Sunday 11th July 2010

An eventful day yesterday as I went down to Southampton to attend the Labour leadership hustings at the Grand Harbour Hotel.
After a morning campaigning in Eastleigh, Andy Burnham, Ed Balls, Diane Abbott and the Miliband brothers came onto the stage at 11am and ironically Abbott was positioned furthest left, with David Miliband furthest right. The chair of the debate was quick to assure us that lots had been drawn beforehand and the seating arrangements were purely coincidental.
The five leadership hopefuls answered ten questions from members of the audience on a number issues, from the war in Afghanistan to narrowing the gap between the rich and poor, with each getting about two minutes to deliver a sharp reply. Speaking to Ed Balls immediately afterwards he said he thought the format was limited as there was little actual debate, as the candidates weren't able to challenge each other. Nevertheless, I thought the event was useful to Labour members who have yet to make up their mind over who to vote for as next leader, we learnt about where they all stood on a range of issues. For example, David Miliband was very critical of the election manifesto which his younger brother Ed had co-ordinated, whereas Ed Balls defended the "a future fair for all" publication.
Yesterday's hustings also allowed us to look at the body language of the candidates when the other contenders were talking. I tried not to laugh at the look of disbelief on David Miliband's face when Diane Abbott claimed she understood the situation in Afghanistan better than anyone else because she comes from a colony. She also took a swipe at the Shadow Foreign Secretary when she said she has spoken to more troops in Afhanistan than a minister would have and it this point the elder Miliband did not look very happy with the MP he had helped get into the contest.
To get an idea of which hopeful would make the most effort to reconnect the leadership with grass roots, it was best to stay behind afterwards to see who was happy to chat to members. Andy Burnham had perhaps looked the most out of place on stage, seeming tense throughout, but after he spoke passionately about a National Care Service for the elderly I approached him to find out more about the idea and he was much more confident and personable one-to-one. Burnham may not be Prime Ministerial material, but he has some big, radical ideas, with the National Care Service being one of the time. He proposed that those in need of personal care would be subject to a 10% levy on their estate in return for recieving the care they need for the rest of their life, without having to sell up and move to a nursing home. Burnham believes this could have the same impact the introduction of the NHS had in the twentieth century and he also spoke of extending student finance to post graduates so that they could complete unpaid internships, something I quite liked the sound of given my current predicament. The former Health Secretary is unlikely to become the next Labour leader, but with a sense of moral duty and innovative ideas he should be considered in high regard in the shadow cabinet.
The candidate I was most impressed with yesterday was without doubt Ed Miliband and after mauling over it for a few weeks I pledged my support to him after the hustings. He gave a strong performance, was probably the most genuine of the five candidates and was very passionate about the future of the party. His plans for a Living Wage and replacing tuition fees with a graduate tax will appeal to many members, but his biggest strength is his willingness to reconnect with the grassroots of the party, which was shown when he agreed to come for a drink with a few of us activists in Southampton after the event. More than happy to pay for the round, Ed Miliband spent a good 45 minutes with us, asking what voters we spoke to during the election campaign were most concerned about and discussing issues such as climate change and the spending cuts imposed on us by the coalition. He wanted to spend even longer chatting to us, but had to leave to attend a Q and A session in Reading.
Over the last ten years it has been fair to say that the Labour leadership have treated their loyal members with a certain amount of distain, ignoring activists on the dangers of a war in Iraq and the crackdown on civil liberties, but with Ed Miliband as leader it appears that the activists will have more of a say over the future direction of the party and that is why he has my support.
David Miliband is still the clear favourite to succeed Gordon Brown as permanent leader of the opposition in September, but with his younger brother's campaign now gathering momentum it will surely be a close contest.

