Speaking this morning, Ed Miliband said that Len McCluskey “should be facing up to his responsibilities” and “should not be defending the machine politics involving bad practice and malpractice”:
“The Labour Party I lead will select its candidates in a fair and transparent way. We will act without fear or favour.
...husband, wives, sons and daughters of sitting Labour MPs will not be parachuted into safe seats...
More panto boo-hiss, its all an elaborate plan to make Ed look strong and Len is playing along - honest.
Peter Diapre @skybod Ed Miliband: 'Instead of defending what happened in Falkirk, Len McCluskey should be facing up to his responsibilities' #Falkirk #Unite
rEd looks as if he's starting a fight over who should run Unite. This could be fun.
More panto boo-hiss, its all an elaborate plan to make Ed look strong and Len is playing along - honest.
Peter Diapre @skybod Ed Miliband: 'Instead of defending what happened in Falkirk, Len McCluskey should be facing up to his responsibilities' #Falkirk #Unite
rEd looks as if he's starting a fight over who should run Unite. This could be fun.
Len gave EdM a lecture on how he should be running Labour, its selection processes and what the rules should be only yesterday - he clearly thinks he knows better when it comes to Labour due process.
CCHQ is having fun
PoliticsHome @politicshome .@nadhimzahawi tells @SkyNews voting UKIP means "you will get Ed Miliband or Len McCluskey running the country".
@oflynnexpress: EdMil on Unite resembles Michael Foot when he said Tatchell would be a candidate over his dead body and then Tatchell was the candidate
Is that an urban myth Scott? I'm sure you understand these tweets you copy so I guess you'll tell us. The phrase was a lot less catchy and there's some debate as to who it referred to.
"Foot denounced Tatchell, stating that he would not be endorsed as a candidate. Foot narrowly won a vote at the Labour Party National Executive Committee to deny Tatchell's endorsement." Foot later changed his mind. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Tatchell
So this morning's "balanced" article from Mr Manson named specific candidate problems in the Conservative party but only unspecific unnamed MPs when discussing Labour as in "One selection of a candidate for a by-election saw" and "Another controversial selection contest involved a candidate who is now an up and coming Labour shadow minister. " Why no names of the Labour MPs involved Mr Manson?
More panto boo-hiss, its all an elaborate plan to make Ed look strong and Len is playing along - honest. Peter Diapre @skybod Ed Miliband: 'Instead of defending what happened in Falkirk, Len McCluskey should be facing up to his responsibilities' #Falkirk #Unite
Amazing that Unite gets away with spending union money on behalf of an official's girlfriend.
The Labour/Unite row seems to be escalating. Speaking at a charity event in London this morning, Ed Miliband said that Len McCluskey, the Unite general secretary, should condemning "bad practice and malpractice" carried out by members of his union instead of defending it.
Here's the quote in full.
The Labour Party I lead will select its candidates in a fair and transparent way. We will act without fear or favour.
Instead of defending what happened in Falkirk, Len McCluskey should be facing up to his responsibilities. He should not be defending the machine politics involving bad practice and malpractice that went on there, he should be facing up to it.
It's wrong because we had members being signed up without their knowledge, bad practice, malpractice and frankly instead of defending that kind of thing Len McCluskey should be condemning it.
Let nobody be in any doubt, there is only going to be one outcome to this: the Labour Party will act in a way that upholds the integrity of our party, the integrity of our party members and the integrity of ordinary trade union members.
I will not allow the good name of the Labour Party to be undermined by the behaviour of a few individuals.
Carole Erskine @CaroleErskine Former chairman & treasurer of Scottish Labour Party tells @Ed_Miliband to 'put up or shut up' in row over Falkirk candidate selection
Rather disturbing that all these euroseptic MP on all sides of the HoC feel they need to abrogate their responsibilities and pass the parcel back to the punters.
As someone who does not favour any referendum, save for nation building, I consider that MP's should have their salary docked by 25% for every referendum they vote for !!
