Now that Britain's Liberal Democrats have finished executing their incredible exercise in self-delusion at their party caucus, it's on to Labour.
Party leader Ed Miliband, not being part of a coalition that offers nothing to its junior partner but table scraps of prestige, doesn't have to lead his forces in self-delusion. Instead, this New Labourite has to pretend he "understands" Old Labour, while yet showing British elites he doesn't AGREE with Old Labour, for the most part.
By those standards, he was a rousing success! Picture Obama being more subtle in his professed admiration for Reagan, and doing it as part of the 2008 DNC, and you get the idea.
Showing posts with label Miliband (Ed). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miliband (Ed). Show all posts
September 27, 2011
July 28, 2011
Who's the UK's biggest political toady?
It would seem the two finalists are prime minister and Conservative Party leader David Cameron and junior coalition partner and Liberal Democratic leader Nick Clegg.
As ever more of the Murdoch empire shenanigans come to light, and more and more questions arise about what Rupert and son Janes knew and when, here's where I pretty much think we're at.
Cameron basically faces Rupert Murdoch having just crapped in a commode, with Rupert then asking him, how long are you willing to stick in your head, and how deep.
Clegg, now that he knows how low Cameron has gone, yet stays in coalition, faces Cameron having just crapped in a commode, with Cameron then asking him, how long are you willing to stick in your head, and how deep.
However, these two may not be alone.
Labour leader Ed Miliband may have at least licked the rim of Murdoch's commode, it seems.
And, in the retired politician division, Tony the Pony Blair probably drank about as deep as Cameron did.
But, for my money, Clegg is the biggest toady. The alternative voting referendum failed, with Cameron doing nothing to promote it. Then, Cameron made his "let's privatize everything" comments. When News of the World melted down, Clegg had the perfect excuse to get on the moral high horse and leave the coalition.
Unless he's been drinking from Murdoch's crapper as well as Cameron's.
As ever more of the Murdoch empire shenanigans come to light, and more and more questions arise about what Rupert and son Janes knew and when, here's where I pretty much think we're at.
Cameron basically faces Rupert Murdoch having just crapped in a commode, with Rupert then asking him, how long are you willing to stick in your head, and how deep.
Clegg, now that he knows how low Cameron has gone, yet stays in coalition, faces Cameron having just crapped in a commode, with Cameron then asking him, how long are you willing to stick in your head, and how deep.
However, these two may not be alone.
Labour leader Ed Miliband may have at least licked the rim of Murdoch's commode, it seems.
And, in the retired politician division, Tony the Pony Blair probably drank about as deep as Cameron did.
But, for my money, Clegg is the biggest toady. The alternative voting referendum failed, with Cameron doing nothing to promote it. Then, Cameron made his "let's privatize everything" comments. When News of the World melted down, Clegg had the perfect excuse to get on the moral high horse and leave the coalition.
Unless he's been drinking from Murdoch's crapper as well as Cameron's.
January 07, 2011
Four months and counting on Tory-Lib Dem coalition?
I'd been wondering when the "deal" on electoral reform, that was Liberal Democratic Party leader Nick Clegg's price for joining in coalition with David Cameron's Conservatives in Britain, would happen.
Guess I'd not been reading the Guardian often enough to see that a referendum on alternative voting, i.e., an instant runoff system, to replace the first past the post system, has cleared the House of Lords and is set for May 5.
Hence the four months and ticking.
British voters will go to the polls May 5 for a vote on electoral reform, the promised payout by the Conservative Party to Liberal Democrats for joining it in coalition.
Britain's biggest union has officially come out in opposition, though. That despite the fact that the Labour Party could benefit.
Labour Party leader Ed Miliband says he will campaign hard for a yes vote. But, will the party as a whole follow him? So far, 114 Labour MPs have pledged opposition. Even more, on the other side, will the Conservative rank-and-file follow Prime Minister David Cameron? For that matter, how enthusiastic and active will Cameron be in working for the measure?
Witin Labour, it appears, per the opposition of Unite and another large union, to be an Old Labour vs. New Labour split. As Miliband was elected to leadership with union support, it's surprising to see him so ardently push a yes. Could a failure in the referendum not only dissolve the governing coalition, but lead to a putsch against Miliband at the next Labour conference?
As the Guardian notes, Labour proposed IRV, also known as alternative voting, before the most recent national elections. The same editorial notes that Miliband's in his and Labour's interest to push yes, with either a win or a loss drawing Labour and LibDems closer, especially since Cameron's past record is of opposition. (That said, he seems to be honoring his pledge to LibDe's Clegg very narrowly - just putting the referendum on the ballot and not campaigning for a yes.)
Also, by Cameron insisting the referendum be put on the same day as local/regional elections, it looks like Cameron has wrong-footed Clegg pretty well. That is, unless the push for electoral reform really doesn't matter as much to Clegg as it does to the party faithful, as seems the case with other LibDem issues.
The Guardian has a webpage dedicated to the contest and its various issues.
Guess I'd not been reading the Guardian often enough to see that a referendum on alternative voting, i.e., an instant runoff system, to replace the first past the post system, has cleared the House of Lords and is set for May 5.
Hence the four months and ticking.
British voters will go to the polls May 5 for a vote on electoral reform, the promised payout by the Conservative Party to Liberal Democrats for joining it in coalition.
Britain's biggest union has officially come out in opposition, though. That despite the fact that the Labour Party could benefit.
Labour Party leader Ed Miliband says he will campaign hard for a yes vote. But, will the party as a whole follow him? So far, 114 Labour MPs have pledged opposition. Even more, on the other side, will the Conservative rank-and-file follow Prime Minister David Cameron? For that matter, how enthusiastic and active will Cameron be in working for the measure?
Witin Labour, it appears, per the opposition of Unite and another large union, to be an Old Labour vs. New Labour split. As Miliband was elected to leadership with union support, it's surprising to see him so ardently push a yes. Could a failure in the referendum not only dissolve the governing coalition, but lead to a putsch against Miliband at the next Labour conference?
As the Guardian notes, Labour proposed IRV, also known as alternative voting, before the most recent national elections. The same editorial notes that Miliband's in his and Labour's interest to push yes, with either a win or a loss drawing Labour and LibDems closer, especially since Cameron's past record is of opposition. (That said, he seems to be honoring his pledge to LibDe's Clegg very narrowly - just putting the referendum on the ballot and not campaigning for a yes.)
Also, by Cameron insisting the referendum be put on the same day as local/regional elections, it looks like Cameron has wrong-footed Clegg pretty well. That is, unless the push for electoral reform really doesn't matter as much to Clegg as it does to the party faithful, as seems the case with other LibDem issues.
The Guardian has a webpage dedicated to the contest and its various issues.
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