Red Ed?

[Sonic]

I don't see a thread on this elsewhere so what do we all think of the new leader of the opposition?

Personally I can't see him moving the party much to the left as it's political suicide, my larger concern is the guy has the personality of a wet lettuce - Cameron and the lib/cons must be rubbing their hands with glee.

[Dave B]

A YouGov poll shows Labour ahead of the Conservatives for the first time since the election (by a mere 1%), and these polls tend to have a ~3% margin of error) so he needs to capitalise on this pretty damned quickly.

( souce of poll: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/sep/28/ed-miliband-poll-labour-conservatives )

Ed or David, Milliband or Balls; at least now Labour can get on with the job of publicising the myriad flaws in this government. They should have gone into the last election with a fresh leadership, they might have stood a chance. Brown was so unpopular , the economy was wounded, the expenses scandal was fresh in peoples' minds, and yet Cameron couldn't limp over the finishing line without Clegg's support!

[Mark in Oshawa]

This Government's flaws? Heck Dave...they have been in power for what? 3 months? Sounds like more Labour party whinging.....they lost..and they will have to lick their wounds for a while....

[Captain VXR]

Well at least they chose a leader who has the support of only about 50% of the members of its party. Unless Cleggeron messes up bad, I think the next government is easy to predict

[Rollo]

How long before the Miliband plays at Wembley? If they're as successful as the brothers Gallagher, they'll go on for about 15 years, having fights and leaving Rolls-Royces in swimming pools.

[BDunnell]

Anyone who thinks there is a jot of proper socialism in Ed Miliband either comes from North America, where the mildest expression of a policy that isn't somewhere to the right of Genghis Khan seems to equate to socialism nowadays, or needs their head examining. I find him deeply uninspiring, and there's little more to say than that.

[BDunnell]

This Government's flaws? Heck Dave...they have been in power for what? 3 months? Sounds like more Labour party whinging.....they lost..and they will have to lick their wounds for a while....

And I am sure you would never criticise a leader, whether of party or country, within three months...

[Rudy Tamasz]

Anyone who thinks there is a jot of proper socialism in Ed Miliband either comes from North America, where the mildest expression of a policy that isn't somewhere to the right of Genghis Khan seems to equate to socialism nowadays, or needs their head examining. I find him deeply uninspiring, and there's little more to say than that.

Just out of curiosity, what's your definition of "proper socialism"?

Y'know, being a right winger stranded in a leftist country I'm kinda interested whether the stuff that I have to endure can be called "proper" from somebody's point of view.

[CarlMetro]

I think he looks like a snotty 6th form schoolboy in an ill-fitting suit. I think his brother would have been a more sucessful option out of the two, but they should have gone for Ed Balls, just so the nations favorite paper could have used their headline 'It's a Balls Up'

[Sonic]

I think he looks like a snotty 6th form schoolboy in an ill-fitting suit. I think his brother would have been a more sucessful option out of the two, but they should have gone for Ed Balls, just so the nations favorite paper could have used their headline 'It's a Balls Up'

See now that's a good reason to elect someone - how many good headline puns their name can produce. :D

[Brown, Jon Brow]

David Miliband says he doesn't want to be in the shadow cabinet.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11432762
It seem like there is a bit on in-fighting in Labour. :s

[Sonic]

David Miliband says he doesn't want to be in the shadow cabinet.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11432762
It seem like there is a bit on in-fighting in Labour. :s

Fairly damning verdict of Ed's leadership if he can't even convince his own family he's right for the job - how the hell is he gonna win over the country?

[driveace]

David Cameron will be pleased with the new labour leader.He will be mince meat for the Coservative/Liberals,as said before a bumbling wet lettice,nice guy BUT no Leader!

[edv]

My Hash-name was Red End, but that's something totally different. LOL

[Mark in Oshawa]

And I am sure you would never criticise a leader, whether of party or country, within three months...

Oh I suppose I did Ben, that is true...at least in Obama's case, but then again, It isn't my nation right? I can criticize. IF however, a Liberal party PM gets elected in Canada, I usually do give the guy 3 months to annoy me so bad I start complaining. You do want your nation to prosper, even if the other guys are in power.....you always hope I guess right?

Cameron spent a week just getting Clegg on board.....and then hasn't had time to do much of anything but figure out where the bleeding has to stop....any concrete criticism I suppose of any government after 3 months is pretty much non existant.
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[Mark]

This obsession of "the brothers" is crazy! If they weren't related nobody would think anything of it!

Labour really needs to come out fighting at the moment, they've been mute since the election and really need acting as the official opposition!

Unfortunately I think Ed was the wrong choice, he looks like a schoolboy at the moment unlike David who already looked quite prime ministerial.

Still, there's 4 and a half years still to go until the next election, more than enough time for Ed Milliband to establish himself.

[Sonic]

This obsession of "the brothers" is crazy! If they weren't related nobody would think anything of it!

Labour really needs to come out fighting at the moment, they've been mute since the election and really need acting as the official opposition!

Unfortunately I think Ed was the wrong choice, he looks like a schoolboy at the moment unlike David who already looked quite prime ministerial.

Still, there's 4 and a half years still to go until the next election, more than enough time for Ed Milliband to establish himself.

Or loose the Party's confidence all together. I don't vote Labour but I want a strong opposition to keep Cameron honest - I don't think we've got one.

[Dave B]

I'm not entirely convinced either that Ed is the right choice, but at least now they have somebody at the helm and can begin acting like Her Majesty's Opposition rather than concentrating on their own election.

This should have all been done months ago, preferably before the election. Right now we've got Baroness Warsi mouthing off about electoral fraud, the Minister of Defence at loggerheads with the Chancellor, the NHS being reformed despite an explicit pre-election promise not to, the spectre of science research funding almost disappearing, Quangos being closed for ideological rather than practical reasons, the economic recovery being jeapordised, the threat of public sector strikes - I could go on - and nobody holding the government to account.

In previous elections we've had the Liberal Democrats to fall back on when the previous administration picked itself back up after defeat, but they're too busy back-pedalling on their manifesto promises becuase it suits their short-term aims.

[Dave B]

Or loose the Party's confidence all together. I don't vote Labour but I want a strong opposition to keep Cameron honest - I don't think we've got one.
With you there. I was the exact opposite in 1997: a Labour supporter who was nevertheless astonished at what they got away with while the Tories struggled with ineffectual dolts like Hague, Duncan-Smith and Howard.

A strong and competent opposition is essential, and the problem is magnified this time round as the Lib Dems have been neutered.

[Mark in Oshawa]

I am sure someone on the Labour side will figure it out Dave....

[wedge]

Sorry but I cannot take Egon Spengler seriously at all.

I'm afraid he's going to be Labour's William Hague. Appearance and personality makes a difference and his flaw is that he talks like a spast.... Sorry, in need of a speech therapist