Ed Miliband cranking up the rhetoric against McCluskey now.
Too late to back down. Will the PB Tories be proven right in claiming he's weak, or will Mike Smithson be proven right that in claiming that while Cameron caves in to his right wing Ed stands up to his damaging elements.
Stay tuned.
I hope he takes McCluskey down. I really do.
My antipathy in politics is towards the unions, not Labour per se. I also have antipathy towards secrecy and tribalism and bullying and repression of alternative ideas (see the career of Gordon Brown).
But If Ed Miliband can squash McCluskey I will a) be impressed with him and b) consider Ed Miliband a far more attractive option that he currently is.
The problem is, my view will probably not be indicative of the view of around 60% of people who support Labour. So Ed Miliband needs to tread carefully.
Also, vis a vis Cameron's supposed weakness as to how he deals with the right of his party. There is a UKIP-sized black hole around which he needs to tread. Ed Miliband has no such growing party to his left. He is much freer to move and act.
Ed Miliband cranking up the rhetoric against McCluskey now.
Too late to back down. Will the PB Tories be proven right in claiming he's weak, or will Mike Smithson be proven right that in claiming that while Cameron caves in to his right wing Ed stands up to his damaging elements.
Stay tuned.
You're right for once lets stay tuned:
If Ed cancels formal relations with McCluskey's organisation and stops taking cash then that'd be a very strong statement.
About as likely as hell freezing over thoguh. Ed will be measly mouthed but Unite will remain in control.
I had a call earlier today from a broadsheet out of the blue, asking if I was worried about unions stitching me up. I said no, everything's fine, thanks for your concern. :-)
Isn't it a bit early to be sure of that?
I see this chap is making a strong effort in Broxtowe:
I don't know whether there's any stitching, though.
Which one is the Unite candidate ?
Well, I could do a Mastermind specialist subject on the Broxtowe selection process, and it's fine. Nick McDonald is a GMB member and an interesting candidate. There are a number of other good candidates too. It's a nice, clean, stitch-free fight. I'm hopeful of the result, but I'd rather not anticipate it.
Sarah Wollaston again showing why Cameron abandoned his pledge to fund open primaries.
Sarah Wollaston MP @drwollastonmp 'Would I like to grab the PM in a corridor to discuss'? No, because that would be an insult to the 700,000 children living with alcoholic
Sarah Wollaston MP @drwollastonmp Since when was 'Grabbing a chat with the PM' in a corridor on minimum pricing a decent response to a promise 3+ months ago at PMQs?
Sarah Wollaston MP @drwollastonmp Struck by the contrast, that meeting would have been in the corridor after a whole hour with Lynton Crosby. I don't think so
Seems Dr Wollaston believes "As a Father" Dave is trumped by Lynton Crosby's lobbying interests.
I see Labour are now getting failed PPC's and C-list comedians to send emails about the NHS. Who next? Shep the Dog?
It's a shame that John O'Farrell - like almost the entirety of Labour - are unwilling to admit what a mess they made of some parts of the NHS.
If Stafford, Furness et al are a result of Labour loving the NHS, perhaps they should love it a little less. They are like a caring mother totally unwilling to admit that their child has gone off the rails.
Ed Miliband cranking up the rhetoric against McCluskey now.
Too late to back down. Will the PB Tories be proven right in claiming he's weak, or will Mike Smithson be proven right that in claiming that while Cameron caves in to his right wing Ed stands up to his damaging elements.
Stay tuned.
Well, he's hardly going to say, "you know what, I think Len is right on this one", is he?
Had Ed taken a robust stance weeks ago, and denounced this entryism before the Tories homed on on it, then a modest comparison with Kinnock and Militant in 1984 might possibly be made.
But he is being forced to respond, particularly after Watson's resignation, and that makes a big difference in shaping the political weather.
By the way, why is McCluskey a Labour Party member at all? Mustn't be libellous and all that, but isn't he just like the sort who Kinnock rightly threw out? Heck, if Ed did THAT, I might begin to revise my position!