Saturday 3rd July 2010

After giving in to the VAT rise last month it was reassuring to see the Liberal Democrats make a stand on voting reform yesterday. The junior partners of the Coalition hope to push through a referendum to replace the archiac first-past-the-post system with the modern and fairer Alternative Vote (AV). Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is expected to announce on Tuesday that a referendum will be held on 5th May 2011, coinciding with local elections. With most Lib Dems supporting AV and the majority of Conservatives against this form of proportional representation this may be the the first real test of the government's solidarity. The proposed referendum could put the Prime Minister on a collision course with his deputy, as according to Nick Robinson David Cameron tried but failed to persuade Clegg that an early vote was an early risk for the coalition.
Under the Alternative Vote, electors rank candidates on the ballot paper in order of preference and if no one achieves 50% of the total vote the least successful candidate is eliminated and their votes are distributed to the balloter's second choice. This continues until one candidate achieves an absolute majority.
Although the purists will argue that this isn't full proportional representation in the same way as the more complicated Single Transferable Vote system, AV is perhap the fairest way in which we can elect our politicians whilst maintaining single member constituencies, thus the close link between an MP and the people they are representing in Parliament can continue.
If the country says yes to AV next May then we will see the most radical ever shake up in our voting system. Over the last century the Conservatives have benefited from first-past-the-post and Cameron has made it clear that his party will be campaigning against voting reform. Could this single issue mark the beginning of the end for the Coalition government?

Friday 2nd July 2010

I must apologise for my terrible neglect of this blog, its been a very hectic few weeks, the job hunting is taking up much of my time and the last couple of days have been made all the more complicated by making the move from Southampton back to Kintbury, my home village in Berkshire. So where to start on the events of the last three weeks?

The political scene has been dominated by the Coalition's Emergency Budget, announced last week and grim reading for most of us. I found myself outside the Downing Street gates when George Osborne posed with the battered Gladstone box last Tuesday, observing the Right to Work protest organised by the Socialist Workers Party, who attempted to make their feelings known to the Chancellor of the Exchequer with chants such as "NO IFS, NO BUTS, NO PUBLIC SECTOR CUTS" and "WHEN THEY SAY CUTBACK WE SAY FIGHTBACK". There were plenty of armed police there to ensure the situation didn't get out of hand and the protesters were left disappointed that Osborne had to be sneaked out a back entrance, so they then took their rally to the Treasury. He's only been in the job for less than two months, but already Osborne seems to be the most unpopular Chancellor since the Thatcher years and over the next few years I expect to see more uglier scenes as jobs are lost and the cuts properly kick in. One area Cameron and co won't be cutting back on is their personal security, that's for sure.
I'm no economic expert, but since the financial collapse in 2008 I have relied on the wisdom of respected economics professor David Blanchflower to help understand the situation. The Guardian and New Statesman columnist has put his reputation on the line by saying he is convinced that the Budget will lead to a double dip recession. We probably won't know until next year if he is right, but with slow growth in GDP in the first quarter of 2010 its easy to understand his claim that drastic cuts such as the ones being put forward by this government will damage our fragile economy.

With such gloomy ecomonic forecasts for the future it would have been nice if the national football team could have given the country a bit of a lift this summer, but Sunday's dismal 4-1 defeat to Germany in the last 16 of the World Cup put an abrupt end to that much needed escape from reality. In terms of England's performance this has been the worst World Cup in my memory; at least when Argentina knocked out Glenn Hoddle's men at the same stage in 1998 the Lions went down with a fight, eventually losing on penalties. Watching the Germans destroy England in the second half on Sunday brought back memories of sitting deflated with my head down and arms crossed watching Southampton getting turned over most weeks when they were relegated from the Championship in the 2008-2009 season. Fabio Capello wasn't always spot on with his tactics, but I think the reason the team did so badly was because they didn't respect the hierarchy enough, John Terry's press conference a couple of days after the Algeria game is evidence of this. If Capello, a very succesful manager who has won six league titles and the Champions League can't manage England, then who can? I personally think the only man who can command the respect of the players and get them playing with pride again is Sir Alex Ferguson, but at 40/1 the chances of the Scot taking over the English team are slim to none.

At least the anticipation of the new domestic football season will help us forget about a dreadful World Cup. Southampton are huge favorites to win promotion from League One and having spent a fortune manager Alan Pardew knows he has to deliver or he will have to go. Unfortunately I won't be able to renew my season ticket at St Marys this year, but this may be a blessing, as of the six home games I've missed over the last three years Saints have won all of them. Going by this form, they should win every home game this season!