of the Labour leaders support the spread of the living wage, not just Ed. Yes, that means David too. The only difference is that David isn't trying to pass it off as his own.

But there's more to show that David is anything but "continuity".

Just a few weeks ago, he and Tessa Jowell led the call to make the BBC a co-operative, making it more democratic and more accountable to the public. That is: "make it accountable to the public". Not "make the public run it", for those of you who were thinking "isn't that the Big Society?"

So that's one progressive policy. Want more? Gay marriage. At the end of July, David came out (excuse the pun) in support of full gay marriage. Continuity? Keir thinks not.

And what about the mansion tax? David has supported a 1% tax on homes worth £2m. Left Foot Forward agreed that this is a progressive tax. And, they add, it has the support of voters.

It doesn't stop there: a High Pay Commission and employee representation on the pay committees at top firms. This would, as David himself said, put a check on corporate excesses. Will Straw seemed to like that one.

David also wants to see the party move forward in democratic and progressive terms. Introducing a leadership academy for BAME community members is another of David's policies. Our party needs to continue it's move towards a much more representative membership; in particular the parliamentary party. Investing in this sort of idea will go a long way to aid that. In addition, David's commitment to an elected party chair is one of the main reason's that Keir was convinced to support him. This is an absolute "must-do" policy.

Don't believe the myth. David Miliband is not continuity, not "Blairite". He and his policies are progressive, electable and bold. That's what we need.

LetUsFaceTheFuture.

Ed Balls is in trouble...

With the rumours swirling last week that it was Ed Balls who had been briefing that Andy Burnham might be on the way out of the leadership contest to avoid the ignominy of finishing last, Keir took particular interest in the latest round of supporting nominations, not least because it gave him the first summary of the state of the race he'd had for a while.

Keir's opinion of Ed Balls isn't that great. He has all the drawbacks of Gordon Brown (personal unpopularity not least amongst them) without any of the perceived advantages. While the media have been crowing that maybe it is Balls with the momentum after his opposition to VAT rise and advantage he has derived from the totally self inflicted wounds of Michael Gove, the figures really do show a different story.

More scientific polling done for the Daily Telegraph reinforces this. (With the usual caveats re: accuracy of AV polls)

Balls is for all intents and purposes last.

Keir Is Alive And Well In The Valleys

Today, in the heart of the Valleys where Keir once agitated and organised, David Miliband gave a speech honouring the lessons we can learn from Keir's life and actions as well as speaking of his future hope for our movement, party and country.

The best thing to do is post the link, so the whole speech is here.

From a podium fronted with a yellowed, framed picture of Keir in the Cynon Valley, Miliband spoke to a crowd of ex-pitmen from Penrhiwceiber, unemployed people in their 20's from Aberaron, workers from Mountain Ash and pensioners from Cwmbach. This is a part of the country embedded in so-called "old" Labour values. A part of the country battered and slashed by successive Conservative governments and a part of the country staring directly at the oncoming threat of austere measures that could threaten to destroy them once more. It is also a part of the country that doesn't care much for the collective sympathy of others; a part of the country where people stick together through all of the above and stand sternly in the path of the blue axe.

Furthermore, it is a part of the country where the people have no passive deference to those at the top. There is not much hero worship in this part of the country; maybe except for rugby legends. The only other heroes are the people from their own communities; like the ones who lived and nearly died down the pits. The ones like Keir who dragged life with them, kicking and screaming, when the elite cared not to provide any opportunities to them: the ones who made things for themselves. Politicians certainly are not easily worthy of such hero treatment. Pomp, glitz and spin don't sit with the people in this part of the country and there is no respect for reputation alone. Facebook, Twitter and hashtags don't impress these people. What they want from their politicians is action.

So, when the gathered crowd stood to applaud the speech, as well as the substantial Q & A session, given by David Miliband, you felt it was a big deal. For anyone who thought Miliband could not capture the values and beliefs of the left, centre-left and soft-left of the party, seeing the reaction of this audience proved absolutely otherwise.

LetUsFaceTheFuture.

Sally Bercow and Blairism

Keir loves Sally, he really does, as evinced by the excellently photo shopped picture above. He also loves the way she gets the Tory press's knickers in a twist, "...but, shes, shes a binge drinker, shes, shes, shes, been a naughty girl, shes, shes, shes, too tall" ad infinitum. But, he must use her as an example in discussion of a very strange malaise sweeping certain members of the Labour Party. Some of whom (the lovely Sally not amongst them, obviously), Keir feels, who think that getting involved means a few retweets on Twitter and getting irate now we're in opposition. Where were you at 9pm on Polling Day? Keir knows where he was, and where LetUsFace... was too.

