Ed Miliband...

[MrsArchieTheInventor]

I'm a Labour voter and a socialist at heart, but I just can't take Ed seriously. He doesn't sound sincere and like he truly believes in what he's scripted to say and I have great difficulty in imagining him as PM. Ed Balls-up is the same but for different reasons. He just comes across as a smug pompous twat, and I'm saying that from personal experience of having met the man. Lasagna parties or not, you can't suddenly stop being an ignorant bellend just because your campaign director has decided you're going to have a different image.

I would honestly struggle to single out a potential Labour leader who could lead the party into an election victory. And unfortunately that includes David Miliband (living in Ed's shadow) and Yvette Cooper (also living in Ed's shadow).

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.

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.

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

Harriet Harman is a cold fish. In October 2004 I went to the filming of Question Time from the Baltic in Gateshead and she was on the panel along with Lembit Opik, Shami Chakrabati, Michael Gove and Michael Lander. There was a power cut during filming and all the emergency lights came on, so we could still see what we were doing but filming stopped for about half an hour. Most of us took the opportunity to go to the toilet. All the members of the panel, including Dimbleby, got up from their chairs and milled around the audience, talking interestedly with the proles. All members, that is, except Harman. She sat behind the desk with her arms folded like an impassive automatron with no flicker of natural emotion whatsoever. For that reason alone she would not get my vote as Labour leader, and that's before I get started on her flustering at the dispatch box and bumbled conference speech!

...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.

Chuka Umunna comes across a bit of an ill-informed opportunist. I cringed when he was on Question Time a couple of weeks back.