A day in the race: August 16th

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Today the leadership race jerks back into action as several of the candidates return from short family breaks and get straight back to work. For some of course the race has continued throughout early August, with Andy Burnham in particular taking only a few days off before climbing onboard his battle bus.

The bus makes an appearance in today’s round up of news from the race, as does another expensive mailshot and support for Tony Blair from an unlikely source.

ED MILIBAND‘s campaign, boosted by the £60k they raised in ‘small’ donations over the summer, have sent out a mailing to members that dropped on doormats across the country today. The letter focuses heavily on Ed’s change message, with a “change to win” slogan emblazoned both on the envelope, at the top of the letter, and on the front of the enclosed leaflet.

The letter and leaflet also show a strong focus on his support from trade unions, including supporting quotes from Dave Prentis of Unison and Mary Turner of the GMB. Turner especially is a boon for Miliband, as she had campaign with Ed Balls on free school meals earlier in the campaign. Perhaps this letter is funded by some of the union cash that comes with endorsements from big unions, although with the exception of the GMB funding big donations from the unions aren’t forthcoming yet.

There’s also a clear pitch to the left, saying the the party must move away from ID cards and Iraq, but what is most striking is the message on the leaflet that seeks to stoke up the sense that Ed Miliband has the momentum with him, saying:

“Ed is now within touching distance of winning”.

That’s certainly a message that the David Miliband camp would refute, but the momentum of Ed versus the strength of frontrunner David is likely to be where the battle is fought as we head into the final weeks of the campaign.

It was Ed’s turn today to publish his Fabian essay, which you can read on their website. He used it to argue that Labour lost the election but losing the support of less affluent voters, rather than middle income voters. This analysis should aid him with the left of centre vote that he has been courting in the party, and the thrust of the essay certainly shows them a bit of leg – having said that though, it begins with a Blair quote, so maybe he’s showing leg in both directions.

ANDY BURNHAM as been out and about on his battle bus tour, which has snaked through southern Scotland and north-east England in recent days. Andy recorded his first video blog from the battle bus yesterday:

These videos give a sense of what Andy has been up to, and show the “human side” of the candidate when he’s relaxed. The human side has never been a problem for Andy – he’s clearly a likeable guy – but it’s still nice to see from a front line politician. However it’s a shame about the place he’s standing infront of his “Defend the NHS” sign on his website – doesn’t he watch “The Thick of It”?

Andy’s website has itself been given a good revamp recently, and the route of the battle bus is a nice touch. Andy has been trying to push out the message that he’s the third placed candidate in this campaign. I’ve already said how important I think that is for him – and if this trip goes well, he may manage it.

DIANE ABBOTT hasn’t really been away, but today she appeared on the BBC News channel, and praised Tony Blair’s decision to donate the profits of his upcoming book to charity. She said:

“I’ve only ever criticised Tony Blair on political questions, he’s giving a large sum of money to a worthy cause and I think he has to be praised for that.”

Asked whether or not this suggested that Blair had a guilty conscience, she said:

“It’s not for you or I to enquire into Tony Blair’s conscience, but some people will find a link between Iraq and Afghanistan.”

DAVID MILIBAND has had a relatively quiet day today, but his main event will be in Harlow tonight with former MP and staunch David supporter Bill Rammell.

David also continued his support for Amnesty International’s Burma campaign, which is an issue that he has returned to several times in recent months, and is clearly something he is passionate about.

ED BALLS is still on holiday – returning on Wednesday. But he’s not wasting any time when he’s back, as he starts a national tour of the country on Thursday.