Hear hear for my MP... came to another recent school do and despite all these expense claims, he doesn't half get around his constituency too, even better, he does it sans Mrs B.
Ed Miliband cranking up the rhetoric against McCluskey now.
Too late to back down...?
Will the PB Tories be proven right in claiming he's [possesive] he is weak, * or will Mike Smithson be proven right that - in claiming that while whilst Cameron caves in to his right-wing - Ed stands up to his damaging elements. * ? **
Stay tuned....
And you have the cheek to pontificate on Education! Such poor grammer and diction explains why Labour have fecked-up edification.
:nananah-nananah-nananah-twatman:
* "Dipthong...?" ** Parser appears to be shyte. Ok: <s> tags do not parse punctuation. Need to use <strike> tags instead. [Lesson learnt....]
The second is Luciana Berger in Wavertree. The first can be Rotherham. The excluded candidate would be Richard Burgon (who was on Barnsley Central shortlist)
So instead of dealing with crime the police in Falkirk are going to have to spend their precious resources on dealing with a spat between Labour and Unite.
From Unite's political report...candidates they supported (in some cases along with other Unions) in recent selections:
Lewisham Deptford: Vicky Foxcroft SELECTED Hornsey & Wood Green: Catherine West SELECTED Bermondsey & Old Southwark: Gavin Edwards (Unison/Unite) DEFEATED (4th place) Enfield North: Annajoy David DEFEATED
Bury North: Jane Lewis DEFEATED City of Chester: Chris Matheson SELECTED Manchester Withington: Angela Rayner (Unison) DEFEATED Warrington South: Sharon Connor DEFEATED Weaver Vale: Rebecca Long Bailey DEFEATED (third place) Wirral West: Christine Spriggs DEFEATED
Bristol South: Amanda Ramsay DEFEATED Plymouth Sutton and Devenport: Luke Pollard (GMB) SELECTED
Birmingham Yardley: Eleonor Smith (Unison) DEFEATED Halesowen and co: Stephanie Peacock (GMB/Unite) SELECTED North Warwickshire: Mike O'Brian SELECTED Wolverhampton SW: Rob Marris SELECTED
Sheffield Hallam: Martin Mayer DEFEATED
For selection currently taking place, they are backing:
Ilford North: Mike Hedges Finchley: Alan Or Bach Brent Central: Kate Osamor Lancaster: Cath Smith Burnley: Julie Cooper Pendle: Azhar Ali Blackpool North: Chris Webb (CWU/Unite) Kingswood: Rowenna Hayward (GMB) Stourbridge: Pete Lowe (Unison/Unite) Dudley South: Natasha Milward (Unison/Unite) Sherwood: Lachlan Morrison (UCATT) Amber Valley: Julia Long Cleethorpes: Ian Grant Pudsey: Jamie Hanley Elmet and Rothwell: Veronica King Dewsbury: Paula Sheriff (GMB) Dumfriesshire: Archie Bryburgh East Dunbartonshire: Alan Moir (ASLEF) Falkirk: Karie Murphy Cardiff Central: Jo Stevens (GMB)
I can add that they have nominated Sheila Boswell in Battarsea.
Hague really took the pi$$ out of labours position over a EU referendum in the commons,where was weak ed to tell us labours position on this,what we got was weak labour all over the place on a Eu referendum in the commons.
So summarising your position you want to selectively put someone else's house in order first before addressing your own issues.
The Labour Party's issue aren't "my issues" in any way, shape or form. I'm just left-wing and tired of seeing Conservative get a free pass while giving endless negative coverage to Labour.
I'm never sure who these rich people you want to pursue are. It seems like a carry over fron the last century. Millionaires are as likely to be card carrying Labourites these days as cliched tory bosses. The left hasn't got its head staight on who the rich are and why Labour is the establishment as much as anyone else, perhaps moreso.
