Best Of

Considerable arguements against each of them, though.

Mahmood is an effective communicator, but do Labour MPs or members like what she communicates?

Rayner has done a bit of wilderness time, but is it enough?

And Streeting... is Streeting.

On the other hand, someone has to do the job. Which was basically the argument for Sunak and Starmer, and look how they turned out.

Mahmood is an Asian woman.

Labour likes white men as leader.

Sad to say, even a woman would be a breakthrough for Labour.

Here's a thing, though.

Until very recently, "experience in one of the Great Offices" was pretty much the first line in the Person Spec to be a mid-term replacement PM.

On the basis, the shortlist ought to be Cooper, Lammy, Reeves, Mahmood, Rayner at a pinch. Not even Reeves can imagine that she has a chance, but it's striking that neither Cooper or Lammy are mentioned. Not necessarily shocking, but striking.

But paraphrasing a fictional Chief Whip, who is up to the job? You can never tell, unless you suck it and see.

lol

https://x.com/gelliottmorris/status/2015483391957668155?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q

Where’s the Game of Thrones link ?

I never watched it so wouldn’t know it.

Opening line

'Whilst the blocking of Andy Burnham has the reek of desperation it was a political penectomy on Andy Burnham'

Possibly you were characteristically being too subtle there.

Anyhoo, you've all missed the obvious.

This thread is a thread about the superiority of the alternative vote to first past the post.

For elections to single positions, yes.

For parliamentary elections, d'Hondt get me started...

If Burnham was telling the truth about his reasons for wanting to return to parliament then he could achieve the same by running as an independent. Its clear therefore that his motivation was that he thought he could be PM.

As to who benefits from the whole fiasco - I'm not sure that the trio mentioned in the header are the gainers. I think its more likely now that a candidate who is seen as above the squabbles will emerge. (Although admittedly I don't see them actually being able to get enough momentum in the end)

We know Burnham didn't do well when standing against Corbyn but if you look at the options Labour are going to be presenting he would have stood a decent chance - because the current optionds are woeful.

Burnham has moved on to portraying himself as a victim.

Like someone who suffers burns while throwing a petrol bomb.

Lowe at 16/1 and Corbyn at 25/1 are both ridiculously short, but I guess the return from laying them is pretty small for what might be a long wait.

The way Betfair works, there isn't a logical reason why anyone would want to be on the other side of long odds lays, since you have to deposit cash upfront to cover the potential losses. So the offered odds are governed as much by interest rates as by probability.