Youth hustings: Live blog

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Eds Balls and Miliband mingling with the audience at the end of the hustings.

As the crowd filters out the campaign teams hoover up email addresses and phone numbers. Smartly Ed miliband moves down into the lobby to meet supporters and shake hands, soon joined by Ed Balls. David Milibands team are out in force but there’s no sign of the candidate himself, nor any sign of supporters of Abbott or Burnham.

VERDICT: A score draw, in which no one made a significant breakthrough. All candidates received sustained rounds of applause throughout the meeting. However, Diane Abbott didn’t make the breakthrough I was expecting, considering the young, London audience. Ed Miliband and Diane Abbott seemed to side together a couple of times, which perhaps suggests a potential alliance. David Miliband and Ed Balls were both strong, while Andy Burnham finished well but was often frozen out of the debate. Nothing will be decided on events like this; it was a very friendly, non-threatening audience and all the candidates will face tougher tests than this. But there was a great atmosphere and it made me feel positive about the future of the Labour Party, whoever is leading it.

19:30 The final question is part how do you compare with Gordon Brown, and part closing statement. Abbott is up first and says she’s the same as Gordon as she loves this country, but we didn’t listen to people enough, our supporters and even our MPs. If we’d listened we wouldn’t have been in an illegal war in Iraq or have dropped the 10p tax band.

Ed Miliband says we owe a huge debt of gratitude to Gordon Brown, and there are people who have better lives thanks to Gordon. He says he can translate ideals into policy, and would bring in a living wage and act on top pay. He also says we need a leader “who can inspire people to our cause”; he says he did that on climate change and he can do it as leader.

David Miliband says he wants to talk about Keir Hardie to whoops from the crowd. Standing to give his closing speech he says we need an honest, authentic leader. He says he’s serious about the redistribution of power. He says Tony Blair’s plan for a chair was a good idea; but that the position was appointed by Tony was a bad idea, and his speech receives the biggest round of applase of the night.

Ed Balls says we’re not in power because we didn’t ‘get it’. We need to be a campaigning party from the bottom up, and a strong campaigning leader. He says his grandfather died when his father was ten, but his father went to university because Labour gave him a chance, and that’s why he’s Labour.

Burnham says the reasons we lost are fundamental, but Labour is nothing if we’re not about challenging elites. He says we’ve got to bring the Labour family back together and we need ideas to inspire. He says he’s a unifier, who can speak to all parts of the Labour family. “If you want a party that’s got it’s life and soul back, come and join my campaign.”

19.15 Diane Abbott says women should be able to take class action law suits against employers for gender discrimination, and that this should be the last election with only one woman candidate. Ed Miliband says we need 50% of women in the cabinet.

I’ve just learned you can watch the hustings here.

19.10 Another question from the audience: how do we get more young people involved in society? David Miliband says we should give them the vote, and open up our party. He also says he has a plan to train 1,000 community organisers from his campaign funds. Balls says it’s not enough for us to say we want the hard work of young Labour members, and then not listen to them, while Burnham says that the debate is too often “what’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you interested in politics?”. Diane Abbott says young people “want to see politicians who say what they mean, and mean what they say.” Ed Miliband says being a party member needs to be exciting, and that Labour must “be a party which makes change happen.”

19:05 The debate’s moved onto relations with Israel now. Ed Miliband says we should be tough with America and tough on the isue of Israeli behaviour towards its neighbours. David Miliband says the actions of Israel are “self-harming”, and that we must capitalise on the good will of the US government on this issue. 19.05 Andy Burnham says, “like everyone else on the panel, I’m a friend of Israel, but they make it hard sometimes”, and that we should think of this as an investment issue. Diane Abbot says we should distinguish between the people of Israel and their current government, which is pursuing “collective punishment for voting the wrong way”, and that negotiations to bring about a two state solution are the only way forward.

19:00 Diane Abbott says “the point of child benefit is that it is the cheapest and most effective way of dealing with child poverty”. Ed Miliband gives us the second “I agree with Diane” moment (henceforth knows as an IAWDM?). David Miliband says that if the system isn’t broke we shouldn’t fix it, and Balls says that we need to defend the universal welfare state. Andy Burnham then trumps the rest of the candidates, and says he agrees with everyone. He says universal benefits are important so that “people on the wrong side of the line” don’t become resentful.

