It’s Ed Miliband – Yes!!
This afternoon the news came through that the next Labour leader is to be Ed Miliband. Ed beat older brother David by a narrow margin, mainly due to the disproportionate influence that the Trades Unions have on the Labour Party election process. I am now kicking myself that I didn’t post an article this morning publicly making my prediction that Ed would beat David (who was the favorite)! One of my sources contacted me to say that they were confident Ed would win and I wrestled with going public on it. Oh well!
David Cameron made no secret of the fact that he thought David the more credible Miliband; a view undoubtedly shared by many in the Conservative party. David has a smoothness and polished image that Ed can only aspire to. David is also the more experienced at top levels of Government. Depite the banana incident he was seen as the natural Blairite successor to the leadership, with Ed playing more to the left of the party and of course the Trades Unions.
The only candidate that would probably have delighted Conservatives more by winning was Ed Balls, who has a creepy quality on TV. Also I doubt that Diane Abbott would have been likely to lead Labour to victory any time in the next century! According to news reports David Cameron punched the air with delight when he heard that Ed had sneaked the Labour leadership. As Roy Hattersley reports in the Guardian, Ed Miliband is likely to take the Labour Party back to the left. New Labour is now most likely dead!
The next interesting development will be to learn who Labour members have elected to the Shadow Cabinet. Unlike the Conservatives, a Labour leader in opposition cannot chose his Shadow Cabinet, he can only decide which posts to grant to those the party gives him. Also will David M serve under his younger brother?
It will be very interesting to see which way Labour jumps now. Every indication is that Ed the Younger will pander to the left wing prejudices of the party membership and unions. Conservatives up and down the country will be praying that he does.
UPDATE: I am told that David won the MPs, MEPs, and members. Ed only won the unions section and won overall. So the MPs, MEPs and members got the leader the unions wanted and not what they voted for. Is this a recipe for future trouble?
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About Richard…
Richard is a Conservative Councillor on Reading Borough Council representing Peppard ward since 2007, having been re-elected in May 2011. He previously represented Thames ward from 2001 to 2004. He is currently the Conservative Shadow Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Transport on Reading Borough Council. 
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Remember, Richard, it is a Labour movement, not just a party – that is part of our strength and resilience. The affiliated organisations are not just the Unions; they include such communist fronts as the Socialist Health Foundation, the Fabian Society, and the Co-op Party. Ooh! scary! Also, the votes are those of individual members of the organisations, not a block vote. This would include Tory voting trades unionists. Interesting, eh? And I am happy to have a leader backed by neither David Cameron or Rupert Murdoch.
I caught a snipet about ‘Ed’ wanting to tackle the mistakes made by the last government………..I wonder if this would mean a change in the Labour open door immigration policy that has made such a negative difference to the lives of so many ‘rank and file’ union members !
It’s difficult to take the Tories seriously when they feign delight because EM is now leader. So Cameron punched the air did he? Does that mean he would have been concerned if the elder Miliband had succeeded? It shows the huge lack of intelligence on the part of the Tory leadership if they think EM is going to be a soft touch. David Miliband would have been disastrous for the Labour Party if he had triumphed. Firstly he is a Blairite and we are well rid of that tendency. Secondly he is tainted with being at the heart of the last administration which would have been constantly held against him. Thirdly he was Foreign Secretary when the British Intelligence Services thought it was a good idea to collude in the torture of people they didn’t like. There is an enquiry into this in which DM would obviously have been involved and possibly even implicated. Finally it is common knowledge that the Tories dispense with people, policies and even Prime Ministers at the first sign of trouble. The Labour party have more backbone and having evolved from the Trade Unions they happily continue to take heed of the wishes of this fine movement.