A Genuinely New Face For A Genuinely New Phase: YVETTE COOPER
russr Wed Jul 30, 2008 at 02:39:12 PM GMT 
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However painful it might be to accept, one thing is clear; Labour is currently so unpopular that no single course of action can ensure it's success at the next election. One thing can, however, guarantee it's defeat and that is leaving Gordon Brown at the helm.
Sad as it may be for those of us who had high hopes of a renewal of the Party under Gordon, this has spectacularly failed to happen. Instead, the rot that set in under Tony final years has only seeped deeper, tainting the Party's image to an almost irreversible extent.
The worst thing about this analysis is that it is not merely my own, but it is one that is widely shared by a considerable proportion of the cabinet and Parliamentary Party. Most people now can see the size and shape of the hole we're in. But how do we get out?
The deeper the hole, the more creative you have to be to find a way out. Asking Gordon to carry on "getting on with the job" or push for more "fairness" (his idea of a vision?) is clearly not going to work. Neither is replacing him with another familiar face. That applies to Jack Straw and Alan Johnson, and I do not see any glimmer of original vision in David Milliband's Guardian call to arms. Furthermore, in image terms, he has been talked up as a future leader so much now that a succession by him risks being seen as another predictable shifting of chairs on the Titanic.
No, what we need is a real departure from the current brand. With it will come a new interest in the Party and, hopefully, if the candidate is smart enough, a new vision. One that excites a public aching for fresh leadership.
For that we need not venture out into the darkest recesses of the PLP, plucking a Crudas or some other risky proposition from oblivion. We have an obvious candidate sitting quietly around the cabinet table (sometimes). She is smart, projects an image of confidence, enormous capability, yet a youth and vitality that will instantly dispel the notions of a "tired old Labour Party". Yvette Cooper will inject a much needed excitement into the political arena and bring media and public interest along with it, in a way that has been absent for several years now.
A genuinely new kid on the block, but with far more obvious brain and experience than the man who would stand opposite her. It's time to be bold. It's time for Yvette Cooper.
The worst thing about this analysis is that it is not merely my own, but it is one that is widely shared by a considerable proportion of the cabinet and Parliamentary Party. Most people now can see the size and shape of the hole we're in. But how do we get out?
The deeper the hole, the more creative you have to be to find a way out. Asking Gordon to carry on "getting on with the job" or push for more "fairness" (his idea of a vision?) is clearly not going to work. Neither is replacing him with another familiar face. That applies to Jack Straw and Alan Johnson, and I do not see any glimmer of original vision in David Milliband's Guardian call to arms. Furthermore, in image terms, he has been talked up as a future leader so much now that a succession by him risks being seen as another predictable shifting of chairs on the Titanic.
No, what we need is a real departure from the current brand. With it will come a new interest in the Party and, hopefully, if the candidate is smart enough, a new vision. One that excites a public aching for fresh leadership.
For that we need not venture out into the darkest recesses of the PLP, plucking a Crudas or some other risky proposition from oblivion. We have an obvious candidate sitting quietly around the cabinet table (sometimes). She is smart, projects an image of confidence, enormous capability, yet a youth and vitality that will instantly dispel the notions of a "tired old Labour Party". Yvette Cooper will inject a much needed excitement into the political arena and bring media and public interest along with it, in a way that has been absent for several years now.
A genuinely new kid on the block, but with far more obvious brain and experience than the man who would stand opposite her. It's time to be bold. It's time for Yvette Cooper.
A Genuinely New Face For A Genuinely New Phase: YVETTE COOPER | 62 comments (62 topical)
A Genuinely New Face For A Genuinely New Phase: YVETTE COOPER | 62 comments (62 topical)