If you want to personalise an issue like corporation tax then you focus on wealthy shareholders who are benefitting from a 5% corporation tax cut. I don't see how it's wrong to point out the direct beneficiaries which certainly won't be the ordinary man on the street. It doesn't matter whether they are Labour, Conservative, Lib Dem, UKIP, Green or Raving Loony. Stop being such a blind partisan.
The idea of the rich thriving and the poor struggling isn't in any way a "last century" issue. Inequality is rampant and social mobility doesn't happen. If you grow up in poverty then statistically you will die in poverty.
since most FTSE shareholders are institutional ie pension and investment funds a 5% tax cut goes to ordinary people. But I suppose you're against that.
since most FTSE shareholders are institutional ie pension and investment funds a 5% tax cut goes to ordinary people. But I suppose you're against that.
Are public sector pension funds dependent on FTSE returns? I thought they weren't.
It depends on the definition of ordinary people. For some, the public servants are ordinary people, other people aren't.
Comments
Oh, wait...
CCHQ is having fun
PoliticsHome @politicshome
.@nadhimzahawi tells @SkyNews voting UKIP means "you will get Ed Miliband or Len McCluskey running the country".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Tatchell
Why no names of the Labour MPs involved Mr Manson?
The Labour/Unite row seems to be escalating. Speaking at a charity event in London this morning, Ed Miliband said that Len McCluskey, the Unite general secretary, should condemning "bad practice and malpractice" carried out by members of his union instead of defending it.
Here's the quote in full.
The Labour Party I lead will select its candidates in a fair and transparent way. We will act without fear or favour.
Instead of defending what happened in Falkirk, Len McCluskey should be facing up to his responsibilities. He should not be defending the machine politics involving bad practice and malpractice that went on there, he should be facing up to it.
It's wrong because we had members being signed up without their knowledge, bad practice, malpractice and frankly instead of defending that kind of thing Len McCluskey should be condemning it.
Let nobody be in any doubt, there is only going to be one outcome to this: the Labour Party will act in a way that upholds the integrity of our party, the integrity of our party members and the integrity of ordinary trade union members.
I will not allow the good name of the Labour Party to be undermined by the behaviour of a few individuals.
Carole Erskine @CaroleErskine
Former chairman & treasurer of Scottish Labour Party tells @Ed_Miliband to 'put up or shut up' in row over Falkirk candidate selection
@Sun_Politics: Labour civil war deepens as @Ed_Miliband accuses @Unite4Len of "defending malpractice" over the Falkirk candidate selection row.
http://order-order.com/2013/07/05/watch-hagues-highlights/
As someone who does not favour any referendum, save for nation building, I consider that MP's should have their salary docked by 25% for every referendum they vote for !!
My antipathy in politics is towards the unions, not Labour per se. I also have antipathy towards secrecy and tribalism and bullying and repression of alternative ideas (see the career of Gordon Brown).
But If Ed Miliband can squash McCluskey I will a) be impressed with him and b) consider Ed Miliband a far more attractive option that he currently is.
The problem is, my view will probably not be indicative of the view of around 60% of people who support Labour. So Ed Miliband needs to tread carefully.
Also, vis a vis Cameron's supposed weakness as to how he deals with the right of his party. There is a UKIP-sized black hole around which he needs to tread. Ed Miliband has no such growing party to his left. He is much freer to move and act.
If Ed cancels formal relations with McCluskey's organisation and stops taking cash then that'd be a very strong statement.
About as likely as hell freezing over thoguh. Ed will be measly mouthed but Unite will remain in control.
He who pays the piper calls the tunes.
It's a shame that John O'Farrell - like almost the entirety of Labour - are unwilling to admit what a mess they made of some parts of the NHS.
If Stafford, Furness et al are a result of Labour loving the NHS, perhaps they should love it a little less. They are like a caring mother totally unwilling to admit that their child has gone off the rails.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/07/05/lib-dems-baroness-williams-tables-opposite-sex-marriage-amendment-to-equal-marriage-bill/
Had Ed taken a robust stance weeks ago, and denounced this entryism before the Tories homed on on it, then a modest comparison with Kinnock and Militant in 1984 might possibly be made.
