You’ve made your bed; now lie in it

By Cat Smith /@IDontDoTwitta

In the 2007 Labour Party leadership ‘election’ there was one candidate and no ballot paper. The coronation of Brown as leader of the Labour Party was not helpful for internal Labour Party democracy and in the bigger picture has not helped make us look like we are united behind Brown when we have MP’s like Joan Ryan, Fiona Mactaggart et al who nominated Brown in 2007, but by 2008 was calling for his resignation.

Gordon Brown’s leadership has been everything I expected it to be. He has continued down the road New Labour started in 1997, with privatising public services and supporting the wars. His leadership skills may be less charismatic than Tony Blair but then what did you expect? It’s somewhat disingenuous that MPs who did not back an alternative leadership two years ago should now be calling for one so close to a general election.

Electing a leader without an election has not been the smartest move ever. Gordon Brown was backed by those considered both ‘Blairite’ and ‘Brownite’ yet even MPs like Charles Clarke who this month told us how he was ashamed to be a Labour MP did not organise a challenge to the Brown leadership bid. It riles me as Labour Party member to see our elected representatives attacking a leadership they did nothing to challenge.

With a general election about a year away it’s time we stopped all this talk of leadership contests, attacking Brown, and debating the possibility of a Cruddas-Purnell leadership bid. Seriously, you’ve made you bed; now lie in it. Get behind Brown and let’s resume this conversation in twelve months time, hen I think we can all agree there should be a choice. And I mean a real choice about the future and direction of the Labour Party.

Cat Smith
(Backed John McDonnell MP for the Labour Party leadership in 2007, but more importantly backed having an actual election for leader.)