Thursday, March 15, 2012
Labour in chaos
Amidst all the press reports about chaos and low morale at Labour Party
Ed Miliband's new Chief of Staff has now waded in with claims that the party has 'no strategic election'.
The Telegraph says that Mr. Livesey made the charge during an angry meeting at the party’s Westminster headquarters, when simmering frustration from senior workers erupted into an open row:
Sources at the meeting on Monday described it as “carnage” and “a disaster” for Mr Miliband.
The catalyst for the outburst was understood to have been the party’s sweeping internal reorganisation.
Mr Miliband last week announced a new “executive board” to “steer us towards the election-winning organisation that we all want to become”.
The paper adds that the board structure was criticised at the meeting as “a pretty blatant and characteristically ham-fisted power grab” by Mr Miliband. They say that in introducing the new senior team, Mr Livesey, and Iain McNicol, Labour’s general secretary, told the meeting that the party had “no strategic direction”:
The failure to offer a concrete plan to address the problem appears to have caused the uproar.
One witness at the meeting said later: “The staff were told: 'Don’t worry, there’ll be a new report in a few months.’
“People were jumping up and saying: 'A few months? We’ve got mayoral elections, local elections and an independence referendum, and we’re fighting them now.’ ”
They continue by pointing out that the stormy exchanges represent the latest blow for Mr Miliband’s stewardship of the party:
Some of his own front bench team privately admit he has failed to break through with the public since taking over the leadership after the 2010 election.
He has faced criticism from his former adviser, Lord Glasman, and warnings against a lurch to the Left from his brother, David, whom he narrowly defeated for the leadership. Mr Miliband’s decision earlier this year not to oppose all the Coalition’s spending cuts drew a furious response from trade union leaders, particularly Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Unite.
Some senior party figures now privately concede that Labour cannot win a majority at the next election.
It is not looking good for Labour at all.
Ed Miliband's new Chief of Staff has now waded in with claims that the party has 'no strategic election'.
The Telegraph says that Mr. Livesey made the charge during an angry meeting at the party’s Westminster headquarters, when simmering frustration from senior workers erupted into an open row:
Sources at the meeting on Monday described it as “carnage” and “a disaster” for Mr Miliband.
The catalyst for the outburst was understood to have been the party’s sweeping internal reorganisation.
Mr Miliband last week announced a new “executive board” to “steer us towards the election-winning organisation that we all want to become”.
The paper adds that the board structure was criticised at the meeting as “a pretty blatant and characteristically ham-fisted power grab” by Mr Miliband. They say that in introducing the new senior team, Mr Livesey, and Iain McNicol, Labour’s general secretary, told the meeting that the party had “no strategic direction”:
The failure to offer a concrete plan to address the problem appears to have caused the uproar.
One witness at the meeting said later: “The staff were told: 'Don’t worry, there’ll be a new report in a few months.’
“People were jumping up and saying: 'A few months? We’ve got mayoral elections, local elections and an independence referendum, and we’re fighting them now.’ ”
They continue by pointing out that the stormy exchanges represent the latest blow for Mr Miliband’s stewardship of the party:
Some of his own front bench team privately admit he has failed to break through with the public since taking over the leadership after the 2010 election.
He has faced criticism from his former adviser, Lord Glasman, and warnings against a lurch to the Left from his brother, David, whom he narrowly defeated for the leadership. Mr Miliband’s decision earlier this year not to oppose all the Coalition’s spending cuts drew a furious response from trade union leaders, particularly Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Unite.
Some senior party figures now privately concede that Labour cannot win a majority at the next election.
It is not looking good for Labour at all.
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Of course, that would be Labour on 41% as opposed to Lib Dems on 9% (YouGov Sun).
# posted by 
: 10:20 AM
: 10:20 AM
That would be Labour out of government for the next decade and Liberal Democrats in government doing what Labour failed to do in the Blair/Brown years.
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