This malaise is centred around this man.

Tony-San looks very, very smug there, as well he might. This is the leader that made Labour electable again. This is the leader that made them a viable, alternative government. This is the man who swept Labour into Downing Street and power with two landslides of epic proportions. This is the leader that while fighting a poorly communicated, politically and publicly unpopular war, he still managed to stuff the Tories so much that even against the most unpopular Prime Minister in history, they still rely on the sandal wearing, muesli munching "...in the national interest" Liberals signing their own death warrants to prop them up.

But his success is not only measured electorally. This is the man that dragged Britain out of the doldrums and into the bright, shining uplands of the 21st Century. This is the man that reformed the NHS, investing in it as never before. This is the man that helped bring peace to Northern Ireland. This is the man that helped bring peace to Sierra Leone. This is the man that removed a murderous dictator. This is the man that frankly, realigned British politics so completely that the party of Thatcher are now led by the self described "...heir to Blair."

So what the hell is Sally Bercow, and people with attitudes like this, thinking?

SallyBercow

Night all. Labour tweeps - I ♥ you *all*#evenBlairites. And thx to #fangirls 4 the ♥ lesson#backtohashtagsinthemorningthough

Even Blairites? Oh, OK then, which #leader do you prefer then Sally love? Let us think about the Labour Party's electoral success pre and post Blair. Oh, yes. Harold Wilson? Remember him. Clem Atlee? Ramsey McDonald? Maybe Gordon Brown?

So tell me, do you support the reheated mishmash of policies we fought for last time out? Or maybe the electorally suicidal ones that led to our regular spankings by the Thatch? Keir knows its cool to bash Blair, but come on! Maybe you would prefer to be in opposition forever following wierdy, so called 'left wing' policies and those that advocate them.

Keir's feelings are difficult to sum up really. But ungrateful is one of them. Blairism is popular. Blairism is what got Labour elected, and Blairism is what will get Labour elected again.

While Keir is foaming at the mouth, this is the same sort of people that seem to think "add to the debate" is an essential part of a leadership contest (Yes I am fucking looking at you all you lemmings who endorsed Abbott and McDonnell)

To win, Labour needs to get real. Yes, it's cool to fantasise about your sexy next door neighbour with all her charms: nationalisation of the banks, unilateral nuclear disarmament and the advance of socialism. But fantasy's rarely turn out as good in the flesh. We need the solid, dependable wife. Capitalism with a human face, because that is what the people want, and that is what the country needs. The state blunting the excesses of the market and providing a social safety net.

This wasn't meant to be an endorsement for leader at all. But we don't need Ed Balls, Sally Bercow's chosen candidate. He is the singular most unpopular politician in the UK. We've tried this before, remember. ("But I've met him, he's a really nice guy")It doesn't work. The public don't like him. He's a busted flush.

As stated previously, we don't need to lurch leftwards either, and as much as I like him, we don't need a candidate who so far has only managed to formulate his appeal as being Northern. We need someone with the Everyman ability of Blair, and the only person that comes [very] remotely near to that is David Miliband.

A Day At The Hustings

Doesn't Andy Burnham look well shady in that photo?!

Anyway, Keir was in attendance at a Labour Leadership Hustings on a typically grey Sunday morning in lovely South Wales. In what was a fantastic turnout of, apparently, over 300 people, members put a range of questions to the leadership contenders.

My brief summary on each candidate, should you be interested, was as follows.

Dianne Abbott was actually really good and got a good response from the Welsh members (and non-Welsh apparently; two of the questions were from English constituents in areas where no hustings are being held). Her passion is clear, even if some of the things she has done and said aren't exactly consistent. What Abbott does have is her voting record, which is a particularly powerful tool in relation to the Iraq war vote. She rightly pointed out that voting against it at the time and constantly speaking out against it is much more noble than changing your mind now. Ed 'n Ed: take note. But other than that, she also does help the debate and makes it a bit wider. Her closing speech was good too.

