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A day in the race: September 10th

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk As the candidates head towards the penultimate weekend of GOTV, today was a quieter day in the race. As the Co-op Party are guest editing LabourList this weekend, "In the race" will also be taking a brief hiatus, before returning for the final race to the finishing line on Monday. DAVID MILIBAND picked up more endorsements, and the support of another MP today. 105 former PPCs wrote an open letter in support of David, saying: "We...
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On the road with Andy Burnham

The Times went behind the scenes with Andy Burnham on his Battle Bus - this is what they found:  ...
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Labour PPCs issue letter of endorsement for David Miliband

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk Over one hundred Labour PPCs have issued an open letter declaring support for David Miliband. The former candidates write: "We recognise that historically following a General Election loss our party has languished in opposition for a number of years, unable to effect the changes our country needed.  We therefore feel strongly that we must elect a leader who can buck this trend, reconnect Labour with voters and lead us to victory at the next election."...
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Candidates asked, "Will you fuse civil partnerships and marriage?"

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A day in the race: September 9th

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk Today has been mostly spent in the South West, as the candidates campaigned in the Exeter by-election, and prepared for the Labour in the World hustings in Bristol this evening. ED BALLS and team were up early this morning after a late-night drive to the South West. By all accounts Lord Jim Knight, the driver for the journey, has a someone what 1980s musical taste. First up today Ed was at Bodmin Town Hall for a...
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Lessons from the leadership election: Taking stock

By Joe Caluori / @Croslandite As the ballot papers plop through letter boxes, it’s worth taking stock in what we’ve learned through this leadership election. Firstly, the right of the party have to work harder than ever for victories now. David Miliband, unlike Alan Johnson, has actually run a campaign rather than merely turn up to the hustings and have a website. His hyperactivity and profile speaks to his strategic need to establish an unassailable first round lead. Despite early...
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Labour needs to demonstrate that it is a party worth returning to

By Daniel Blaney It is easy to dismiss schemes such as Vote Match. A familiar response from people inclined to vote for another candidate is that they find their policy preferences match with the platform of Diane Abbott, the candidate some people are most keen to dismiss - most generously as an irrelevance but at worse as some dangerous possibility. The strongest argument against initiatives like Vote Match is that policy preferences alone are not the only thing to consider...
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The candidates’ commitment to a fully-funded Women’s Conference will build a stronger Party

By Kathryn Perera / @kathrynperera At last night’s Labour leadership hustings (organised by the Fabian Women’s Network and the Lead4Women campaign), we asked the candidates:  “Will you commit to restoring a full funded annual Labour Party Women’s Conference with policy making powers?” David, Ed, Diane and Ed all gave their express support to the proposal (Andy didn’t say ‘no’, but didn’t cover the point in his response – perhaps he’ll clarify his position for us today). This is great news....
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Candidates asked, "Where do you think the axe should fall?"

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The next Labour leader needs to think big, red and green

By Melanie Smallman Today the environment will be in the Labour Leadership spotlight when SERA co-hosts the “Labour in the World’ hustings in Bristol. Given the immediate impact that the coalition government’s public sector cuts will have, particularly on the most vulnerable, it is perhaps easy to see why green issues haven’t featured that highly in the leadership contest so far. But if Labour wants to continue to stand up for the issues that matter to ordinary people, and if...
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Unions spend half a million on 'Red Miliband': 8 in the morning, September 9th

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk * The Sun reports on the level of union spending on Ed Miliband - although they have included the cost of posting ballot papers... * Gender equality plan shelved, as PLP votes to retain say over shadow cabinet. * Iain Martin in the WSJ says that shadow cabinet elections will "reintroduce an element of fun". * A North-South divide is emerging in shop closures. * Left Foot Forward on a London version of the "Tea...
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A day in the race: September 8th

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk Tonight all of the candidates were at the Fabian Women's hustings, which by all accounts were well attended. Today there was an important vote within the PLP - but what have the candidates been up to on the day the Fabian's Sunder Katwala declared the race over...? DAVID MILIBAND today unveiled his "five point plan for greater gender equality": "1. Actively promote job sharing among shadow ministers – for both men and women. 2. Supporting the...
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The shadow cabinet should be elected, not selected

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk Today the PLP have a real choice to make that could prove just as important for the party as the leadership election. As they vote on proposals to alter the way in which the shadow cabinet is chosen, the PLP will ultimately be choosing between a democratic and plural system, or increased levels of top-down patronage within the party. For the party to flourish in opposition, the PLP should choose the former. The current system,...
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They think it's all over... (and really, they're right)

By Sunder Katwala / @nextleft So that was the Labour leadership election, 2010. As the deadline for new members to join and get a vote ticks past as I blog, the campaign is pretty much over. In an echo of Labour's great 1945 landslide, most of what now remains is a three-week wait for the results. Sure, votes can be cast for another fortnight. Not all of the ballot papers have reached everybody yet. I've had my Fabian ballot -...
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Candidates asked "Aren't you out of step with public opinion on Trident?"

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Ed Miliband 'appeals to Labour's lost voters': 8 in the morning - September 8th

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk * Ed Miliband appeals to Labour's lost voters, says pollster Deborah Mattinson. * Ed Balls says he wants to escape the "manipulated view" of what he has done in the past. * Today the party votes on the system that will choose the next shadow cabinet. * The party will also consider proposals to reserve a proportion of the cabinet for women. * Arch-conservative Simon Heffer says Labour must eat humble pie. * TUC head...
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A day in the race: September 7th

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk Get out the vote drives are continuing, as all of the leadership candidates do their best to get their supporters voting, and get new members signed up to the party by tomorrow so that they can vote in the contest. There have also been numerous replies published to Danny Alexander's letter to the leadership candidates on cuts. DIANE ABBOTT sent out an email to supporters this evening, but the contents have your correspondent baffled. The email,...
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BBC's leadership election trailer

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Candidates asked: "Which coalition policy would you like to repeal the most?"

The latest question the candidates face from Yoosk is "If you became Prime Minister, which coalition policy would you like to repeal the most?"...
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Change is all the rage

By Darrell Goodliffe As the last, desperate, scramble for precious votes in the leadership contest gets underway there is one thing that is quite striking; every candidate wants to be the change candidate. I would bet change is the most overused and probably abused concept in this leadership election. David Miliband has his Movement for Change; Ed Miliband talks of changing to win; Ed Balls wants to move on from the ‘soap opera’; Andy Burnham is aspirationally opposed to elites...
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