Though Cowards Flinch

I’ve set out my stall for Ed Balls as No.1 preference for Labour leader. 

Here’s my 2-5:

2.  Diane Abbott

Diane’s not come up with the goods.  Her campaign has focused on setting her in relief against the other candidates, but has fallen well short on any of the detail needed about how she’d lead the party in opposition.

So why is she still No.2?  

Because, despite her faults, she represents a ‘core left’ vote within the party, and it’s important that the overall result reflects the size of that core vote. 

That’s all there is to it.

3.  Any Burnham

Andy’s single pitch, after his disastrous and justifiabley derided attempt at a political vision of  ‘aspirational socialism’, has been that he’s not part of the metropolitan elite.

That seems a bit weak, but actually there’s something in it.

His response over the Tories’ NHS plans has been ok too. Nothing to write home about, and not in Ed Balls’s league for campaigninginnovation – a good appearance on Newsnight vs Nadine Dorries does not count as innovative – but still better than the Milibros have managed.

4.  David Miliband

Well down the list because of his views on retain the Darling commitment to four year deficit halving, Davd Miliband has nevertheless come up with some fairly interesting stuff on economic policy, and while his community organiser stuff is tokenistic in some ways, especially in terms of its highly selective delivery to areas that may not actually need it, there are germs of sense in there.

5.  Ed Miliband

I think Ed M’s come over as a bit of triangulating turd, if I’m honest, and if such a thing exists.

His campaign has been driven by the ‘values’ that I think he thinks people want to see in his campaign and potential leadership.  This is best reflected in the more stupid rightwing view is that he is ‘tacking left’. 

He’s not tacked left in any meaningful way.  He’s let it be known that he might be tacking left, because that’s where he thinks there’s a pool of vote from people who don’t want David or ed Balls, and don’t take diane Abbott or Andy Burnham seriously.

Ed Miliband, you don’t fool me.  You’re a nice enough bloke, but  you’re a charlatan.

Update 10.30pm: Do I regret calling Ed M a charlatan?  Yes, I do.  It is a silly word to use about an essentially decent bloke, and I’m sorry. But heh, you can’t have your life back, and I don’t suppose he cares much what I think anyway.  Indeed, he’ll almost certainly never know.