20 Labour MPs willing to challenge Miliband

[Jeneral2885]

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/nov/08/ed-miliband-crisis-labour-mps-back-leadership-change

Ed Miliband’s Labour party leadership was plunged into fresh crisis as senior Labour MPs revealed that at least 20 shadow ministers were on the brink of calling for him to stand down.

The frontbenchers are willing to go public with their demand if the former home secretary, Alan Johnson, indicates that he would be prepared to step into the breach, should Labour be left leaderless just months from a general election.

[LeftishBrit]

1. Argh. 6 months before an election is NOT the time for party infighting!

Anyway, I thought Alan Johnson had ruled himself out?

[T_i_B]

2. I don't rate Ed Miliband

Under his leadership Labour has drifted aimlessly. He doesn't seem to have any vision for what he wants for Britain, other then more power for Ed Miliband of course.

However, is there anybody on the Labour front bench who can rectify these problems? Not that I can see.

The Labour party at the present time is incapable of representing the people the party was set up to serve. Labour's problems run deep and stabbing the party leader in the back is not going to be any sort of magic wand that will make these problems go away.

[Jeneral2885]

5. He's changed his front bench

too many times and placed foreign policy last. OK, FP doesn't win votes but neither would dismissing the external help. The only one constant for his FP team is Douglas Alexander who is more election-centred.

[T_i_B]

6. My biggest foreign policy gripe with Labour...

...has been how silent they've been about Europe. Labour are not going to combat UKIP by avoiding most of the discussion on this subject.

The election literature I had from Labour at this year's European Parliament elections was notable for how little it talked about the EU.

[non sociopath skin]

8. However ...

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/11/five-lessons-ed-miliband-s-pro-europe-speech-cbi

The Skin

[T_i_B]

11. Too little too late?

Why wasn't Labour talking about the EU more in the run up to the European Parliament elections?

Why now? Can't help but wonder if it's for making Tories squirm in the short term.

Any why no ideas for EU reform?

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. In 2010, Ed Miliband seemed to represent the party members' views the best

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Party_%28UK%29_leadership_election,_2010

Both Milibands got more support, in the first round of voting, than Balls, Abbot and Burnham combined. The only alternative they seriously considered was David M., and the criticism of Ed for his background would apply just as much or more so to David (he had more time in Blair's government). Alan Johnson is a nice guy, but remember he seemed to struggle as Shadow Chancellor.

[LeftishBrit]

4. I can't think of any likely person who'd be any better

While I don't think Miliband (or Alan Johnson!) is an outstanding leader, I think he's better than many other possibilities, and that the media would be gunning for any Labour leader and trying to make them look bad.

Also: while the American mid-term elections were probably doomed to go badly in any case, a number of people think that the tendency of Democratic politicians to just accept the Republican/media view of Obama, and to distance themselves from him, probably made the results worse. The Labour party should not do the equivalent.

[Jeneral2885]

7. Miliband stay

But he's changed his front bench to suit to his liking, not to his supporters liking

[Jeneral2885]

9. Tony puts himself behind Ed

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/nov/11/labour-leadership-ed-miliband-tony-blair-support-alan-johnson

Typical but Ed better not associate himself too much with Blair

[LeftishBrit]

10. Interesting article from the Guardian on this...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/nov/10/ed-miliband-crisis-monstering-campaign-british-press-labour-leader-rightwing-newspapers


Actually all newspapers including the Guardian have participated in this savaging of almost all Labour leaders; but the RW papers are the worst.