Who should the next Labour leader be?

[FatLazyContractor]

[fullyautomatix]

Well she got re-elected and he didn't.

Apparently "Mr Yvette Cooper" was so conceited he though being shadow chancellor was enough for his constituents to re-elect him. It would be amusing if she did get elected as leader just to see him dragged out as the leader's spouse. I wonder how he's enjoying time with the children.....

One night dreaming of kicking out Tories and becoming Chancellor, next night out of a job :

[DimPrawn]

The Tories only need to introduce IQ tests for voters, with a minimum IQ of say 50, and Labour will never be elected again.

[fullyautomatix]

The Tories only need to introduce IQ tests for voters, with a minimum IQ of say 50, and Labour will never be elected again.

Or just change the usual voting pattern from "X" to say "Y", that will do it.

[Batcher]

New Labour socialists?

Very funny.

To get elected in England you need to hold the centre.

That's the problem for Labour. To win back Scotland they would need to travel left but would lose Middle England. To win back Middle England they need to travel right which would again lose Scotland.

Their best bet is to win Middle England back but work with the SNP/Greens/Plaid as an Anti-Tory coalition government. The fact Miliband ruled it out led to his demise.

[TheFaQQer]

I can't see Labour coming back over the next five years - they face the same issue that the Tories did when Major lost. Rapid changes of leadership - IDS, Howard, Hague (I forget the order that they came in) because they resigned quickly after defeats, which meant that there was no chance to think "where do we want to go?" which you really need to consider before you choose a leader to take you there. If Hague had waited a little bit before he became leader, he'd have had a much better shot at PM.

Who would really want to take the Labour leadership on now, and still have a chance in the future? David Lammy could be a good outside bet - his reaction to the London riots was good. But probably not known enough in the party. If I was Chukka, I'd give it a bit of a swerve this time and be ready for the leadership after this one. Andy Burnham could be OK, although linked to the past.

[TheFaQQer]

That's the problem for Labour. To win back Scotland they would need to travel left but would lose Middle England. To win back Middle England they need to travel right which would again lose Scotland.

Their best bet is to win Middle England back but work with the SNP/Greens/Plaid as an Anti-Tory coalition government. The fact Miliband ruled it out led to his demise.

It's a very divided kingdom. Scotland voted for an anti-austerity platform, England voted for more of the same. Therein lies the challenge, not only for Labour but for the Tories as well - how do you unite such a difference of opinion?

[jamesbrown]

I can't see Labour coming back over the next five years - they face the same issue that the Tories did when Major lost. Rapid changes of leadership - IDS, Howard, Hague (I forget the order that they came in) because they resigned quickly after defeats, which meant that there was no chance to think "where do we want to go?" which you really need to consider before you choose a leader to take you there. If Hague had waited a little bit before he became leader, he'd have had a much better shot at PM.

Who would really want to take the Labour leadership on now, and still have a chance in the future? David Lammy could be a good outside bet - his reaction to the London riots was good. But probably not known enough in the party. If I was Chukka, I'd give it a bit of a swerve this time and be ready for the leadership after this one. Andy Burnham could be OK, although linked to the past.

Andy Burnham or David Lammy would be great from a Tory perspective. The former has strong union support and is tied to Miliband, while the latter doesn't really have the gravitas or experience for such a position. Agreed that they won't come back within 5 years or, at least, it isn't in their hands. If there's a crash and recession over the next 5 years, it's conceivable, but Labour will otherwise be too busy looking inwards.

[fullyautomatix]

It's a very divided kingdom. Scotland voted for an anti-austerity platform, England voted for more of the same. Therein lies the challenge, not only for Labour but for the Tories as well - how do you unite such a difference of opinion?

Scotland voted for free money.

[DimPrawn]

How Labour see a succesful and industrious Britain:

Episode 2: Benefits House