Friday, June 01, 2007

Lessons from the Deputy Leadership


If we needed another indication that our elected representatives are often a long way from the pulse of their own parties, never mind the nation, the current state of Labour's deputy leadership contest would seem to prove it! Having struggled to just get his 44 parliamentary nominations, thus entering the race very much as the straggler, it seems that Hilary Benn is now favourite to win, having secured the support of over 50 Labour constituency parties, including those of Gordon Brown, Jack Straw (Brown's campaign manager - tough call that), and Ed Balls (Brown's alter ego). What's more, Benn was one of only two candidates - the other being John Cruddas - to enter without being a Brown brown-nose. Benn commented that he would challenge Brown's policies where he thought they were wrong! Very different from the oleaginous and utterly sycophantic Peter Hain, whose campaign ran smoothly while it was confined to Westminster, but has now hit the rocks.

Sometimes I really like democracy.

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