Ed’s inbox – July 19th

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

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

Even MigrationWatch think Maurice Glasman is over the top – Liberal Conspiracy
By Left Outside

Maurice Glasman recently called for a moratorium on all migration to the UK, as part of his Blue Labour project. Sir Andrew of Migration Watch UK called this “over the top.

Yeah, they of “as seen in the Mail and Express” fame, oft also seen spurting bile against migrants. They think he is being “over the top.

I thought Glasman was a wag, but I thought he had some level of realism in his prescription. He is a man behind London Citizens, a group which avidly supports and actively lobbies for an amnesty for the illegal migrants already here. Yet…he proposes this. – Read more.

Iain McNicol is the right man for the job – The Staggers
By Will Straw

While today’s headlines have rightly been dominated by the select committee interrogations of the police and Murdoch family, on the quiet Labour took an important step towards winning the next election. No, David Cameron has not admitted that he knew that Andy Coulson knew about phone hacking. Today’s development has been rather more prosaic: just before lunch, Labour’s National Executive Committee unanimously affirmed its decision to appoint a new General Secretary by the name of Iain McNicol.

McNicol is by no means a household name, even within the Labour Party, but over 20 years of grassroots work for the Labour movement, he has proved himself to be absolutely the right person to see through what Ed Miliband has started in refounding the Labour party as a community-based movement. – Read more.

Blue Labour’s immigration stance is toxic – Comment is Free
By Anthony Painter

In the forthcoming Fabian Review, Blue Labour guru Maurice Glasman advocates a temporary freeze on immigration and a policy that only lets in a very few highly skilled migrants. Blue Labour’s favourite philosopher is Aristotle. The ancient Greeks’ cosmology put the earth at the centre of the universe. Blue Labour’s economics puts the UK at the centre of the global economy. Aristotle was spectacularly wrong as Galileo discovered – and so is Blue Labour’s approach to immigration.

Glasman also calls for a renegotiation of our EU membership to withdraw from the free movement of capital and labour. I thought the “embrace the supporters of the EDL” moment a few weeks back was a slip. It turns out that it was a warning shot. – Read more.

Idiotic pie-attacker will do nothing to boost the anti-Murdoch cause – Left Foot Forward
By Tom Rouse

Today’s select committee hearing briefly descended into chaos after a protestor attacked Rupert Murdoch. The incident, which occurred towards the end of the hearing, was the work of a lone protestor, who has identified himself on Twitter as Johnny Marbles.

Attack-on-Rupert-MurdochMurdoch was struck in the face by a paper plate with shaving foam on it, before his wife retaliated, striking Marbles in the face. – Read more.

Refounding Labour attacks union influence and will disappoint members – Left Futures
By Jon Lansman

Refounding Labour – the review of party structure which was supposed to make good Ed Miliband’s promise of a Living, Breathing Party that would give members back their voice – is about to disappoint, big-time. The draft conclusions and recommendations of the Refounding Labour review are being considered by Labour’s national executive this afternoon. Although it is couched in the language of “clearer lines of accountability” and giving members a voice, its recommendations frequently work to strengthen command and control. And though there are a number of positive references to working with trade unions, the proposals actively seek to reduce trade union influence at several levels, especially at conference (including the conference arrangements committee) and in leadership elections. – Read more.