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A report from inside last night’s Labour leadership hustings

Candidates offer different visions to MPs.

The unmissable Labour Uncut website, run by Siôn Simon, has an interesting insider report from last night's Parliamentary Labour Party leadership hustings that goes further than the various quotes and tweets that followed it.

A few bits stand out:

What would you bring to being PM?

David Miliband: Know what has to be achieved. Discipline, promise and definition.

Diane Abbott: We have to get the policy right and communicate it better.

Ed Balls: I will bring judgement and courage, strength, and resilience to the heat from the Tory press. I talk a language people understand.

Andy Burnham: Unify people. Good judgement important when instincts take over. Ability to inspire people.

Ed Miliband: Values. We went wrong when we spoke the language of technocrats. Empathy.

John McDonnell: Shared life experience. Need for a new form of political activism which is not driven from the centre.

Some will note Ed Miliband's answer, in particular.

Asked about immigration, David Miliband offered the boldest and most positive answer:

David Miliband: Use right tone. We got it wrong on fairness in housing allocation and supply. If you want a leader who wants a Dutch auction on immigration or Europe, don't vote for me. Britain is better because of immigration.

That reminds me of when Tony Blair said of William Hague: "Asylum: we've got a problem. But ask me to exploit it in terms of race then vote for the other man -- I will not do it."

Asked what were the toughest and the most unpopular political decisions they'd had to make, Ed Miliband confirmed that standing against his brother was the "toughest" decision he had made.

John McDonnell: Voting against the government because of my principled positions.

Diane Abbott: Sending my son to the City of London School. I put the child first.

David Miliband: Actually, sometimes the toughest thing was voting for the government [got a big laugh]. And the Iraq war. I've read the Blix report and I'd make same decision now as then.

Ed Balls: The toughest was waiting the two weeks for the independent report into Haringey children's services while David Cameron talked about Baby P. The most unpopular were the decisions on the systematic abuse of admissions to faith schools.

Andy Burnham: The toughest was Iraq and most unpopular was the privatisation of NHS logistics.

Ed Miliband: Toughest was standing against brother, but I wanted the widest choice. Most unpopular was defending our decisions on nuclear power. Lots of people said we were wrong. Also, defending the third runway at Heathrow because of collective responsibility. Winding up the debate defending the third runway, which I didn't support.

Details of tomorrow night's hustings, hosted by the NS, can be found here.

Tags: Labour leadership

6 comments

Ona's picture

Imagine Labour had won the election who would be best at defending services? Certainly not David Miliband who was senior enough to make a difference and would take us into another Iraq fiasco. Why does Ed Miliband think he is different - is he going to ever tell us? Why does Ed Balls never seem able to string a sentence together and who is Andy Burnham - why has he not inspired me. Diane Abbott sits on TV and asks the pertinent question directly what is the balance between tax and cuts. Nice one Diane you show promise, values, unity and judgement. Keep it up.

Lou's picture

Agree Ona.
Diane Abbott has not changed her views just to suit a leadership bid either.
She's not afraid to voice her discontent and her different views and challenge the leadership of her party and others, as seen in her voting against the Iraq war and her brilliant speech on the 42 day debate. So what she sent her son to a private school, given the choices available to her at the time - if I'd had the cash, I'd have done the same and most people I think would put what was best for the child ahead of all else.
I want something different, I don't want Blair or Brown disguised as one of the four guys currently on the list. I came back to labour,joined the party for a reason this year and it certainly was not to get just more of the same old same old running the show.

Speedy's picture

I feel disenfranchised. I agree with McDonnell. Abbott doesn't represent the same bold socialist ideal (that isn't to say that this would be a good electoral platform but it should have been an option and I wanted my view represented). I will vote for Abbott first but then I will struggle on second preference (which is likely to be important), at the moment I'm swaying towards Ed Miliband.

swatantra nandanwar's picture

All quite revealing.
Davids discipline and Abbotts communication. Burnhams unity and inspirtion. John and Balls shared experience: my problems are your problems. Davids sticking with core values and principles ie what makes us Labour on immigration. All have a conscience when they put collective responsibility before personal, apart from McDonnell in voting against the whip.
But Burnham comes out best, on level headedness and leadership, in the toughest job in politics, oppo leader.

karen's picture

Ed Miliband's point on values and empathy made sense to me. On the doorsteps people felt there was a disconnect, that we were no more for them than tories were. We have to get that relationship right, top down and bottom up, not just to present ourselves mroe effectively but so we get the detail of policy right.

clem the gem's picture

"Values","Promise", "Unify", "Judgement".

These are all meaningless words unless you are familiar with the candidates records. Well, we are, these are the sad sacks that lead a labour government into defeat.
Andy Burnham is proud of privatising part of the NHS for gods sake! This gang of four career politicians with no outside experience should be sent packing. They assume in thier heart of hearts that the Leadership should fall naturally to them. At least Dianne and John have never been so arrogant.

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