Ed Miliband has won the Labour leadership after narrowly beating brother David in a dramatic run-off vote ahead of the party's conference.

Ed won by just over 1% from former foreign secretary David after second, third and fourth preference votes came into play.

He said a "new generation" had taken charge of Labour and it had to change.

Ed Balls was third, Andy Burnham fourth and Diane Abbott last in the ballot of MPs, members and trade unionists.

Mr Miliband, 40, replaces acting leader Harriet Harman in the contest triggered by the resignation of Gordon Brown.

When anybody in Labour says anything is 'New' it usually spells trouble, lol.

In all honesty, I am not even sure the result matters as Miliband has to wait five years to make any real difference (if that is what he desires to do). What do you think, Phil?

I'm confused. If brown resigned, doesn't that trigger new elections for PM?


I am not even sure the result matters as Miliband has to wait five years to make any real difference


If that's right, then why 5 years?

Brother against brother?  I sense a bit of uneasy around the Christmas tree this year.

Brother against brother?  I sense a bit of uneasy around the Christmas tree this year.
But is their mother still proud of them?

I'm confused. If brown resigned, doesn't that trigger new elections for PM?
If that's right, then why 5 years?


Brown didn't resign. He was forced to hold a general election this year. There are three main parties in the UK - Labour (left - former leader Gordon Brown), Conservative (right - leader David Cameron) and Liberal Democrats (more left than Labour - leader Nick Clegg). The election was held in a 'hung parliament'. This means there was no outright winner in the election so Labour and Conservative had to sweet-talk The Liberal Democrats. The Liberal Democrats, despite being a main party, had very little hope in winning the election on votes. However, they had the seats available to make either Labour or Conservative an outright winner of the election. The Liberal Democrats decided to work with Conservative and so therefore formed a coalition government. Cameron is the official Prime Minister as he recieved the most votes in the election and Clegg is a deputy as he had the seats available to help Cameron win the election. So, for good or bad, we now have two captains steering the same ship.

A general election usually occurs every 5 years and June 2015 is the next one. As long as Ed Miliband doesn't say or do anything stupid in the next five years he should be able to run for Prime Minister in next election.

When anybody in Labour says anything is 'New' it usually spells trouble, lol.



Labour pains?
???

Labour pains?
???


Very good, Maxwell. Tony Blair before Gordon Brown coined the term 'New Labour'. It's party pledges in 1997 included:

cut class sizes to 30 or under for 5, 6 and 7 year-olds by using money from the assisted places scheme
fast-track punishment for persistent young offenders by halving the time from arrest to sentencing
cut NHS waiting lists by treating an extra 100,000 patients as a first step by releasing £100 million saved from NHS red tape
get 250,000 under-25 year-olds off benefit and into work by using money from a windfall levy on the privatised utilities
no rise in income tax rates, cut VAT on heating to 5 per cent and inflation and interest rates as low as possible

What 'New Labour' did introduce...

Individual Learning Accounts
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Human Rights Act 1998
National Minimum Wage Act 1998
Regional Development Agencies
Devolution
UK Trident programme (retaining)
Windfall Tax (United Kingdom)
Landmines (total ban)

To be fair, 'New Labour' did introduce some good things at the time but they were mostly offset by a lack of competence in the public sector and an increase in beaurocracy, creating a 'nanny state' with QUANGO's  (an acronym for quasi non-governmental organisation). Some of these organisations were genuinely neccessary to regulate certain aspects of life but it became clear late on there were thousands of people on a public payroll who were not benefitting the country with these groups one little bit - either because the groups were outdated or simply because they didn't achieve anything apart from allow people to pocket thousands of pounds very easily...

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/08092009/389/quangos-spend-money.html

This incompetency was highlighted in the way the UK unsuccessfully dealt with Immigration, Child tax credit benefit and the mishandling of confidential information. Even now, at least a million people are affected by PAYE tax issues here. Due to using the wrong code for these people, it meant they paid less tax than they should have, all of a sudden getting a letter through the door saying they owe anything between £1200 and £1400 (approx. $2500?).

I am believing what I am writing here is correct but if you would like more details you may have to ask Philbo and Philip Eno. :)

The "New Labour" sounds a lot like the "New Democrats."  Political platitudes from pencil-pushing pundits.  They're tweaking the edges of what the corporate state will allow.  Those government lawyers make a lot of money. 

I traveled through a lot of the UK in 1991.  I didn't just stick to touristy areas.  I never saw anything like the kind of destitution you find in hundreds of pockets of the US.  I know about the scandals with the notorious council high-rise flats and the gangs and so forth.  Man...those gangs didn't have guns in the number or firepower we've got in the US.  I was a skinny white boy.  Never felt menaced at all in Brixton.  Last fall, I got lost in the Bronx.  It was for all of five minutes, but I was scared zhitless...anyway, tracked a little off topic here. 

I'm saying, Britain appears to be taking on water, but the US feels like she's about to founder!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/05/freak6.gif

The "New Labour" sounds a lot like the "New Democrats."  Political platitudes from pencil-pushing pundits.  They're tweaking the edges of what the corporate state will allow.  Those government lawyers make a lot of money.

Yes, very true. There were organisations like A British Potato Council (organised 'Chip week'), Wine Standards Board and Milk Development Council to name a few. There is no reason these organisations should exist because we have politicians (minister for health being one) who should be dealing with this stuff themselves.