Ed Balls was much of a muchness. I think his whole campaign has been. Balls is at his best as a street fighter; a guard dog. He will make up an important part of the Opposition front bench, but this man cannot lead the party. At one point he said that Blair and Brown sometimes didn't listen enough, indicating that he would move the party away from the 13 years in which we followed Michels' "iron law of oligarchy." Very doubtful.

The other Ed (you know, David's brother) seemed to start the debate very well, with members responding well to his ideas on how to re-structure the party. But he seemed to fade out. His closing speech was very good until he said, "I'll finish with a pledge...I will not leave the party behind". Didn't quite get that.

Andy Burnham, who has already earned himself the "dark horse" tag, seemed good enough. I admire Burnham's speaking ability and think he will be a hugely important asset for the party for many years. He also had some good things to say, not least when he spoke about the National Care Service which I, like he, believe will be the next major step in health care in this country. It is something I hope he really keeps working on. Burnham's answer to the question about his proudest moment was also quite good. He talked about the Hillsborough disaster and it was clearly something close to his heart. He got a loud cheer when he expressed his disgust about Jeremy Hunt's absurdly ill-advised comments recently. And an even louder one for his comments about selective education, where he said he opposed it with every bone in his body.

You know where this is going, right?

Abbott was good, Burnham was very good, even Balls ticked some of my boxes. But there was one clear difference between the aforementioned candidates and the fifth one. There was only one Prime Minister sitting before the gathered Welsh comrades. As Huw Irranca-Davies MP correctly pointed out afterwards, only one of the 5 candidates genuinely scares the Tories and Cameron. Only one has a proven record of passing innovative, sometimes radical, reforms. Only one of the candidates has started doing the things they say they will do already. Only one cares about the party and it's ideals so much that he is investing money into things that will benefit the party, whoever wins this election. Only one can combine his anger and passion with cutting, constructive argument. If David Miliband wins this leadership election, Labour will be back in power by 2015. Led by a man who knows that the machine is not more important than the movement, the renewal of the party could be such that the Conservatives again have to sit in the wings, trying to change their image and trying to capture the Holy Grail that is the centre-ground voters again. Labour does not have to change it's values or it's image. Our values, unlike those of the Conservatives, will always remain the same. But the restructuring of power in the party that is being carried out already by David Miliband will get Labour back to where it was as the party of the people and by the people. One dodgy joke aside, Miliband was the clear star of the show. At no point was this clearer than when he gave his foreign policy comments that cut through the populist and slightly inexperienced answers that his opponents gave. Having been asked a question about the Israel-Palestine situation, a few of the other candidates said that the answer lay in standing up to the USA when necessary. Miliband disagreed. The situation would only be sorted, he said, when the UK and others engage the whole Arab world in this problem. It was an answer of a man who understands the world.

LetUsFaceTheFuture

It's Time To Agitate Once More

This man is the future. Keir is supporting David Miliband in the Labour Party leadership election.

Not only does Miliband have worldwide credibility, a statesmanlike manner, incredible intelligence and a kind of dorky funniness, but his plans to fundamentally change the way the Labour Party works are an absolute necessity for the party going into the future. Community organising principles were used by Keir as this party began it's life to represent the under-represented. We must use them now for the same reasons and more. There is a civil society waiting to be awakened in a manner conducive to effective action. Bubbling beneath the surface of the level where the decisions get made is a lot of anger and worry and only these techniques and principles can help people form active resistance and create positive change.

David Miliband believes in this too. His dedication to ceding power and ending the days of top-down, centralised power in the party is admirable and worthy of Keir's vote. This dedication is not apparent in candidates such as Ed Balls and Andy Burnham who appear to be happy to stick with the organisational structure as we know it. Also admirable is his promise that those people educated in the community organising techniques as part of his Movement for Change will be passed on to the party should he lose this election. It is this commitment that leads Keir to believe that he really loves the party and, more importantly, all who the party exists to represent.

Bring on the ballot. After considering all of the candidates and more than flirting with some, Keir is proud to be an active part of David Miliband's Movement for Change and his bid to be leader of the Labour Party.

Leadership Roundup

The week of the State Opening of Parliament sees both Milibands safely on the ballot, with Ed Balls surely to join them pretty soon.

Andy Burnham seems becalmed in the teens, while Diane Abbot and John McDonnell have seemingly insurmountable obstacles to reaching 33. For the sake of credibility, Keir hopes that the NEC doesn't relax the rules on nominating numbers.

