A day in the race: August 23rd

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Today saw the unveiling of a policy heavy manifesto from one candidate, a primary win for another, and the launch of a new campaign to keep the Post Office in the public sector.

ANDY BURNHAM continued his battlebus tour today. After London and Peterborough yesterday it was Swindon today. But Andy also launched his manifesto for the party leadership today – unsurprisingly it’s called “Aspirational Socialism” – and it’s a weighty document. At thirty pages long, it would seem to be an attempt from the Burnham camp to grab attention from the frontrunners, and present him as a serious thinker on a wide range of issues.

The manifesto is certainly varied, encompassing party renewal, comprehensive education and housing. The central theme though appears to be Andy’s desire to get across what “Aspirational Socialism” is, as both an over-arching political idea, and the unifying ideology behind Andy’s various policies.

Andy uses the document to promise that if he leads the party, it’ll be “Redistributive, Collectivist, Aspirational, Sustainable and Internationalist.” This is certainly a document that deserves to be given some consideration and feels like the most in-depth and comprehensive policy document that has been put out by a leadership candidate so far.

In an email to supporters this evening, Andy explained “Aspirational Socialism”, as:

“My political philosophy forged by my own life experience. It is about helping all people be the best they can be, recognising that this means helping and supporting each other.”

“It draws on Labour’s collectivist and redistributive tradition and new Labour’s approach to supporting aspiration celebrating success – it combines the best of old Labour and the best of new Labour, leaving the negatives of both behind us. It is not about levelling down, nor is it fawning in the face of markets.”

“At it’s heart is the recognition that it is inspiring idea that above all else will help reconnect Labour with Britain. It spells out how the philosophy of Aspirational Socialism can be applied to meet the challenges we face as a country.”

ED BALLS followed on from his impressive “Contract with the Labour Party” yesterday, by launching a new campaign today to “Keep The Post Public”, which he’s running jointly with the CWU (who nominated him for leader). Ed wrote an article for the Mirror to launch the campaign this morning, and also wrote a blog on his website, saying:

“I believe we must keep the Post Office universal and in the public sector – as Labour promised in our manifesto.”

“It’s also a trusted source of financial products and services so we should transform the Post Office into a ‘People’s Bank’. There are big challenges ahead, but Royal Mail and the CWU have made massive strides to agree tough modernisation plans.”

“Six in ten voters believe the Royal Mail should remain a wholly publicly-owned organisation and just 15 per cent support privatising the company, according to a YouGov poll published today commissioned by the CWU and my campaign.”

Polling doesn’t come cheap – so this is either a significant investment by the CWU, or Ed Balls is spending some of the substantial chunk of money that was donated to him recently by the author Ken Follett.

DIANE ABBOTT today decided to directly address the recent media commentary on leadership polls.

In response to the most recent Yougov poll, which placed her third behind the Miliband brothers among both party members and trade unions alike, but not in the MPs and MEPs section, she said:

“I have never been the Westminster candidate and that is still clear from this poll. But what this does show is that I am popular among party members and trade unions, which will make up two-thirds of the vote. I am the only contender who can give the Miliband brothers a run for their money, and it will be my votes that are crucial in this election. I am in this contest to win it and I am pleased that trade unions and party members have recognised me as the candidate with the most experience who can lead the party to success.”

Now it’s fair enough that Diane is discussing the latest YouGov poll, what is odd is that this is a poll that game out three weeks ago – it certainly seems odd for Diane to be commenting on a poll that may well be out of date by now.

This afternoon, Diane has also, for the first time called directly on disaffected Liberal Democrats to join her campaign:

“I am the only candidate that can offer disaffected Lib Dems the kind of policies that their party abandoned as soon as they went into coalition with the Tories. I was against the Iraq War, I am a strong supporter of civil liberties and I want to see Trident scrapped – everything that Lib Dem supporters voted for in the election. I also want to fight to preserve our welfare state rather than hit the poor with huge VAT rises…”

DAVID MILIBAND was out on the doorstep again today, campaigning in Worksop for Sylvia May in a local by-election – he was also being tailed by the Times today for an interview feature.

David was boosted today by his second successive primary win (and maintaining his 100% record in primaries) by topping the poll in Edinburgh East. David now has the support, and the crucial vote in the MPs section, of Edinburgh East MP Sheila Gilmore.

David was also in Chesterfield today, where he met a party member of 74 years(!), before heading to an event in Derby this evening.

David has been tweeting away furiously over the past few days, updating supporters on his whereabouts as he travels throughout the country. He’s certainly been the most prolific tweeter in the leadership race of late – and he’s taking to the platform well. Long may it continue.

ED MILIBAND spent today in policy meetings and media interviews, before speaking to volunteers at his campaign headquarters. He said:

“I think the great news is that we have real momentum in this campaign…wherever I go I get a sense that people are coming to our cause.”

“If we repeat the formula of the 1990’s….we will not win.”

The Ed Miliband campaign certainly seem to be taking their GOTV efforts seriously, with a packed campaign office full of canvassers, some of whom were reduced to sitting on the floor. If they truly do have momentum, this is certainly the right way to capitalise on it.