Exclusive: David Lammy to nominate Diane Abbott
David Lammy MP will today become the most high-profile Labour MP to endorse Diane Abbott for the party’s leadership.
In a statement to Liberal Conspiracy he said:
Ever since I was first elected to parliament I have called for a more diverse and representative political class. It would go against all that not to help Diane Abbott get on to the ballot paper now. To have a leadership election without a single woman involved would send a terrible signal.
I would say to colleagues that lending someone your nomination is not the same as voting for a candidate in the final ballot. The question at this stage is whether we can have a more diverse field and an open discussion over the next few months. I think we should.
David Lammy is the MP for Tottenham and former Minister for Higher Education.
Earlier today Diane Abbott told Sky News that David Miliband’s nominations were squeezing out smaller candidates.
Sorry right-wingers but there will be no Labour ‘civil war’
Paul Flynn’s reluctance to endorse either John McDonnell or Diane Abbott, despite being part of the Socialist Campaign Group, does not bode well for socialists within Labour.
Having contacted several MPs last week in a drive to get a left candidate nominated, I’m getting the impression that both will find it very difficult to get the required 33. This is a shame because I think the party needs a broader debate than the one it’s having right now. And the campaign to get either on the ticket will carry on.
But this reluctance to endorse socialists, even among socialists, is not surprising.
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The leadership debate should show new talent not replay old rows
Most of the candidates for the Labour Leadership are splendid answers to the wrong questions.
The correct questions is who will best revive our party in the next five years and present the most persuasive case in the television debates in 2015?
Many good friends and comrades have contacted me urging that I repeat the nomination I gave to John McDonnell when he tried to stand against Gordon Brown.
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21 new bills in Queen’s speech today
The leaked details of the Queen’s speech, a major breach of protocol in itself, offers us a sneak preview of what we can expect today.
Here’s a neat little graphic for you, courtesy of the Daily Mail. Thoughts?
Tory MPs less confident in Cameron now than in John Major then
“This is the most poisonous atmosphere I have known since Maastricht”, one Tory MP texted to colleagues last week, according to a Sunday Telegraph report that the Tory 1922 Committee is thinking about rejecting the rule changes proposed by David Cameron last week.
Charles Moore has an important column warning about the scale of dissent about what he calls Cameron’s “coup”. (As James Forsyth points out, Moore is a party Establishment figure who is very supportive of Cameron).
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Brown was ready to ditch Trident for coalition govt
There’s a key paragraph in yesterday’s Telegraph interview with Ed Balls that shows how thin on the ground support for Trident is within Labour leadership:
So desperate was Mr Brown to do a deal that, as Mr Balls confirms for the first time, he offered to bargain on Trident, agreeing it should be part of a defence review. “Gordon was comfortable about doing that.”
So much for accusing Clegg of endangering the nation for wanting to ditch Trident; turns out Brown was happy to do that himself.
Neil Kinnock endorses Ed Miliband
He tells the Observer today:
Ed [Miliband], I think, is very bright, including politically bright. He is hugely energetic. He is fluent. He has got the capacity to inspire people, which we need. And that marks him out as a special kind of young potential leader.
I am certain that he is a modern democratic socialist because he has got strong values and he is very practical. His attitude is that it is no good wandering around with convictions unless you want to put them into practice, and that really is his motivation. And vitally, absolutely vitally, he is comfortable among people of every kind, young and old, men and women, inside and outside the movement. We really do need a leader who can reach out for the rebuilding of the Labour party, but particularly to give coherence to our thinking.
So has the former energy secretary, got qualities to inspire and communicate that his brother lacks? “Yeah,” says Kinnock. “I rate David Miliband very highly and he is also a good guy. I like him very much. I argued for him to be the head of the policy unit at No 10 when Tony [Blair] was prevaricating. But in addition to his high intelligence I think the party needs leadership qualities, and Ed’s got more of them.”
…more at The Observer
Why David Miliband can’t sweep Iraq under the carpet
Two Labour leadership candidates yesterday distinguished themselves by showing some candour over the issue of the Iraq War and a third, David Miliband, made me feel personally vindicated by yet again showing why he is the wrong choice to lead this party.
Don’t fool yourself that Iraq doesn’t matter because British troops are out; it matters for a few reasons:
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The Miliband commitment to climate change is mostly just rhetoric
The Miliband brothers both claim to be ‘green-leaning’ candidates, and this is part of what helps them to appear modern and progressive.
But the reality, given their actions when leading various government departments, is that their rhetoric masks a lot of inaction.
- That effort is being successfully conducted if emissions are going down. But most people don’t realise that our Co2 emissions are still going up.
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Tory MP says torture could be ‘a bonus’
The Coalition agreement makes a clear, unequivocal and welcome statement
We will never condone the use of torture.
Not all of its Parliamentary supporters agree.
As the Daily Mail reports, Monmouth MP appears to be not so much tacitly condoning torture as actively welcoming it, in the case of suspected Al Qaeda or Taliban members
The Conservative MP for Monmouth, David Davies, insisted that the Government should repeal the Act after the new commission has properly considered the legal implications.
‘Active members of Al Qaeda and the Taliban are living in this country and not being deported because of concerns about their human rights if something horrible happens to them if they are sent home,’ Mr Davies said.
‘Personally I would have thought that would be a bonus rather than a reason for not sending them back.
‘I don’t mind if the Act is torn up, changed or amended. But I hope that whatever this commission comes up with, the views of the vast majority of people in this country who believe it is fundamentally wrong are respected’
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cross-posted from Next Left
Does paying drug addicts to be sterilised work?
