The Observer today touts Alan Johnson and Jon Cruddas as a future leadership team, with the backing of the unions, to stop Miliband's aspirations and get Labour back on track. They predict a fairly swift move for a contest!

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.

Michael White writes in today's Grauniad.

I am surprised that we have not heard from you recently especially as the leadership letter writing season  has started in earnest. Please could you put some thing together like last time when Tony left to spend more time with his family.  We really need those useful phrases like "this great party" "a member since I was 15" and that really good one you use   "in the interests of the party can no longer offer my support". Personally I think it is a little silly and not very brave just to write to newspapers with their vested interests and declining sales when you can join in the membership debate here on Labourhome everyday if you like.
   

Nobody seemed to like my last post about liberalism very much (or atleast they were apathetic enough to ignore it) so I decided that although blowing social liberalism's trumpet is not really an adequate topic for a dedicated Labour site (I am labour, but liberal labour and thus dislike Brown and Blair with an intensity) perhaps certain Labouritsis would enjoy reading something a little bit more critical of the party I'm currently affiliated with (the lib dims is apparently what their called around her (very clever)). Anyway if any of you are looking for a rather biased self critical analysis of the libdem leadership contest from the inside you've come to the right place,  enjoy!

The Compass & Robin Cook Memorial Conference l Saturday 9 June l Westminster Central Hall London: It’s just under 2 weeks until this year’s Compass conference – held in association with UNISON; The Guardian and New Statesman. If you haven’t already booked your place we’d urge you to do so in the next few days in order to guarantee your place at this high-profile and exciting event.

This afternoon the executive of shop workers' union USDAW met and nominated Hazel Blears for deputy.

The Union also endorsed Gordon Brown for Leader.

Did someone forge Marsha Singh signature on a nomination paper for John McDonnell? Why are some of JM supporters waging vicious and very personal “Kamikaze" attacks against Jon Cruddas? Rumour mill is going into overdrive, I have been doing some digging but as a Westminster village outsider, I cannot vouch for the accuracy of such reports. But they do reflect what many people appear to believe.

IMHO the way the Leadership ballot was conducted helped Brown's unstoppable  bid to be Leader. Is it not a sacrosanct condition of democracy that voting is secret?

Amid all the disappointment of the last 24 hours, the moment hadn't really arisen to thank those MPs who either backed John McDonnell and the left agenda for the leadership, or positively responded to the views of many party and union activists who asked MPs to help enable them to get a say in our future (therefore, one way or another, nominated John McDonnell).

So I'll say it now: Thank you!  I wish more of your colleagues had supported you and helped us, but you lot were fab!

I was looking forward to a Leadership election so that I could vote for Gordon.  I feel I have been denied this by the failure of the left to support a candidate who could even get on the ballot paper.  Who can I complain to?

Some interesting patterns of nominations between the Leadership and Deputy Leadership

I hope none of this reads just like sour grapes - it's meant very sincerely.  I've paraded the streets, argued into the night and risked scary dogs for a number of Labour leaders with whom I profoundly disagreed on many key issues, and I've no doubt that I will do the same for Brown.  I hope these comments can be viewed in that context.

Just announced on Channel 4 news, Andrew McKinley, MP, becomes the 308th nominating MP for Gordon Brown, leaving a challange now impossible. A very sad day for the dermocratic process of the Labour Party.

The latest nominations for the leadership and deputy leadership elections are up.

Interesting results so far. It appears that McDonnell(I'm going to try to be as objective as possible, probably not successfully) is struggling to get 45 nominations. Which I find fascinating. If the Hard-ish Left cannot even get 12.5% of PLP nominations (and I think that each MP can actually nominate up to 3 candidates) then I think we may be seeing something momentous happening. This could be Blair's lasting legacy to the Party?

Candidates for the leadership and deputy leadership of the Labour Party have received the following number of nominations as of 6pm on Tuesday 15 May. Candidates for Leader of the Labour Party Gordon Brown 282 nominations John McDonnell 27 nominations Candidates for Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Hilary Benn 34 nominations Hazel Blears 48 nominations Jon Cruddas 44 nominations Peter Hain 49 nominations Harriet Harman 60 nominations Alan Johnson 64 nominations