Red Ed : Thu Jan 05, 2012 1:46 pm  

Do you think he'll last longer as Labour leader than Greece will as a member of the Eurozone?

Greece may fall out of the EZ in March / April, although I suspect they will be bailed out again. Ed will feel the pressure mounting by conference season. Whether they'll both last the year though is doubtful.

Re: Red Ed : Thu Jan 05, 2012 2:39 pm  

Ed will remain as long as the next election.
Then when he fails to pick up the votes of the disillusioned and/or dimwits who voted ConDem, he'll get the elbow.

Nice bloke, intelligent, decent ... but apparently ineffectual ... he needs to get in touch with his inner Rottweiler and let Ed Balls off the leash at Gideon a bit more often.

Re: Red Ed : Thu Jan 05, 2012 2:50 pm  

Ed Ballocks is a caretaker leader, a bit like Ian Duncan Smith was for the Conservatives. He's working the political equivalent of the night shift.

He'll be there until he loses the next election, and is only there because Labour need someone as a figurehead until they become electable again following the usual 10-ish year cycles that these governments have. If they put someone good in, like his brother for instance, he will only burn himself out by the time he is needed. ie, when they stand a chance of winning, or coming close.

Labour will get themselves a good leader again as soon as one is needed, don't you worry.

Re: Red Ed : Thu Jan 05, 2012 3:38 pm  

We need a strong Labour leader NOW, we cannot afford the Tories in power for 10 years.

Re: Red Ed : Thu Jan 05, 2012 4:25 pm  

ROBINSON wrote:

Ed Ballocks is a caretaker leader, a bit like Ian Duncan Smith was for the Conservatives. He's working the political equivalent of the night shift.

He'll be there until he loses the next election, and is only there because Labour need someone as a figurehead until they become electable again following the usual 10-ish year cycles that these governments have. If they put someone good in, like his brother for instance, he will only burn himself out by the time he is needed. ie, when they stand a chance of winning, or coming close.

Labour will get themselves a good leader again as soon as one is needed, don't you worry.

I wouldn't say Ed Miliband is a caretaker leader, or IDS for that matter, a caretaker leader was like Michael Howard was in 2003. With defeat in the next election inevitable Howard's job was to minimise damage and shore up the traditional support so that the next leader had a winnable platform. Howard did that to an extent, he might not have been popular but he was credible. If Labour wanted a caretaker like that they would have been better with someone like Alan Johnson or Alastair Darling.

Ed Miliband is what William Hague was supposed to be, 'a fresh start', and a total disaster who soon became shown up as non credible. But the two are in totally different situations. Hague faced a dominant Blair with a huge majority and a healthy economy, he was on a hiding to nothing. Miliband faces a Tory PM having to share power with the Lib Dems in a disastrous economy with rising unemployment. The circumstances are in place for a strong Labour candidate to land blows on Cameron but Ed Miliband is allowing Cameron an easy run because he is a bit of a joke Opposition leader.

I think if the economy nosedives next year and the Coalition gets into trouble then Ed Miliband will be forced out, if Labour sense that the next election could be winnable they will have to make the move. But if the Coalition stays together and keeps away from disaster and scandal next year, then Labour will let Ed Miliband take them to the next election and lose.

Re: Red Ed : Thu Jan 05, 2012 4:28 pm  

Only in Dally world can Milibland be described as red.

Re: Red Ed : Thu Jan 05, 2012 4:41 pm  

I think the Tories and Lib Dems will engineer a "friendly" break up of the coalition 18 months before the election, to give them time to re-establish their separate identities. It will revert to a minority Tory government. At same the time Labour will make a decision as to whether to ditch Miliband. I think that decision basically comes down to whether they have a credible alternative. Clearly they cant ditch Ed in favour of his brother. Who else is there?

Re: Red Ed : Thu Jan 05, 2012 5:00 pm  

Cibaman wrote:

I think the Tories and Lib Dems will engineer a "friendly" break up of the coalition 18 months before the election, to give them time to re-establish their separate identities. It will revert to a minority Tory government. At same the time Labour will make a decision as to whether to ditch Miliband. I think that decision basically comes down to whether they have a credible alternative. Clearly they cant ditch Ed in favour of his brother. Who else is there?

'The Beast'

If your not going to win, you may as well have some charisma on the front benches, lets face it there is sod all of that on either side.

Re: Red Ed : Thu Jan 05, 2012 5:25 pm  

rover49 wrote:

We need a strong Labour leader NOW, we cannot afford the Tories in power for 10 years.

It wouldn't make any difference.

Re: Red Ed : Thu Jan 05, 2012 5:35 pm  

Cibaman wrote:

I think the Tories and Lib Dems will engineer a "friendly" break up of the coalition 18 months before the election, to give them time to re-establish their separate identities. It will revert to a minority Tory government. At same the time Labour will make a decision as to whether to ditch Miliband. I think that decision basically comes down to whether they have a credible alternative. Clearly they cant ditch Ed in favour of his brother. Who else is there?

My money for the next leader of the Labour party will be Balls, not Ed but no-balls Balls, Yvette Cooper. I also think she'll be leading them into the next election.