The DM/AJ4PM/LO committee may have to renamed at the end of next week. Meanwhile, rumours have stared circulating about what may happen once Gordon Brown makes his intentions clear. First out of the traps comes Iain Martin's take on what may happen:
I hear the name of Alistair Darling being mentioned increasingly as the interim option.Whan considering any speculation, it worth keeping in mind the rules of the Labour party:
When there is a vacancy, if, for example, the leader resigns or becomes incapacitated.As discussed earlier:
When this happens, the Cabinet can liaise with Labour's administrative body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), on whether to appoint an interim leaderuntil the next annual conference.
This person does not necessarily have to be the party's current deputy leader.
However, if the party is in opposition, the deputy leader will automatically "act up" and the NEC will decide whether to hold an immediate ballot or to wait until the next party conference to do so.
The dear old Labour party has to keep the show on the road, stay united and hope that their core vote doesn't collapse. A lack of discipline from within the ranks before the polls close will just make matters worse for the exhausted comrades. How the party conducts itself next Friday depends on whether Ed Balls holds his seat.Enough said, for now.
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The rules say HH, but she would be a disaster. She is no Margaret Beckett.
ReplyDeleteDarling is too associated with the current economic policies. Labour need to be a constructive opposition, not oppose everything the Tories do based on the current policies. Also, Darling is a good technocrat, but is he a people person or a leader? The interim leader will need lots of people skills to keep the party from disintegrating.
Why is Jack Straw being ruled out?
AJ would be a great interim leader, but if he wanted to enter the leadership competition he would have to rule himself out. The new leader should focus on building a vision for the future, not on fire fighting in the present.
More interesting question: who would be shadow chancellor? If he manages to stay around Balls would be the logical choice given his background. Scary thought.
Forget AJ4ILO (interim Leader of the Opposition). He should be shadow chancellor so he is high profile and gets to show off his communication and leadership skills.
Time to form the AJ4SC committee?
Jack Straw is ruled out because he will lose his seat.
ReplyDeleteMartin is talking nonsense. The rules are clear. In any case, I know Darling will not stand.