But he is being forced to respond, particularly after Watson's resignation, and that makes a big difference in shaping the political weather.
By the way, why is McCluskey a Labour Party member at all? Mustn't be libellous and all that, but isn't he just like the sort who Kinnock rightly threw out? Heck, if Ed did THAT, I might begin to revise my position!
@joeyjonessky
labour referring falkirk report to the police. goodness
Video: Miliband said McCluskey's claims that the trade union was the victim of a "smear campaign" was "nonsense" itv.co/14PYGAy
Joey Jones @joeyjonessky
labour referring falkirk report to the police. goodness
Weeny, Weedy, Weaky.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/douglascarswellmp/100224584/john-bercow-is-not-biased-and-its-a-myth-that-hes-loathed-on-the-tory-back-benches/
:nananah-nananah-nananah-twatman:
* "Dipthong...?"
** Parser appears to be shyte. Ok: <s> tags do not parse punctuation. Need to use <strike> tags instead. [Lesson learnt....]
The second is Luciana Berger in Wavertree. The first can be Rotherham. The excluded candidate would be Richard Burgon (who was on Barnsley Central shortlist)
Yet Tim assured us on the 2nd july that "The story, like Len, is overblown."
Can we no longer rely on farmer tim to be the purveyor of truth about Labour?
Lewisham Deptford: Vicky Foxcroft SELECTED
Hornsey & Wood Green: Catherine West SELECTED
Bermondsey & Old Southwark: Gavin Edwards (Unison/Unite) DEFEATED (4th place)
Enfield North: Annajoy David DEFEATED
Bury North: Jane Lewis DEFEATED
City of Chester: Chris Matheson SELECTED
Manchester Withington: Angela Rayner (Unison) DEFEATED
Warrington South: Sharon Connor DEFEATED
Weaver Vale: Rebecca Long Bailey DEFEATED (third place)
Wirral West: Christine Spriggs DEFEATED
Brighton Kemptwon: Nancy Platts (Unite/TSSA) SELECTED
Hove: Simon Burgess (GMB) DEFEATED
Bristol South: Amanda Ramsay DEFEATED
Plymouth Sutton and Devenport: Luke Pollard (GMB) SELECTED
Birmingham Yardley: Eleonor Smith (Unison) DEFEATED
Halesowen and co: Stephanie Peacock (GMB/Unite) SELECTED
North Warwickshire: Mike O'Brian SELECTED
Wolverhampton SW: Rob Marris SELECTED
Sheffield Hallam: Martin Mayer DEFEATED
For selection currently taking place, they are backing:
Ilford North: Mike Hedges
Finchley: Alan Or Bach
Brent Central: Kate Osamor
Lancaster: Cath Smith
Burnley: Julie Cooper
Pendle: Azhar Ali
Blackpool North: Chris Webb (CWU/Unite)
Kingswood: Rowenna Hayward (GMB)
Stourbridge: Pete Lowe (Unison/Unite)
Dudley South: Natasha Milward (Unison/Unite)
Sherwood: Lachlan Morrison (UCATT)
Amber Valley: Julia Long
Cleethorpes: Ian Grant
Pudsey: Jamie Hanley
Elmet and Rothwell: Veronica King
Dewsbury: Paula Sheriff (GMB)
Dumfriesshire: Archie Bryburgh
East Dunbartonshire: Alan Moir (ASLEF)
Falkirk: Karie Murphy
Cardiff Central: Jo Stevens (GMB)
I can add that they have nominated Sheila Boswell in Battarsea.
Weak,weak,weak.
The idea of the rich thriving and the poor struggling isn't in any way a "last century" issue. Inequality is rampant and social mobility doesn't happen. If you grow up in poverty then statistically you will die in poverty.
since most FTSE shareholders are institutional ie pension and investment funds a 5% tax cut goes to ordinary people. But I suppose you're against that.
It depends on the definition of ordinary people. For some, the public servants are ordinary people, other people aren't.