The second bit of good news for Ed Balls is that Mrs Balls has now nominated him. I'm sure dinner times are more relaxed...

Off the top of his head, Keir thinks there is about 110-120 MPs yet to nominate...

Leadership News

Four bits of news today:

1. Andy Burnham is in: Expected, it was heavily trailed last night. Keir used to be a fan but after reading his article in the Mirror, watching his interview on the Daily Politics, and looking at his odd website placeholder he is not so sure.
2. The nominations period has been extended to 9th June from 27th May, giving prospective candidates more chance to canvas the PLP. This move was supported by McDonnell, Milliband E and the unexpected candidate. Keir struggles to understand why such a tight time-scale was imposed in the first place.
3. Diane Abbott, Britain's first black female MP and Michael Portillo's best friend, has, surprisingly, also got involved. Like McDonnell she is in it for the 'debate'. Keir thinks there is a chance that she could split the anti-New Labour vote with McDonnell and keep them both off the ballot.
4. David Miliband is now up to 32 supporters in the PLP, so is the first candidate to be definitely on the ballot. (He needs one more, but Keir doubts that will be long in coming).

Oh, and look at Ed Balls list of supporters...anyone rather significant missing...?

More candidates

Sky is reporting that Ed Balls will announce that he intends to stand for the Labour leadership tomorrow. He has been added to the fancy new page detailing each declared candidates PLP support.

John McDonnell has seems to be proceeding as if he is going to stand, although Keir isn't sure whether calling the election 'discredited' is the best way to start on the way to the holy grail of 33 nominating MPs. (Especially when nobody really wants to vote for Michael Foot Mk2)

Mili's Message

Upon hearing Ed Miliband’s impassioned pitch for our support for his leadership bid, I was greatly and pleasantly surprised. This is a guy who I built up a lot of faith in pre-Copenhagen ’09, only to be disappointed and deflated by the eventual outcome. As a result, I felt Ed had blown his first chance of the political “big time”, though I wasn’t by any means judging him as anything other than the brilliant politician he remained. He then did a...well...decent job, with the manifesto. I must say, when I received my copy of “A Future Fair For All”, I was slightly disappointed with the style (compared to the Conservatives’ “Invitation To Join The Government Of Britain”, it was a poor design) but also with the content to a degree. It should have been bolder and it should have had a clearer direction and aim. In addition, big brother David Miliband was clearly becoming a well-respected politician on the world stage, with Hillary Clinton appearing to wish she could role-play with David in a Clinton-Lewinsky scenario.

When David stated his intention to run last week, I was fully behind him immediately. However, Ed’s speech to the Fabian Conference was what the enthusiasts could call a “game changer”. I had to admit to myself that since I began supporting the party, no message has struck such a chord with me. Ed’s message that we need to reconnect with our core and re-embrace our idealism is, for want of a less pathetic word, beautiful! As much as the media has tried to fix candidates into the Brownite-Blairite categories, Ed’s direction is clearly neither. The categories have been made redundant. After 13 years in government we don’t need major surgery, we just need to remember, as a party, what we stand for, who we stand for and how we work for people.

He also said things that we just need to accept. Immigration, he told us, is a class issue. That may sound odd, but those of us who campaigned in less affluent parts of the country during this campaign will understand totally. In addition, though I can’t remember the exact poll, an Angus Reid poll in the run up to the election showed that immigration was a more important issue to the lower social classes. Of course, it’s easier to say things like this now we’re back in Opposition, but they still need to be said.

The main thing, though, that resonated with me was how Ed said we need to involve everyone, more. Members, MPs, councillors, trade unions, Fabians and constituents; we all need to be in on the discussion about where we go from here. Now, I don’t know how he plans to do this. As one fellow blogger wrote recently, this could involve somehow making constituency parties a more attractive entity. The scope for communication with everyone the party seeks to serve and help and the means with which to do it are now immense; far, far greater than they were in 1997. It is only Labour that can utilise this ability to communicate with the masses to the advantage of all. Simply because Labour’s idealism, as it was in the days of Bevan and Attlee, is the only political idealism that is truly fair for everyone in this country.

My rash decision to back David Miliband may still be vindicated when he announces his full intentions and plans. But Ed Miliband has shown his hand in emphatic style and very few other candidates will be able to disagree with the main sentiment of his bid.

LetUsFaceTheFuture.