Primus Inter Pares - 2002 Labour Leadership Election (1st Ballot)

[Lumine]

July 2002 - Labour set to choose the next Prime Minister

Following the resignation of John Prescott as Prime Minister due to his much publicized affairs a new leadership election was underway, the first since 1994. While most of the candidates continue to pay warm tributes to the leader who won two general elections for Labour, several candidates run in platforms that would see Labour either moving leftwards or rightwards, changes which could be decisive as the Labour Party is now in office and able to implement policy.

Originally with a field of more than ten candidates, it became impossible for many candidacies to prosper due to the high number of nominations required from the parliamentary party (several dozen for each candidate). With the big beasts taking up more nomination than the candidates from the next generation several deals were arranged, with some candidates running as a joint ticket for Leader and Deputy Leader. This has resulted in a field strikingly similar than that of 1994, but with deeper consequences for the party and the country depending on the chose leader.

With Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Margaret Beckett launching bids of their own (expected to be their last campaigns for the leadership) and Robin Cook and Ken Livingstone setting up their own challengers, five candidates will contest the leadership:

Tony Blair: After a brief stint as Education Secretary and still the guru of the modernizing Blairites, Blair has proved an influential and media-savvy backbencher and is running on a platform of updating the Labour Party in a more social-democratic mold. On his platform Blair has included a commitment to NHS and Education reform, a tougher stance on crime, a pro-Europe view, the scaling down of the nationalization project and a steadfast support for President McCain, arguing intervention in Africa would be a key opportunity to stabilize parts of the continent.

Robin Cook: With five years under his belt as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Robin Cook is the leading one of the two Prescott loyalist candidates. Cook, a member of the soft-left, has taken a skeptical view of intervention in Africa (while supporting Afghanistan) and has called for an "ethical foreign policy". His platform has been described as a libertarian, democratic socialism vision that attempts to leave behind the divide of the modernizers and the traditionalists.

Margaret Beckett: Deputy Prime Minister Margaret Beckett is the second of the Prescott loyalists, back with a bid of her own. Considered a "safe pair of hands" of sorts, Beckett pledges to continue Prescott's agenda of nationalization and political reform, while focusing on areas such as environmentalism, a more pacifist stance on foreign policy, women's issues and so on.

Gordon Brown: Despite considering supporting one of his allies Brown has thrown his hat into the ring, arguing a more moderate but still consistent approach is needed for Labour to prosper in office and make a more efficient delivery on policy. While arguing for a change in image Brown has refrain from proposing changes as radical as Blair's, focusing instead on keeping the deficit under control, fund more investment into public services, and cautiously supportive stance with the US on the war against Al-Qaeda.

Ken Livingstone: The Labour hard-left managed to join forces to gather enough signatures, resulting in the candidacy of Ken Livingstone. The controversial Transport Secretary has been mocked in the press as "Red Ken" for his staunch views, including doubling down on nationalization, extensive anti-discrimination policies and efforts in civil liberties, republicanism, opposition to intervention in Africa, a belief in a United Ireland (with the peace process still underway), and so on. Livingstone is arguing that the Labour Party needs to build on Prescott's achievements and become a truly socialist party.

You have two days to vote, the two candidates with the most votes go to a final round if no one garners a majority on this ballot. Deputy Leader elections on a separate thread.

[Maxwell]

#redKen

[Intell]

Cook!

[Kingpoleon]

1. Cook
2. Blair

[White Trash]

Cook!

Not Livingstone?

[OSR stands with Israel]

Blair

[MAINEiac4434]

#NeverKen

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

I assume only Blair would follow Bush into Iraq?

[Lumine]

I assume only Blair would follow Bush into Iraq?

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It's a different context here, McCain is President and Bin Laden kept strong ties to Sudan and other parts of Africa. Instead of targeting Iraq McCain has decided to take the initial fight to Africa and particularly Sudan in the hunt for Bin Laden.

All candidates but Livingstone support continued intervention in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban, Brown can see himself supporting intervention in Africa if the UN lends its support, and Blair is of course offering his full support to McCain. The intervention is also less unpopular than the OTL Iraq War because the UK had a successful mission to Sierra Leone under Prescott and because the ties of Al-Qaeda to Sudan are known.

[Kingpoleon]

What about Al-Qaeda's connections to Pakistan?

[Lumine]

What about Al-Qaeda's connections to Pakistan?

May or may not play a larger role later depending on how events play out. The current priority for McCain is Afghanistan (already invaded) and Sudan.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Cook!

[Antonio the Sixth]

Cook, Beckett and Livingstone all seem like FFs, but I have to go with the guy who has "Red" in his nickname.

[Intell]

Cook!

Not Livingstone?

Cook being a Presoctt loyalist and  a member of the Soft Left, is preferable to me, as the more union's choice.

[NeverAgain]

Cook!

[White Trash]

Either Cook or Livingstone. I feel like Livingstone has a better chance of losing.

[Phony Moderate]

1. Red Ken
2. Cook
3. Brown
4. Beckett
5. Blair

 

[Zioneer]

Cook sounds good to me.

[Phony Moderate]

So if Blair wins then WAR would be about the first act of his government? On that basis he'd down as Labour's Eden or something.

[Zioneer]

Literally no one has voted for Gordon Brown so far.

[Blair]

To be a stickler these multi-candidate leadership elections are rare when Labour is Government, as you'd need something like 55 MPs (15% of the current Labour MP) to back you. I doubt Ken could get enough nominations with Cook+Beckett also on the ballot

[White Trash]

Any chance of Frank Field ever making a run for the leadership?

[Intell]

Any chance of Frank Field ever making a run for the leadership?

Christ, how can you support such an awful man? Really?

[White Trash]

Any chance of Frank Field ever making a run for the leadership?

Christ, how can you support such an awful man? Really?

I didn't say I would support him (I don't), but I think him running would be very interesting given his views. So far the Labour leadership elections have been battles between traditional Labour and modernizers. I just would like to see a different ideological group be thrown into the mix.

[Intell]

Any chance of Frank Field ever making a run for the leadership?

Christ, how can you support such an awful man? Really?

I didn't say I would support him (I don't), but I think him running would be very interesting given his views. So far the Labour leadership elections have been battles between traditional Labour and modernizers. I just would like to see a different ideological group be thrown into the mix.

A man that is even more right-wing than blarities, would be interesting?