Labour’s leadership: don’t narrow down a lacklustre contest |The Guardian

Last Updated: June 13, 2015By

The Guardian has good points to make about the lacklustre Labour leadership campaign:

One candidate, Mary Creagh, has already been squeezed off the ballot. Another, Jeremy Corbyn, is in danger of this fate. Neither deserves it. Ms Creagh’s politics may not be obviously different from those of her rivals: like Ms Kendall and Ms Cooper she complains of Ed Miliband’s disregard for business. But she is an assured media performer, less easy than some to dismiss as part of a political class. Why shouldn’t her party be able to consider whether she is its best shot at selling a moderate Labour message? Mr Corbyn is a very different proposition, a radical leftist whom few – and perhaps not even the modestly mannered Mr Corbyn himself – would imagine in No 10. But he too has a right to a place in a contest where his role could prove significant.

The welfare state is set for a sustained assault. That will pose thorny dilemmas for Labour, which could be entirely obscured in an exchange of empty cliches about “reform” if nobody does what Mr Corbyn will do, and vow to fight the cuts. His opposition to Trident could spark an overdue debate about defence, and his concern with civil liberties would be a useful corrective too. It would also be interesting to contrast Mr Burnham’s emphasis on the anxieties that many voters feel about immigration, with Mr Corbyn’s cosmopolitan, inner-London perspective.

In all these respects, having one name on the ballot who is fearless in defining himself could usefully force more definition on the rest of the pack. For the sake of the contest, some of the several dozen MPs who have not yet made a nomination should remember the fate of Mary Creagh and nominate Mr Corbyn.

Source: The Guardian view on Labour’s leadership: don’t narrow down a lacklustre contest | Editorial | Comment is free | The Guardian

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5 Comments

  1. John June 13, 2015 at 5:46 pm - Reply

    I would have the point is to elect someone who is electable.

  2. John June 13, 2015 at 5:51 pm - Reply

    I should have said I thought the point was to pick someone who was electable. Then sell the message collectively.

  3. Ian June 13, 2015 at 8:09 pm - Reply

    Corbyn, the only left candidate, can’t get 35 votes from 232?

    We need to abandon Labour they way they abandoned us.

  4. crazytrucker1951 June 15, 2015 at 12:15 pm - Reply

    I have post-election rejoined the Labour fold after many years away, the Blairite years. However, the reunion may be short lived as for my point of view Jeremy Corbyn is the only candidate I’d vote for and he may not even make it onto the ballot! For me voting for either of the other three candidates would be like voting Tory!

    • Mike Sivier June 15, 2015 at 12:35 pm - Reply

      Corbyn IS on the ballot paper.
      I agree with you about the other three. They’ve shown their true colour.

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