This is Jon Cruddas. Remember the name. He could play a big part in the future of politics over the next twelve months. Speculation today is that Left Winger John McConnell is planning a stalking horse campaign to overthrow Gordon Brown. He doesn't stand a cat in hell's chance. Indeed, my own feeling is that it's probably an impossibility to get Gordon Brown out of Number Ten barring the possibility of a visit from the men in white coats - something one ex Labour Cabinet Minister is openly talking about.
However, If Labour MPs are to take action against Brown they will need to coalesce around someone who commands the respect of all parts of the party. Jon Cruddas could be that man. He ran a superb deputy leadership campaign and was careful not to join Team Gordon whe he was offered a junior post last July. At the time I thought he had copped out, but he knew what was coming and didn't want to be scarred by it. He also knows he has a fight on his hands to retain his Dagenham constituency, where he's facing an onslaught from his Tory candidate Simon Jones, one of the best campaigners the Conservatives have.
For Jon Cruddas, his 'shit or bust' moment may arrive soon. Then we'll see who has real courage - Cruddas or Brown.
27 comments:
Blimey! I fancy Jon as the next Labour Mayoral candidate personally. I don't think he's interested in being Labour party leader (maybe in opposition). Most people want D Miliband to be the next Labour leader....
Pipsqueak Rubberband? UgorraBjoking.
I had to laugh at the Labour fella on Newsnight Thursday or Friday who regurgitated the Shit or Bust phrase, seemingly having never heard it before until Tony Blair used it.
Are these people grown in a greenhouse and only let out into the real world once fully grown?
Anyhow, Jon Cruddas still hasn't yet paid his Deputy Leader fundraising levy to the Labour party. Someone might have paid it for him mind, and he was well supported by the unions.
On a similar theme Gorgon Brown made a donation late last year of over £89k. That's very generous of him...
McConnell emailed Sky to say he's not going ahead with a challenge.
The current Foreign Secretary has been promoted over and above his ability level.
He has no presence on screen and no connection with the public.
Probably an ideal replacement then!
What kind of man loses his temper and throws his phone at the wall - he's a complete nutter!!!
In any other job he would have been sacked for gross misconduct. A secretary should step up the plate and make a complaint - the MP's are all too feeble to do it.
I want New Labour to lose the election as much as any other Tory, and would be happy to advise New Labour to keep him - but to have a complete lunatic who smashes phones as wall and scream and shouts at fellow workers - that's in a different league.
He's completely bonkers, a lunatic, mad and mentally unstable. We have a psychopath as a Prime Minister. The men in the grey coats need to lock him up and throw away the key.
According to the front of the Mail on Sunday and its political editor Simon Walters, John McDonnell is going to mount a stalking horse challenge to Brown.
What utter made-up nonsense. I'm no fan of McDonnell, but judging by the press notice that I've been sent by him, the Mail's drivel must be up for a nomination in the best fiction section!
PRESS NOTICE…PRESS NOTICE
For immediate release
Statement by John McDonnell MP:
No Stalking Horse Challenge
There is absolutely no truth to the story circulating in some sections of the press this morning that I am preparing to run a stalking horse challenge to Gordon Brown. Neither myself nor any of my staff have indicated anything of the kind and the report is pure fabrication.
I would never stand as a stalking horse.
Last time when I tried to challenge, it was a genuine attempt to set out a different political direction for the party and to offer Labour Party members a real choice of the way forward after the Blair era. That challenge failed because I could not muster the nominations of 12.5% of the PLP needed to stand under party rules when there is a vacancy for the position of leader.
While there is an incumbent no contestant can stand without the nomination of 20% of the PLP, i.e. currently 70 MPs + the candidate. That makes it completely impossible for me to contemplate me running as a stalking horse, even if I thought it the right thing to do which I do not.
The party does indeed face a very serious challenge following our mauling by the electorate on Thursday, but we need to concentrate on getting our policies right and restoring the trust of our supporters. We cannot spin and re-launch our way back to popularity, nor is the anger we are facing from the electorate going to disappear when recent errors are forgotten.
