Deputy Leadership

An MP posting as "Red Sky" on Political Betting, has posted the following comment on the Labour deputy Leadership:

A couple of deputy leadership updates. And the folks who said one can’t nominate two are right. Sorry!
1. Hazel Blears now expected to stand, as maybe is Caroline Flint. But Jack Straw decided some months ago not to, as he’s more interested in the deputy PM side than the campaigning-round-the-party side that Gordon clearly has in mind.
2. Alan Johnson has opened up a lead in MP support - close to 100.
3. Nobody else is yet in a position to declare 44 supporters. The Hain and Cruddas camps claim to be over the top, and both will porbably make it, but some just don’t want to go public at this stage.
4. Not clear that Harman is close to 44, and Benn might not make it either.There is a lot of disinformation around, so treat all this with caution.
by Red Sky MP February 10th, 2007 at 1:05 pm

I was interested to see that Caroline Flint may be standing. I hope she does, and I hope that female Labour people will back her. I think she's a very competant minister (she manages difficult questioning on TV on the NHS much more effectively than Patricia Hewitt). Her look is typical of a lot of women in their thirties and forties, a managerial type, she's representative of our generation in a way that Hazel Blears is not, we can relate to her. This is important because this cohort of females will decide the next election. She is also good-looking and has a large male following (particularly among Lib Dem males), which can't hurt. I hope Labour people realise that we have to choose a deputy leader who will enhance our chances of winning the next election, and not base the choice on internal factional issues. I hope she stands and I hope she wins.

To read the Political Betting thread in full, click here. Red Sky's comment is number 102.