Now, contain your excitement, but tonight aat 9pm the Shadow Cabinet election results will be announced. Forty nine Labour MPs have put themselves forward for the 19 places on offer. Six of those places have to go to women. I've been looking through the list and I will put my neck on the block and predict that these will be the 'lucky 19'. So that's put a curse on them then...
Douglas Alexander
Ed Balls
Hilary Benn
Andy Burnham
Liam Byrne
Yvette Cooper
John Denham
Caroline Flint
Peter Hain
John Healey
Alan Johnson
Tessa Jowell
Sadiq Khan
Stephen Timms
Stephen Twigg
Angela Eagle
Meg Hillier
Diane Abbott
Ben Bradshaw
I think Ben Bradshaw might be at risk and I doubt whether Shaun Woodward will get on. If Labour MPs have any sense they will elect Chris Bryant and Tom Harris, but I suspect those two won't be lucky, but for different reasons.
If I am right about most of these people, the Shadow Cabinet will look very similar to Gordon Brown's last Cabinet, which could be a real problem for Ed Miliband. If he had a free hand and could chose his own team I suspect at least five of these names wouldn't appear on his own list.
I'll bring you the results live on my LBC show tonight as soon as they are announced.
12 comments:
Seeing as the gov is making a VERY big thing about public money and public accountability. I have wondered why they don't pass a law that makes it illegal to pay money to any institution that does not have signed off accounts and provides value for money.
That should sort out the payment to the EU in one stroke.
Caroline Flint! Oh dear.
I notice that theiving bastards and arseholes and bitches are overly represented on your list and is not a true reflection of the national demographic.
who are the 5< apart from Abbott obviously
Dear God! It's all the people who got the last government into the mess it was in in the first place!
No Jim Murphy? Pretty sure he's a shoo in. Helped run David's campaign so he has a big support base, plus fairly well liked and has served as Scottish Sec.
Who?
It is very difficult to pick six women from the candidates. With the exception of Cooper and Jowell (and possibly Hiller), the others are either lightweight or volatile.
I'll stick my head on the adjacent block and suggest La Abbott will be very lucky to make the cut.
If she does so, it's a sympathy vote by those who should know better.
Has Sadiq Khan got those 100+ friends? My, my! You amaze me.
Yvette to top the poll?
It strikes me how much more humane these people are than any of the current cabinet.
Well, that went better than one could hope. I reckon you missed out on Jim Murphy, Mary Creah, Ann McKechin, Ivan Lewis and the legal Eagle.
Now, convince us that looks at all like the outgoing Brown Cabinet (for good or ill). What's that? Eight new front-bench faces? Note too: eight women+Chief Whip+Deputy Leader. Women hold up half the sky: better get used to it, chaps.
13 out of 19. Must try harder!
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