A day in the race: July 6th

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Last night the candidates were at the CSM hustings, where all five are reported to have refuted the notion that the Labour Leader “doesn’t do god”, as Alastair Campbell once said. Today the leadership race continued to revolve around the abandonment of the BSF program today, but there was still time for one candidate to lay out their plans for conference, another to make clear their views on fox hunting, and a third to push ahead with a volunteer drive.

ED BALLS spent today continuing his attacks on Michael Gove for the abandonment of the BSF program. In particular Balls was angry over the administrative errors that have created confusion over which schools will be affected. In a letter to Michael Gove today, Balls said:

“This is a very serious matter and I would ask you to come back to the House of Commons to apologise to the schools affected and to publish a final correct list showing clearly where the errors were so schools and communities can have certainty about whether or not they will receive the investment they were promised.”

“I believe this is a disgraceful way for a Secretary of State to make an announcement when opportunities for young people and the hopes of communities are in the balance.”“

Ed Balls has also attacked Gove for claiming that “unsustainable and irresponsible promises” were made by Balls when he was in charge of the department. This charge has already been refuted by the permenant secretary, and Ed has asked Gove to set the record straight.

DAVID MILIBAND was also on fighting form today as he echoed Balls’ criticism of the BSF cuts. Miliband said:

“The BSF cuts are another example of economic short-terminism; this time targeted at the construction industry. During the recession 183,000 construction jobs were lost, with 71,000 going at the end of last year. Since then there has been a fragile recovery. The coalition have yet again put this at risk.

Before the election David Cameron was fond of saying that Labour didn’t fix the roof while the sun was shining. The truth is we did fix the leaking roofs, the porta-cabin classrooms and the cramped spaces that they left us. I will oppose these new cuts to take us back.”

David also signed an EDM today supporting the ban on fox hunting, and his campaign received carbon neutral certification.

ANDY BURNHAM wrote an article for Progress today, outlining what he calls the Bassetlaw approach, modelled on what John Mann MP and his CLP have done by opening up the nomination process to all Labour supporters. Andy said:

“Some in the party may question this: why should those who don’t pay their way in the party have a say on something this important? I take a different view. The membership fee is a barrier to many people who would like to join the Labour. Thirty-nine pounds to be invited to a meeting in a few weeks’ time, to be in a room with people you’ve never met before – and perhaps would rather never meet again – is a lot to ask of people, particularly when times are tough”

Burnham also spoke about the ways in which he’d like to change the party structure – including changes to the role of conference, and conference delegates:

“I want to give members greater opportunity to discuss policy and party direction. In particular, under my leadership, being a delegate to annual conference will be more than wearing a pass and debating composites for five days. I want our conference delegates to be appointed in October and to take a full and active role within and on behalf of their constituencies throughout the year. They will work alongside the National Policy Forum, giving local constituency parties, particularly those without a Labour MP, a real voice in the party’s direction and bringing authentic commentary to our party’s conference. Under my leadership, the dead hand of stage management on party conference will finally be lifted.”

ED MILIBAND was less visible on the campaign trail today, but appears to have been concentrating on the impact of the BSF cancellations on his own area. In a press statement released this afternoon, Ed said:

“The freezing of the Building Schools for the Future programme is a dreadful blow for hundreds of children, parents and teachers who won’t get the new, improved schools they were promised.”

“This decision is not unavoidable. The government had a choice. I will fight to save the rebuilding of the schools in our area and I am asking all the families in our area to join me in that fight.”

DIANE ABBOTT will be hoping to kick start her campaign tonight with a volunteers and supporters event from 7pm to 9pm at Abney Public Hall, Stoke Newington Church Street.

Abbott has made no secret of her lack of resources, or the frustration she feels at the alleged resources of others – and her campaign seems reliant on volunteer support. However, it remains to be seen how successful tonight’s event will be, as it is in a difficult to reach location (Stoke Newington Church Street is a wonderful area but it suffers from notoriously poor transport links), and with little advertising – in fact I’m not aware of any emails from Diane’s campaign to those who have signed up on her website to date.

It may be the case that the Abbott campaign is reliant upon volunteers – but you can’t rely on them if they never hear from you…