We are facing a deep seated malaise that can only be addressed by a radical change of direction and a programme of concrete policies which address the real concerns that people have.
I think Labour back benechers will not want to go down to a 1997 defeat in 2010. Thus they will find a way to give Gordon Brown his P45 before then. Lets be honest, Tony Blair was seen as a small c Conservative. Brown is seen as a dour Scot with bad communication skills. The question is who has the guts in the Cabinet to tell him to go, recall Lady T was sent on her way by the Cabinet.
David "special-needs haircut" Milliband! Oh please!
"He also knows he has a fight on his hands to retain his Dagenham constituency, where he's facing an onslaught from his Tory candidate Simon Jones, one of the best campaigners the Conservatives have."
Simon Jones may be a good campaigner but the Conservatives have as much chance of taking Dagenham and Rainham as Labour have of taking Kensington.
The BNP have more chance of success there.
The Guardian's website had a short video of him touring his constituency talking about the threat to Labour from the BNP vote, he didn't come over as very impressive.
David Milligram?
Sounds like a bit of a lightweight to me.
Boom! Bust!
I think labour would be mad to change their leader during the next 4 months. With an economc downturn coming. Why impose a new leader then. Wait atleast 6 months. Then before the next election give that new leader s short period between his election and the general election then he can still get the most our of tow month homywmoon period.
Why is it impossible to get Brown out of No. 10? If enough Labour MPs vote against the Government a general election will follow.
However, if my snout was guaranteed to remain in the trough for the next two years why should I risk losing it after just a few more weeks?
Is it not generally accepted that bald men do not usually win elections?
If that is the case in reality, then Crudass would seem to have little chance of being the next, if ever, Labour premier.
DES - please, put me out of my misery, what is a
HOMEYWOOM????
is it A Homey on the Rangey?
or A Woom Wiv a Woo (and Yeou)?
or Awhimowey (that fake African song)?
and what do any of them have to do with Gordon Disaster Zone Brown?
Err... I know the photo on the original post is cropped, but I would like to make it clear that Jon Cruddas is not bald.
"Is it not generally accepted that bald men do not usually win elections?"
Churchill?
Attlee?
judith Are you in misery. No wonder with your pednatry on spelling LOL.
Ah, yes, the dreaded pednatry - would that be having a pregnant foot?
No, I'm not 'in misery' - I'm as happy as the birdies that sing in the spring, tra-la, my home city no longer has a lying, cheating, drunken, Marxist terrorist-loving Mayor running it!
Boris is 'Chairman of the Board', my Tory Assembly Member won a 3rd time with a landslide, and the wonderful Boffy is joining him.
I've not been so happy in years!
No, I'm not 'in misery' - I'm as happy as the birdies
Ah yes Away with the birdies. I thought so LOL.
Time will Tell said...
"Is it not generally accepted that bald men do not usually win elections? If that is the case in reality, then Crudass would seem to have little chance of being the next, if ever, Labour premier"
Jon Cruddas has got more hair than Iain.
Nah, it will be Stalking Horse jugears Clarke followed by Milburn and/or "Red" Ken.
Miliband is in a pickle, as he is closely tied to the Brown regime. I suspect he was waiting to get a fat sinecure in the EU Machine as a reward for his treason. He is also a slimy, oleaginous velcro-headed lizard.
judith said...
"I've not been so happy in years!"
Then spend less time with tories and meet some real men.
Anonymous 10.29
It rather proves my point - Iain stood for Parliament in 2005 and experienced one of the biggest anti -Tory swings in the country.
Unfortunately I have not yet been in the position to carry out a follicle comparison between Crudass and Iain - but Crudass is demonstrably in negative territory, I am happy to say.
Don't you mean John McDonnell ?
"This is Jon Cruddas. Remember the name."
As though we had never heard of him before ! Patronising twaddle...
I also suspect you have difficulty telling your Johns and your Jacks and McConnells and your McDonnells apart, so maybe you might get a job as a sub on the Torygraph yet..
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