Ed Miliband...

...as does Chuka Umunna

I hope not. He lost my respect a while back when he was viciously digging at the Tories for allowing Barclays to only pay £113 million in Corporation tax whilst failing to mention that since taxes are paid in arrears, the sum owed was for when Labour were in charge. So in fact the Tories hands were completely tied.

So he proved to me that he is happy to drop the truth if he thinks he can score a point from it. For that reason I hope he doesn't become leader.

Jack Straw was good on R4 this morning and makes you realise that Labour have precious few heavyweights of that calibre now.

There was some Labour in-fight a few months ago, can't remember what about but it was real Westminster village stuff. Ed Miliband seemed to really enjoy it and actually "did quite well".
But he seems to me to be all about "politics" and not about, well, life beyond Westminster, and the everyday concerns of ordinary folk. he doesn't come across either as a good speaker nor as a leader of men in the old-fashioned sense.

Looking to the future I think Rachel Reeves has leadership potential, as does Chuka Umunna. Both are not too entrenched in the mistakes of former governments and could bring fresh drive to the party.

I like Ed Milliband (prefered him to David who came across as sleaxy) DH describes him as a geeky politican. However I don't think geeky will win it with the electorate. In the age of celebrity (sadly!) he does not have the dynamism to win.

I thought David Lammy had potential after seeing him on QT, but was a bit about the whole smacking thing.
Agree that there is no obvious candidate at present, but think the main problem is a lack of credible alternative policies. Given what the gvt is doing to the nhs/benefits/legal aid etc etc it's rather scary that there isn't a real sense of effective opposition.

I'm getting fonder of Ed. I like Cooper and Harman.

I loathe the misogynistic dismissive renaming of Harman as Harperson. Utterly infantile.

Agree with kerstina. I like Ed Miliband. He has grown on me. He is by far the best person that Labour has got, because he is genuine, not arrogant and likeable. Likeability is a very important factor when it comes to popularity with the public, which is why David Cameron is so popular with the public.

I think the media has played a part in unfairly knocking Ed. But the way that he has dealt with all teh knocks has been amazing. He has remained calm and polite throughout. He got a bit of a pasting on a phone-in show recently, but he took it in his stride with great dignity and without showing any anger.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2111078/Ed-Miliband-branded-unelectable-laughing-stock-BBC-Radio-5-Live-phone-in.html

I think it is because he is confident in his positiona nd his opinions. He doesn't need the backing of opinion polls to validate his beliefs. He will stick to his guns and fight for what he believes, and do so without any bitterness. I think that is admirable. He knows that when teh election comes, the public will listen to his views and they will also admire how he withstood the storm and upheld his beliefs without the need for spin doctors and favourable opinion polls.

I think he is head and shoulders above the rest of his party, and I think that in time the public will come to see that too.

Well I was a bit unsure about Ed Milliband at first but I think he is improving all the time. Did you all not watch his response to the budget? I think he well and truly humiliated Osbourne and Cameron.
If you want a leader all charm and superficial charisma like Tony Blair (leading us into expensive wars that America wanted) then carry on running the genuine Ed Milliband down. I think we should all get behind him.

Ed Balls really is gross with his sweaty red face and rolling eyes. He comes across as really boorish. Tbh I don't know if anything he says makes sense as I just switch off immediately he starts talking.

I like the Millibands. Really don't like Ed Balls.

The two Eds are obnoxious in their own way. Although I dislike Labour (and Tories too for good measure!) now people like Mo Mowlam and Robin Cook are gone there is something greasy about Ed Balls. He talks over people rather than debate and doesn't seem to really connect behind the eyes. His wife is no better.

They definitely picked the wrong Milliband - Ed seems the type that would tattle-tale to the teacher behind classmates back! I'm positive the unions felt he'd be an excellent puppet. Hoho.

No one can surely want to see either of them hold any position over governing anyone?

What about Andy Burnham? From what I've seen on QT and in interviews he does seem the best of a poor lot.

They are all awful, and Scottish labour is just as bad. We are having local elections in may and Glasgow city council, which has been Labour since Noah was a boy, is looking like it will go to SNP. The party is imploding. The only person who I think has the intellect and personality - but perhaps not the gravitas yet - is Douglas Alexander.

The Eds are hopeless and ineffectual.

oops, must learn to proof-read

You know mumblesmum I would have agreed with you if not one example - Lenin had a speech impediment that would would make anybody else sound ridiculous, yet he was the most successful revolutionary of the XX c (not that I agree with his ideology, but his "success" in screwing up the whole country for the best part of 80 years cannot be denied). What was his secret?

Surely the rule is... never ever pick a party leader with a lithp.

I actually liked David Milliband a lot and was sure Labour was in with a good chance of victory under his leadership but when he was defeated there was no hope for them.

"The coalition should be about as popular as a fart in a lift around about now but thanks to Labour's own incompetence unless something changes, they are still in with a fair chance of a second term. Well the Conservatives are....not so sure about Lib Dems!"

Totally agree. However hated the Cameron/Osborne duo is, there is no other side that presents credible policies to take us out of the mess we are in. I am for sure voting Cons having voted LibDems last time round.

David Lammy is on the up...but don't think he's quite there yet..

Sir Anthony Wedgewood Benn was a lot poster, richer and out of touch than the current crop. No thanks.

Tony Ben was an MP I respected, he spoke his mind and would have made a great leader of the proper Labour party.

Can't really think of anyone else tho, Mark Thomas should start his own party, he'd get my vote.

I know he is apparently to blame for all that is wrong with the world these days but I liked Tony Blair....I realise I am asking for hate messages saying this but I honestly don't think he gets the credit he deserves. He was a great leader IMO & certainly head and shoulders above this crowd of useless articles. Cameron & co are having a field day! To those who remember Spitting Image...I can only imagine what they would have made of Ed!!

They really need to get rid of Ed soon, so that the next leader will have time to bed in before the elections. I am sure he is a clever bloke and his heart is in the right place, but he has zero charisma and in today's media-driven world, that is a mssive disadvantage.

Harriet Harman is awful, they are all awful.

I think it is dreadful that they haven't come up with one clear policy. At the moment it just feels like if Labour got elected they would rush to undo as much as possible of what the Coalition has put in place so far, and hang the cost. Which makes me very nervous.

Elabella1401 YUCK! I'd rather have Brown or Blair back than Harpy Harperson.

While she may appeal to women, she would struggle to fill a phone box with male supporters.

I think Marmite is an understatement!!!