Labour Leadership watch

I don't think it is surprising that there have been complications with this election but nor do I think it should stop us following a system similar to the American Primaries which is what was intended with the LP election. You may find this interesting sunseeker

There are two main types of primaries, closed or open, that determine who is eligible to vote in the primary. In a closed primary a registered voter may vote only in the election for the party with which that voter is affiliated. For example a voter registered as Democratic can vote only in the Democratic primary and a Republican can vote only in the Republican primary. In an open primary, on the other hand, a registered voter can vote in either primary regardless of party membership. The voter cannot, however, participate in more than one primary. A third less common type of primary, the blanket primary, allows registered voters to participate in all primaries.

With some types of primaries we would have to get used to registering either as a voter (many don't) or as a party affiliate. Interesting

I doubt this will be true Sunseeker.Also they are not revoking any rights to vote from new Labour Party Members, but investigating anyone who is paying just the £3, to see if they have been members of other parties.Of course, that doesn't stop most of us [ non Labour voters] from doing this, if we have never actually been a paid up member of a party.So there will be all kinds of people voting in it.

I can't say I agree with Jeremy Corbyn's views but I was concerned to hear on local radio this morning that a long term member of the Labour party has been "kicked out" (his words). He said he also knew of trade union members who had also been told they are no longer welcome in the Labour party and he is convinced it is because they have voted for Jeremy Corbyn. IF this is true then it does raise concerns as to the Labour Party's commitment to democracy. I fully agree with them discounting the votes of those who only joined recently but they are hopefully not doing this to long term members.

only ones that enjoy eating their own cooking!

Do all good cooks look the same?

haha!

He looks like he would be!

I have a vague recollection of an article I read a few years ago by someone who had dined chez Cooper/Balls.

Apparently this person jokingly remarked to one of the children wondering what they thought of their daddy becoming Prime Minister one day. The child answered 'oh, no, it's Mummy who is going to be Prime Minister'!

when the leadership campaign started Yvette was asked how she would manage being leader and have a home and family question from a dinosaur!
I understand that Ed is a very good cook.

I am sure they do NotToOld

Ooh, Anniebach, I entirely take your point re Yvette and Ed and economics. Of course a woman should be taken seriously in her own right. I only meant that I bet they discuss economics over their cornflakes.

This is interesting.

www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/michael-chessum/great-labour-purge-is-underway

I wonder how many "stars" there are.

With you Iam64

I've seen YC speak at the hustings and also at local Labour party meetings in recent weeks. I've warmed to her personally and also (surprisingly to me) to her political comments. I think I've mentioned on previous posts how much I've enjoyed seeing the 4 candidates deliver their own speech, then answer questions from a very mixed audience. I don't feel the news channels have reflected the reality of these various meetings accurately, which I suppose ought not to surprise me. Liz Kendal, as Annibach says, is only 5 years an MP and has honestly appeared out of her depth at times. Despite that, I've admired her courage and determination to get her message across.

Andy Burnham is likeable, his constituency is an area I worked for 15 years, it's deprived and struggling and he is well liked and trusted there. This means I'll forgive him (a bit ) for the way he seems to flip between positions on various issues.

Jeremy Corbyn has won the most applause and warmth at every event I've attended. I'm not convinced this means he's a shoe in as leader, but if he wins I'll support him.

This leadership campaign has helped me to feel glad I stayed with the Labour party, and to sincerely wish that the next leader enables the party of be an effective opposition to what I see as a cold and cruel government. Winning the next election would be a wonder to behold

Given that women are roughly 50% of the population I think a lot of people are of the opinion that it's about time a woman was elected as leader or deputy leader. I can't see what the problem is with saying that. I agree with her but, for me anyway, a person's beliefs and proposed policies take precedence over their gender or race.

YC certainly disagreed with JC's ideas but then there were lots of disagreements going on during that discussion. To say that she "squared up" to him is using the sort of combative language that the media is fond of.

When it comes to PMQ then Cameron would have a problem with Yvette, he is too fond of patronising women

She was right saying what she did about two white males, it may cost votes from men who refer to - the wife. She just put women on an equal footing

She didn't do herself any favours saying the Labour Party should not be run by 'two, white males', could have lost her a few votes.

I liked the way she squared up to Corbyn on channel 4 last night and I viewed her as weak but she showed a little bottle.

I agree with Anniebach's comment asking why, when YC is referred to, her husband should also be mentioned - especially when it is implied that her knowledge, education and experience is inferior to that of Ed Balls.

YC attended a comprehensive school. She won a place at Balliol, Oxford where she obtained a First Class Hons. degree. She won a scholarship to Harvard and has an MsC in Economics. She has worked in politics in the USA for Bill Clinton as well as in the UK.

Ed Balls' also went to Oxford, obtained a First Class Degree and went to Harvard. His early career was in journalism and then he moved to politics. He was educated privately.

Whether one thinks that this sort of largely academic/research/advisory experience (which seems to be the norm these days for most cabinet and shadow cabinet members) is altogether desirable (personally, I think a bit more experience of the world outside academia/politics might be helpful), YC's credentials are just as impressive as her husband's and, some might think, more impressive.

I don't support YC's political stance or her bid for the Labour leadership but she appears to me to be able to argue her case in a reasoned way without maligning the motives and character of people with whom she disagrees.

The Green party lacks political power, perhaps those who tried to vote for Jeremy felt that they could work with him and justified by their common aims. I wonder if it will be discussed at their conference this month.

Iam, will it ever change? George Clooneys wife was interviewed yesterday , a brilliant lawyer, but her husband had to be brought into the interview and the interviewer was a woman, grrrrrrr.

Liz Kendell will be first out, she has only been an MP for five years , not long enough .

Thanks Anniebach for making the point about Yvette Cooper being said to be good at economics because she's married to Ed Balls. I don't see Liz Kendal as a possible leader, she doesn't have the presentation or the experience. It's interesting (!) to see words like 'harridan" used to described an experienced politician like Yvette Cooper and the two male contenders seen as more likely leaders despite the difference in their views.

That's odd, durhamjen. I've only seen the figure of 1,900 quoted. Has it gone up since then?

The number of Green Party members that got weeded out seems to go up every time.
I am more pleased that the Tory union members do not get to take part in the block vote as they used to before Miliband changed it.

I did say "fairly" united - at least they didn't attack eachother which can sometimes happen.
I voted by email on Sunday, for Leader, Deputy Leader and ?2 other internal posts.

Again Yvette is spoken of as a wife, I refer to NotTooOld's comment that she is good on economics perhaps because of Ed. Why ? If Andy's wife was a nurse would he be interested in the NHS perhaps because of his wife? Is Osbourne's wife an economist ? Why can married women not be accepted as a person in her own right, when the leadership campaign started Yvette was asked how she would manage being leader and have a home and family