Deputy leadership update

Recent developments in the deputy leadership race, courtesy of a news service I receive entitled "For men with an unusual, and perculiar, interest":

Deputy Labour leadership latest

Snippets, rumours and gossip and the race to succeed Prescott

11/01/07

Liam Byrne and Bill Rammell devote an article in the Guardian to attacking Jon Cruddas - a sign that those at the top of government are waking up to the threat he poses.

Soft soap interview of Harman in the Daily Telegraph. Again she stresses family policy. Also she doesn't cook dinner for Jack Dromey.

Party officials have advised candidates that they will interpret the rules on nominations as meaning 44 nominations plus the candidate themselves.

The contest could resolve itself into a threeway Cruddas-Blears-Johnson contest.

10/01/07

New Year roundup:

Where to begin?

Straw seems to be out, no clear reason why, although malicious rumours of personal problems are circulating.

Much has been made of Blears protests against health cuts in Salford - more important perhaps has been her repudiation of Philips in the FT (08/01/07), especially as she is officially the lead labour negotiator.

Hain has enjoyed his moment of Lesbian and Gay glory pushing through the new equality regulations early in NI.

Cruddas now claims to have 44 nominations bolted down. Mainly drawn from old-school trade unionists and the 2001 and 2005 generation.

There was very brief Corbyn for Deputy campaign. Unfortunately reality took a hand. No sign of it doing so in the McDonnell for leader campaign.

Alan Johnson? All sides seem to agree he will get the highest number of nominations from MPs. No signs that a friendly journalist has yet explained to his SPADs that union members, or indeed Party members, get a vote.