I traveled through a lot of the UK in 1991.  I didn't just stick to touristy areas.  I never saw anything like the kind of destitution you find in hundreds of pockets of the US.  I know about the scandals with the notorious council high-rise flats and the gangs and so forth.  Man...those gangs didn't have guns in the number or firepower we've got in the US.  I was a skinny white boy.  Never felt menaced at all in Brixton.  Last fall, I got lost in the Bronx.  It was for all of five minutes, but I was scared zhitless...anyway, tracked a little off topic here.  

I see. We don't have a gun culture as such (though we are capable of harbouring gun-toting nutters like anywhere else).  The favoured weapon for the English are knives at the moment and there have been political campaigns to deal with knife crimes and stabbings, especially in London. I think it depends on what you are used to. I lived in Wolverhampton which was a rough urban city and then moved to the South West 14 years ago where the crime rate doesn't seem to be palpable. I have walked through the rough clubbing districts late at night amongst the revellers on a Friday night without fear but I doubt I would have the nerve to do that in Wolverhampton. It's like yourself when you walked around Brixton, it is notorious for being one of the roughest places in London. After dealing with The Bronx I'm sure Brixton was a walk in the park.

I'm saying, Britain appears to be taking on water, but the US feels like she's about to founder!
http://www.inthe00s.com/smile/05/freak6.gif

The UK is skating on thin ice and I think we are only scratching the surface as to the severity of the financial cuts being made by the government. The UK is already seeing a square off between union leaders and politicians and I can personally see riots happening on the streets within the next two years like Greece had.

The British people have rarely had any trust in politicians (opting to vote to remove someone from office rather than to vote someone in) but the government has realised that apathy has set in and voting has decreased. It's this lack of faith that was likely the reason for the 'hung parliament' decision. People are slowly realising that the more things change, the more things stay the same. My feeling on the matter is can I really call it democracy when I only have swindlers to choose from? :-\\

I would have voted for Mr. Balls.

Yes, very true. There were organisations like A British Potato Council (organised 'Chip week'), Wine Standards Board and Milk Development Council to name a few. There is no reason these organisations should exist because we have politicians (minister for health being one) who should be dealing with this stuff themselves.

I see. We don't have a gun culture as such (though we are capable of harbouring gun-toting nutters like anywhere else).  The favoured weapon for the English are knives at the moment and there have been political campaigns to deal with knife crimes and stabbings, especially in London. I think it depends on what you are used to. I lived in Wolverhampton which was a rough urban city and then moved to the South West 14 years ago where the crime rate doesn't seem to be palpable. I have walked through the rough clubbing districts late at night amongst the revellers on a Friday night without fear but I doubt I would have the nerve to do that in Wolverhampton. It's like yourself when you walked around Brixton, it is notorious for being one of the roughest places in London. After dealing with The Bronx I'm sure Brixton was a walk in the park.

The UK is skating on thin ice and I think we are only scratching the surface as to the severity of the financial cuts being made by the government. The UK is already seeing a square off between union leaders and politicians and I can personally see riots happening on the streets within the next two years like Greece had.

The British people have rarely had any trust in politicians (opting to vote to remove someone from office rather than to vote someone in) but the government has realised that apathy has set in and voting has decreased. It's this lack of faith that was likely the reason for the 'hung parliament' decision. People are slowly realising that the more things change, the more things stay the same. My feeling on the matter is can I really call it democracy when I only have swindlers to choose from? :-\\


I recall hearing news of riots and burning in Britain around the time Callaghan got ousted and Thatcher.  The so-called "Winter of Discontent" was '78-'79, but I'm thinking of riots in the summer of 1980 (?).  I was just a kid so I didn't know the politics, but the news media over here made it sound like Britain was in danger of revolution!  The trade unions were happy to mix it up with the opposition, but the news chalked up the arsons to punk kids.  Britain survived its economic basketcase of the seventies.  My guess is she'll muddle through this one too.
:o

Ed Miliband said his "new generation" would take Labour back to power, in his first big speech as party leader.

I recall hearing news of riots and burning in Britain around the time Callaghan got ousted and Thatcher.  The so-called "Winter of Discontent" was '78-'79, but I'm thinking of riots in the summer of 1980 (?).  I was just a kid so I didn't know the politics, but the news media over here made it sound like Britain was in danger of revolution!  The trade unions were happy to mix it up with the opposition, but the news chalked up the arsons to punk kids.  Britain survived its economic basketcase of the seventies.  My guess is she'll muddle through this one too.
:o


Yes, the riots occurred after the 'Winter of Discontent'. I'm guessing James Callaghan's attitude was what got him ousted:

"On 10 January, James Callaghan arrived back from a summit in Guadeloupe in the middle of the lorry drivers' strike. Having been tipped off that the press were present, his press secretary Tom McCaffrey advised him to say nothing and return immediately to work, but his political adviser Tom McNally thought that the image of Callaghan returning and declaring his intent to take control of the situation would be reassuring. Callaghan therefore decided to give a press conference at Heathrow airport. To McNally's dismay Callaghan was jocular and referred to having had a swim in the Caribbean during the summit. He was then asked (by a reporter from the Evening Standard) "What is your general approach, in view of the mounting chaos in the country at the moment?" and replied:

"Well, that's a judgment that you are making. I promise you that if you look at it from outside, and perhaps you're taking rather a parochial view at the moment, I don't think that other people in the world would share the view that there is mounting chaos."
The next day's edition of The Sun featured the famous headline "Crisis? What crisis?" with a subheading "Rail, lorry, jobs chaos—and Jim blames press".



There does seem to be some interesting parallels to the Winter of Discontent and now. Again trade unions are at the forefront of things and our economy is something out of a horror movie. Yet again, we have the Conservatives clearing up after Labour.