Barbara Harris, the founder of Project Prevention, is the definition of a social entrepreneur. She’s the kind of person who, under the Big Society ideology of the Conservatives, might be represented as a worthy provider of a public service.
She saw a social problem where she lived in LA, and she – with the time, money and inclination to do it – implemented her own solution. She even uses the language of entrepreneurship to describe the poor and desperate people she works with: they’re her “paid clients”.
And now, she’s bringing that solution to the UK, campaigning from the This Morning Sofa and the BBC’s Hard Talk.
The problem she identified is the birth of babies to drug-addicted parents. And the solution? Paying addicts to be sterilised.
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The differences between Diane Abbott and John McDonnell
The two left hopefuls: Diane Abbott and John McDonnell, are London MPs who have long political histories and who are both members of the Campaign Group.
McDonnell comes in a straight clear red, softened by his personable and thoughtful style while Abbott is more of a free thinking leftist who often does not conform to type. In other words she’s not as left-wing as McDonnell, but then again it would be hard to live up to his impeccable, mace wielding, credentials.
Well, I say impeccable…
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The truth about Oxbridge admissions: a reply To Dave Osler
Dave Osler wrote a piece attacking the “Oxbridge Mafia” yesterday. I thought I’d take it upon myself to offer The Family’s response.
So, cards on table: I graduated from Oxford in 2008 with (horror of horrors) a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics – the very same degree that Dave singles out for particular disapprobation.
But for the record, I was also educated at a normal state comp and attended the local state sixth form college.
Firstly, I’d like to note something odd about one of Dave’s initial concerns: that the top level of politics is over-represented by people with Oxbridge degrees.
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The left should welcome Diane Abbott’s leadership entry
Diane Abbott’s decision to throw her hat into the ring has gotten some socialists annoyed. I think this is unwarranted. People can’t call for a more plural debate within the Labour party and then get all sectarian when another candidate threatens their preferred one. Let’s have a wide-ranging debate: even among socialists. Or is that not possible?
I spoke to Diane the day before yesterday. At the time she said that if she were to stand, and get less nominations than John McDonnell, then she would be happy to endorse him. This is the right approach because the last thing we need is a split on potential nominations for a left candidate. I hope John will agree to the same.
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How to democratise Oxbridge
Actually I do have a problem with the term ‘Oxbridge Mafia’. It is just so unfair to the Cosa Nostra, which at least welcomes working class applicants and is sufficiently discreet to ensure that members keep schtum about their adherence.
By contrast, the graduates of our elite universities flaunt their education for all to see, and make no pretence of their desire to monopolise every leading position in politics. Take, for instance, the Labour Party leadership race.
Runners so far include David Miliband, who has a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford; his brother Ed Miliband, who has a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford; and Ed Balls, who has a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford.
Just to inject some variety into the proceedings, Andy Burnham and Diana Abbott did at least go to Cambridge, which makes them les damnes de la terre in this context.
Lessons on reducing poverty
The latest set of information about poverty in UK, snappily titled “Households Below Average Income: An analysis of the income distribution 1994/95 – 2008/09″ was published today. You can have a look through it here, but here are some of the key findings:
There are currently 3.9 million children in the UK growing up in poverty. This is a fall of 600,000 compared to a decade ago.
There are currently 7.8 working age adults in the UK living in poverty. This is an increase of 1.1 million compared to a decade ago.
There are currently 1.8 million pensioners in the UK living in poverty. This is a fall of 1.1 million compared to a decade ago. continue reading… »
Coalition full agreement; what do you think?
The full coalition government agreement between Cameron and Clegg can be downloaded as a PDF document here.
What do you think? Any bits that jump out at you?
What is good and bad about it? Let’s hear your thoughts…
Cameron wins vote to geld 1922 committee
In the last few minutes, Channel 4 news have reported that backbench Tory MPs have voted in favour of David Cameron’s proposal to admit ministers to the once-powerful 1922 committee by 168 votes to 118.
More wailing and gnashing of teeth from Tory right to follow….
Tories get a chance to embrace the defence industry again
contribution by BenSix
Congratulations to Guido Fawkes for posting something worthy of note…
Whilst a frontbench spokesman for defence under Michael Howard, Howarth was slammed in 2004 for providing a weapons lobbyist with a one of his allocated parliamentary staff passes. Michael Wood of lobbyists Whitehall Advisers (whose clients included BAE Systems and Airbus) who are the backbone of the UK’s billion pound arms industry.
Like Caroline Spelman and her farming interests, David Cameron seemingly does not consider Howarth’s past connections to be an issue. Howarth has been made the parliamentary Under Secretary for Defence. He now has a direct role in arms procurement.
Liberal Conspiracy Annual Conference: 26th June
On 26th June I’m hosting the second Liberal Conspiracy ‘Blog Nation’ conference.
We hosted the first one in July 2008; I’m hoping to make it an annual event thereafter.
The theme of the conference will be: “How Can The Left Organise in Opposition?”
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» What would you ask the Labour leader candidates?
» Complete tits
» How bad is the feline obesity crisis?
» Why don’t MPs pay back tuition fees instead of increasing ours?
» Obama is right to slam BP – and why capitalists should too
» Why does Phillip Blond see civic cohesion as a security issue?
» So what if the Labour candidates went to Oxbridge?
» Last night’s Labour hustings: will it get interesting or turn to torture?
» It’s now down to Ken to win London for Labour
» The Labour people need
» Blog Nation: what would you like to see discussed?
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