Benn Angered by Johnson Campaign 'Dirty Tricks'

Yesterday I commented HERE on the Sunday Telegraph story on Hilary Benn and his supposed failure to declare shares held in a company which does business with DFID.

The very timing of this story seems to be particularly suspicious - almost as if the timing is intended to damage his campaign. This set me thinking. In whose interests would it be to dump Benn out of the deputy leadership race before nominations close? Previous opinion polls have suggested that Hilary Benn is very popular among trade unions and Labour Party members, so if he makes it onto the ballot his stock may very well rise.

There is, of course, one candidate in particular who is relying on trade union support and that is former trade union leader Alan Johnson. Johnson already has around 80 MPs signed up to him and if he gets the majority of trade union votes he may well be home and dry.

This fact hasn't escaped the dirty tricks department of the Alan Johnson campaign. They are the ones being fingered for the leak of the Benn story to the Sunday Telegraph. Benn's campaign team are said to be plotting their revenge. Nothing like a bit of fraternalism is there?

UPDATE: The John campaign media manager has been on to me denying any wrongdoing. I'm happy to publicise their denial. However, my sources are fairly strong on this...

Is Hilary Benn Struggling to Make the Cut?

It's a political truism that nice guys often come last. Could it really be that Hilary Benn can't muster the 44 votes needed to progress to the final stage of Labour's Deputy Leadership contest? Labour MP Chris Bryant certainly thinks so. He was overheard in Portcullis House talking in a very loud voice telling a female Labour MP that Hilary Benn won't make it but Jon Cruddas will.