Any Labour members care to start a discussion regarding the leadership election?

[MarionCole]

Firstly, the email from Ray Collins which says "we have to make sure that those who share our values and beliefs are invited to have their say. That?s why we?ll shortly be taking out an advert in a national newspaper to invite them to join and to play their part." Does that mean they have changed the rules so that new members can vote?

I had a dream about Ed Miliband last night, I think it may be clouding my judgment.

I suppose it makes sense as he is the most right-wing of the candidates

He is still very much championing New Labour

do you mean David Miliband or Pascoe-Watson? Both seem to still be New Labourites. The links between Murdoch and New Labour were quite deep.

BecauseImWorthIt - yes ED M has it all .

Sorry claig, meant Miliband.

Ed Miliband failed in his Climate Change portfolio, and he failed even harder with the Labour manifesto.

He now claims he wouldn't have voted for the Iraq War because he votes his conscience - but spearheaded the Labour project for a third runway at Heathrow despite not believing in it.

Has he actually ever accomplished anything??

Well, he's quite hot, longfingernails - that's an accomplishment!

Still unsure about why all the tory girls are taking over this thread? As if Labour members are going to take on board what people who think that Thatcher was Great think.

LadyBlaBla

I love the intrigue and drama of politics... and it is very important for the country, not to mention the Tory party and the coalition, who the next Labour leader is.

I have contributed loads of links and articles about the selection - and mainly from the Guardian, New Statesman and Labour blogs, not exactly the Spectator...

Anyway, my point still stands.

Andy Burnham at least handled swine flu OK. He wasted colossal sums of money in the process, but being Labour, that is probably seen as a good thing.

Ed Balls, for all his awfulness, did make lots of changes at Education.

Mili-D was a terrible Foreign Secretary, but despite that, still managed some things - like negotiating a hostage release or two.

What exactly has Mili-E done during his time as a minister?

"As if Labour members are going to take on board what people who think that Thatcher was Great think."

Campbell's diary confirms what many of us knew all along about Tory Blair :

AUGUST 30, 2000: TB said it was important I understood why parts of Thatcherism were right. TB said [to his advisers]: ?What gives me real edge is that I?m not as Labour as you lot.? I pointed out that was a rather discomfiting observation. He said it was true.

Forget Campbell. Of Blair, Thatcher herself said:

"I see a lot of socialism behind their front bench, but not in Mr Blair. I think he genuinely has moved."

"Ed Miliband failed in his Climate Change portfolio, and he failed even harder with the Labour manifesto." per longfingernails....since when failing on manifesto stopped you from becoming party leader...reference Dave Cameron!

I don't mean to sound defensive here, but I intended this as a thread where we could discuss our observations on the candidates without having to justify who did or didn't do what as a minister (let alone discuss Blair's ideology). We've moved on from that, this is about an ability to rebuild and reconnect the party.

OK - point taken.

More constructively, here is a precis of yesterday's hustings at Young Labour - though I am generally suspicious of opinions of candidates being relayed almost as facts.

www.labourlist.org/youth-hustings-live-blog-mark-ferguson

I would prefer to watch for myself, but can't. Apparently the hustings were streamed live online but I can't find a replay of the video.

I will leave the country if Dianna Abbot gets it.

I am fairly certain that she wont but i am angry that she has even been put forward tbh

And the Compass conference is happening right now, with all the candidates there.

No video feed there either it seems.

I'm going to hustings next month for exactly that reason. The media already seems to have decided that Miliband D will be elected and therefore only seem to focus on what he has to say. We have heard nothing really from Andy Burnham, not much from Ed Balls. I want to be able to hear them all for myself.

Prolesworth, how did they all do? What arguments did Abbott use to steal the show? How did the rest of then rank? Who came off worst?

Prolesworth

I demand a full report!

All I can hear is those ridiculous vuvuzelas, various unedifying grunts, all accompanied by assorted curses/cheers emanating from the room next door.

The BBC showed the New Statesman hustings earlier on BBC Parliament, but I missed it.

Not on iPlayer yet but when it is it will be here

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00stcj8/Political_Highlights_12_06_2010/

Thanks lfn, will be looking at that.

thanks Prolesworth and longfingernails, good links

Sorry, yes, and proles