18.55 Onto inequality now. Diane Abbott says we “did some good things but we should’ve done more”, and says we should’ve used taxation more at the top end. Ed Miliband returns to his plans for a high pay commision, while David Miliband says be are being betrayed by the government on child poverty. However, he says that Labour mustn’t forget about the communities that poor children live in, and not just think in terms of absolute poverty. Ed Balls said that in government he paid a living wage to everyone in his department, and that the Tories want to “ghettoise the welfare state to the poorest”. Andy Burnham has an “I agree with Diane” moment, saying that we should have done more, and that we lost track of the reality of poor people’s lives.

18.50 Andy Burnham now says that this economic crisis gives Labour a chance to argue for a new type of economy – and cites the Co-op bank and mutuals are an example of positive, strong old fashioned values. He’s got back into the debate with that very popular opininon in the hall.

18:45 Moving on to banking reform, Andy Burnham says Labour was “seduced by big business”, and that it looked like the party was “saving bankers, not ordinary people”, as Labour struggled to get its message out. Diane Abbott says bankers need better regulation, and uses Spanish banks as an example. Ed Miliband says “we let the market take charge”, and says he takes his share of the blame for that. Ed Miliband gets widespread applause for his support for a high pay commission. David Miliband reminds the audience that we should remember those without bank accounts and support credit unions, but that this is an international issue, and that we should pursue a global levy or “Robin Hood” tax. Ed Balls says there was a global failure of governance – but Abbott interjects to ask if Balls would support her and Ed Miliband in splitting retail and investment banks; Balls says that although Vince Cable might support that, he doesn’t. Abbott and Ed Miliband round on Ed Balls for that remark, and Andy Burnham and David Miliband srtuggle to get a word in edgeways.

18:40 Ed Balls says that Michael Gove’s plans for education would create a “two tier education system”. Andy Burnham says that the combination of free schools and the abandonment of Building Schools for the Future is a double blow for his constituency. Diane Abbott talked about early years education – particularly Sure Start, and got the second round of applause of the evening. Ed Miliband follows up, saying we should “accelerate moves towards a diploma” in further education, and that we are over examining students, to applause from a room with a high student population.

18:30 Answering a question on student fees, David Miliband says he opposes “banging up the fees” for Higher Education, and doesn’t want to put increases in widening participation at risk. Ed Balls, however, openly comes out in favour of abolishing tuition fees, and namechecks outgoing NUS President Wes Streeting as he endorses a Graduate Tax – and gets the first applause of the night. Diane Abbott follows up, saying “I voted against tuition fees”. She also supports a Graduate Tax, she says, as does Ed Miliband, who says his concern is “fear of debt” that prohibits young people attending university. David Miliband is challenged by Fiona Phillips as the only candidate not to back a graduate tax. He says that the big issue is “getting the financing right”, but doesn’t commit to a graduate tax. A show of hands in the room shows a fairly even split for and against graduate tax.

18.10: The candidates move on to youth unemployment. Ed Miliband says that he plans to defend against youth unemployment, while David talks of defending university places. Ed Balls says “it is only government working to deliver those jobs” (for young people). Andy Burnham says we could’ve done more in government to provide apprenticeships in the public centre. Diane Abbott says that not enough of the billions poured into the Olympics have been spent on opportunities for young people – playing to the local audience in Stratford.

UPDATE: Fiona Phillips, of GMTV fame, is chairing the event tonight. the first question was “Who will win the World Cup?” All candidates say England will win it (wishful thinking); Andy Burnham says he won’t look looking forward to the hustings in Glasgow tomorrow night should England lose against the US tomorrow.

Tonight’s hustings are from Stratford, which we’ll be liveblogging here from 6pm. Some of the candidates have been very active today, with two writing posts for LabourList – whilst others are biding their time, hoping to make an impact at hustings tonight.

ANDY BURNHAM was the third candidate to email members today – following emails from both Miliband brothers in recent days. Burnham continued to define himself as the working class candidate for leader, saying:

“I come from an ordinary family and am proud to represent my home area in Parliament. My feet are firmly on the ground and I’ve never forgotten where I come from.”

DAVID MILIBAND wrote for LabourList today on his plans to re-energise the Labour movement.

ED BALLS also wrote for LabourList, and talked of his plans to harness young people within Labour.