Labour’s negotiating team with the Liberal Democrats – why Ed Balls?
Labour’s team to negotiate with the Liberal Democrats isn’t exactly overwhelming.
Lord Mandelson I can understand. His cabinet position, his breadth of experience and the key role he has played in the last two years all mean he should be in the room.
Harriet Harman, not my favourite Labour politician, has earned the right to be at the table as she was elected to the role of Deputy Leader.
Lord Adonis as an ex Liberal Democrat who is now a senior Labour figure can provide a unique insight and help to find common ground.
Ed Miliband was the architect of Labour’s manifesto, so if we’re going to be negotiating changes is the obvious choice.
But why is Ed Balls on the team? I can’t think of a cabinet member less well qualified than Balls to be on the team. It can’t be his cabinet position, as education and families isn’t one of the huge areas of difference between Labour and the Liberal Democrats. It shouldn’t be that he’s a close confidant of Gordon Brown, as Ed Miliband can fulfil that role. What else could Ed be there for?
Can anyone enlighten me?
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about 4 months ago - Comments Off
Stuart
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about 4 months ago - Comments Off
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about 4 months ago - Comments Off
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“On the ground the yellow team are spiteful and vicious” Guido Fawkes
about 7 months ago - Comments Off
The Liberal Democrats love to pretend that they are the fluffy, cuddly alternative to the nasty politics of the Tories and Labour. The truth, as any Labour or Conservative activist could tell you, is that the Lib Dems are usually the dirtiest, nastiest political campaigners around. They never usually trouble themselves with inconveniences such as [...]
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about 8 months ago - Comments Off
The second post on this new blog said Gordon must not go.
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Gordon must not go
about 8 months ago - Comments Off
Ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you how vehemently opposed I was to Gordon Brown becoming Labour Party leader. It wasn’t because I didn’t rate or like Brown. I rate him extremely highly. He’s the one you’d always want on your team. He’s the one you’d always ask for advice. He’s the one [...]
Comments are closed.
about 4 months ago
he’s positioning himself as the new labour leader that the lib dems would need to have faith in to hold to any agreement.
but its all going down the pan now – just as mandy and campbell planned. now either the conservatives make a deal with the lib dems based on mistrust or try to go it alone.
Meanwhile, labour get a new leader in place, allowing the tories to take the unpopular decsions to clean up the economic mess, then come back stronger in trime for another election in 12 months.
They must think they can take the electorate for mugs.
about 4 months ago
Someone has to get the coffees.
about 4 months ago
Bullied his way into the room?
about 4 months ago
Maybe he gate crashed and, like with most bullies, he’s being tolerated by people who, privately, can’t stand him in the name of not having a fight?
http://cogitodexter.wordpress.com/2010/05/10/words-dont-describe-my-contempt-for-him/
about 4 months ago
mr balls is there as the voice of your paymasters, the communist led unite… i would have thought that was obvious.
about 4 months ago
It is because someone has to defend Gordons position, someone with a bit more weight than Millipede junior. Need a job done send in your top liar, and the most qualified to make even the slimiest deal
about 4 months ago
His friendly, collegial manner?
about 4 months ago
To gift it to the Tories
about 4 months ago
Of course, my pleasure Edward Balls is to be the new unelected leader of the Labour Party
about 4 months ago
In the Sunday Times, AA Gill said Paddy Ashdown has a face like a warm scrotum – so Ed Balls was a natural choice to appeal to Old LibDem’s.
about 4 months ago
Unite
about 4 months ago
It’s obvious
Mandelson wanted Balls there so Mandelson can blame him for the talks breaking down and have this ‘fact’ used against him in the leadership contest
about 4 months ago
His sparkling conversation and general bonhomie?
about 4 months ago
Seems to me that if you wanted to make quite sure of the failure of the negotiations you would appoint Ed Balls. Who would personally gain from said failure? Same answer.
QED.