Ed’s inbox – April 8th

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

If Ed Miliband could only read five blogposts each day, he’d read these ones…

I‘m blue – and true to Labour’s roots – Comment is free
By Maurice Glassman

I had a really bad day yesterday. It started with Jon Cruddas and I going down to the Guildhall in the City of London with the Billingsgate porters, all dressed in their whites and boots, to protest against the fact that the Corporation of London was taking away their civic inheritance. The court of common council was voting to abolish “the fellowship of the Billingsgate porters” which has been recognised since 1632. We wrote about it in the Guardian. – Read more.

What’s the difference between a rich socialite and a struggling socialist? – Scarlet Standard
By Emma Burnell

Well for one thing, I’m a better writer.

Jemima Khan’s stint as guest editor of this week’s New Statesman coincided with me leaving my phone at home and needing something to read on the bus. Given that it was the New Statesman or Heat Magazine I opted for the former in hopes of intellectual stimulation. It was there sporadically of course. The basis of the magazine is sound and it has some great journalists working for it, not least Medhi Hassan who is a genuinely refreshing voice from the left. – Read more.

Rally Against Debt set to be 147 times smaller than anti-cuts march – Political Scrapbook
By Matt Zarb-Cousin

Dan Hannan’s latest foray into galvanising support for the woeful ‘British Tea Party’ through the Rally Against Debt has been welcomed by a fanfare of pure silence and a rippling of no applause. The event has connections with both UKIP and Tory donors, and is a quite blatant attempt to bolster support for the government’s better-than-Thatcher cuts agenda.

But are some of its most ardent cheerleaders losing interest already? Talking about the event on BBC London, Toby Young confessed he has better things to do on 14 May:

“I’m supposed to be taking my children to a pirate exhibition.” – Read more.

The tortoise and the hare – Progress

Following the ‘hidden landslide’ of 2010, identified by Joan Ryan in Progress last year, Labour now faces majorities of more than 10,000 in seats like Hemel Hempstead and Wimbledon. We held constituencies like these for two terms until 2005; now we are in third place there, and local Tory MPs have built up a personal vote and entrenched themselves. So the road ahead for Labour may seem an uphill struggle – but a solution does present itself. – Read more.

OECD calls on Gove to save EMA – Left Foot Forward
By James Mills

Michael-GoveInternational criticism on the government’s plans to scrap the education maintenance allowance (EMA) has been levied at the government by the one of the most influential international economic institutions.

According to a report published yesterday called “Going for Growth”, the influential OECD calls on the UK government to reinstate EMA as part of a range of measures to help reduce its huge government debt, and return growth to the UK economy. – Read more.

Our suggestions for Ed’s inbox are limited by what we read – so if you’ve seen a blogpost that should be in Ed’s inbox, let us know.