In my comments earlier this morning to Tom Paine, I suggested that I believed no one would want the poisoned chalice that is the Labour party leadership. Looks like I might be wrong about that:
David Miliband is preparing to throw his hat into the ring in a leadership contest to “save new Labour” after the party’s disastrous defeat in last week’s Crewe & Nantwich by-election.
The foreign secretary has confided to friends that he is prepared to stand for the leadership if a critical mass of backbenchers turn against Gordon Brown.
He is discussing a strategy to position himself for the top job without personally engineering the prime minister’s downfall.
So, rather than have the courage to make an open challenge, he is a craven coward, waiting for others to make a move for him. The man is no less despicable than his equally odious cabinet colleagues.
It comes as senior Labour insiders claim that at least half the cabinet have privately concluded that Brown cannot win the next general election.
Yes, well, that doesn’t take much working out.
Among the ministers said to be ready to desert Brown are Alan Johnson, the health secretary, Ruth Kelly, the transport secretary, James Purnell, the work and pensions secretary, Jacqui Smith, the home secretary, John Hutton, the business secretary, Hazel Blears, the communities secretary, Jack Straw, the justice secretary, and Tessa Jowell, the Olympics minister.
Rats.
Ship.
Sinking.
A spokeswoman for the foreign secretary said: “There is no leadership contest.”
Ah. Right. Okay, got it. So that’ll be a “yes”, then?
“It comes as senior Labour insiders claim that at least half the cabinet have privately concluded that Brown cannot win the next general election.”
One can only conclude that the ones that haven’t are are so far up their own arses that they should be sacked for such myopic stupidity
The Great Simpletons last blog post..On this day