Left Watch

« The Left starts to create new fora for Lib-Lab co-operation | Main | What Labour's Yes to AV frontman really thinks about AV (Clue: He's against it) »

Keep an eye on the Alan Johnson-Ed Miliband tensions

by Paul Goodman

JOHNSON ALAN purple Alan Johnson is at it again.

In Labour's leadership election, he voted for David Miliband, not Ed.  The new Labour leader, worried about a Balls-Cooper power grab if either were made Shadow Chancellor, appointed Johnson instead.

Recently, he said that the 50p rate should be temporary, not permanent: the Labour leader thinks otherwise.

Today, Johnson's called for Labour to overhaul its leadership election rules - which gave Labour the leader he didn't want  - and break the grip of the unions by implementing one man/one vote.

The New Statesman is covering the twists and turns.  George Eaton writes -

"The problem for Ed is that he got dipped in the Gordon paint pot," says Blunkett. Clarke comments: "Ed Miliband is back to the comfort zone. I don't think he's 'Red Ed' particularly but he hasn't so far shown that he's into challenge." Of the above, Clarke and Milburn are, of course, no longer MPs. But the fear for Team Miliband is that they speak for a significant Blairite constituency in the party. As Dan Hodges reports in this week's magazine (out today), sections of the party remain in a state of unease and unrest following Miliband's repudiation of New Labour."

CCHQ is also on the case, tweeting out selected snippets from the Times, the New Stateman and elsewhere - see here, here, here, here, and here.

Comments