Left wing Labour caucus Compass unexpectedly backed 42-day detention last night, when its parliamentary leading lights, John Trickett and Jon Cruddas voted for the controversial measure.

Trickett, under fire for this decision has resigned as parliamentary spokesman for the group. Leading left-winger John McDonnell is boycotting the up-coming Compass conference in response.

Our policies have to flow from an understanding of the kind of society we want explains Jon Cruddas in the Independent today, he argues 'Elections are decided by which party can convince voters they have the right vision for Britain and the ideas to implement it. They are decided by which party can forge a message and consequential policy agenda that is emotionally in tune with the contemporary challenges of our time'.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/jon-cruddas-were-talking-a-language-thats-failing- to-resonate-834601.html

Compass are delighted to announce our post-elections debate taking place on Tuesday 6 May from 6pm in the Boothroyd Room, Portcullis House, London.

The statement launched by Progress today is to be welcomed. Not because they are right but because it helps spark a debate. So far its largely Compass saying that Brown needs to up his game. Now there is contestability over which direction and the more free market elements of Labour’s big tent will presumably welcome an injection of political competition.

Over 150 people crammed into committee room 9 last night for a lively and informed debate on migration. The meeting was chaired by the country’s leading social policy commentator Polly Toynbee. The debate first heard from the Minister for Immigration, Liam Byrne who set out the reasons why he believes the policies being implemented by Labour are “firm but fair”.

The just published edition of the New Statesman carries a cover article by MPs Jon Trickett and Jon Cruddas which argues that the Labour Party needs to become more independent of the Parliamentary leadership and that a good place to start is the appointment of an automous general secretary, so who do Labour bloggers think that new general secretary should be?

Ahead of the Black Socialist Society's annual conference in Manchester this weekend, TMP editor, Chuka Umunna, looks at Labour’s relationship with the black community and responds to the documentary maker and Conservative Party supporter, David Matthews' piece in the latest issue of the New Statesman which argues that Labour can no longer rely on the unconditional support of black Britain.

Got myself down to a new bit of the redrawn Dagenham seat on Saturday for some leafleting and got a decent interview out of Jon Cruddas. He confirmed that he had been offered a ministerial post in the reshuffle but didn't want to be contained. Cruddas is genial, chummy on the doorstep and thoughtful. The following was conducted whilst he was driving from Elm Park to central London, having his lunch (pie and chips) and talking into my tape recorder all simultaneously - talk about multi-tasking!

Very glad to report that Jon Cruddas is venturing out once more beyond the comfort zone of COMPASS. Since almost getting the deputy leadership Cruddas has been very quiet

Just thought this might be a good place to post the results in full so people can comment on the statistical points. The first thing on my mind is that Benn was second in the Member section and a very slight third in the Union section when he was removed from the ballot - and was just 16 MPs short of beating Jon Cruddas...

...and who knows where Jon's preferences would have gone if a Benn were still in play?...

We spent a day on the campaign trail with Jon Cruddas.  Click here, to read our exclusive insider's report of what it is like to put yourself at the mercy of 190,000 Labour members. 

P.S. Congrats to Labour Home on keeping us up to date on all the happenings during this deputy leadership campaign!  Great stuff.

What do we all think?  Somewhat more awkward and tougher for the candidates than Newsnight this one.

Some definite hostile vibes between Harriet and Hazel on show, with Hazel's "handbag wars" comment.  Hain giving off the "you've stolen my thunder" vibe to Cruddas - since when was Hain so concerned with affordable housing?  A bit of a Blears Johnson love-in at the end.  Harriet objecting to the Brown "patsy" jibe. Hmmmm........

A new YouGov poll for the Sunday Times has revealed that both Labour party members and trade unionists are drastically to the left of the party leadership.

This week has seen some heavy betting on Jon Cruddas to be Labour's next deputy leader.  Following his strong performance there was a marked movement in the money on Cruddas which was picked up on by Mike Smithson, here.

Mike wrote:

'Most of us have opinions about political outcomes - gamblers are prepared to back up their views with hard cash and that’s what these charts are showing.

West Ham CLP, where the first ever Labour MP, Kier Hardie, was elected in 1892, voted tonight to nominate Gordon Brown for Leader of the Labour Party and Harriot Harman to be the deputy. Gorden was nominated overwhelmingly and Harriot also won the deputy vote by a clear margin. Jon Cruddas was 2nd then Alan Johnson. There was a lively but good natured comradely debate in an “all members” CLP meeting.

UPDATE: just heard that Tower Hamlets Labour Party voted to nominate (supportive) Brown as leader, and Jon Cruddas as deputy (Alan Johnson 2nd).

In 1997, Peter Mandelson said “I say to the doubters, judge us after ten years in office. For one of the fruits of that success will be that Britain has become a more equal society. However, we will have achieved that result by many different routes, not just the redistribution of cash from rich to poor, which others choose as their own limited version of egalitarianism…” (Peter Mandelson, Labour’s Next Steps: Tackling Social Exclusion, Fabian Society 1997)

The Newsnight deputy leadership hustings has surely turned this election upside down or are we at TMP getting a bit too excited!?

Harman's performance on the Newsnight debate seems to have placed her to the left of Jon Cruddas.

Paul Flynn, who signed  Jon Cruddas's nomination papers,  is  now voting for Hain. Flynn was one of the 29MPs who nominated John McDonnell so it's  probably no coincidence.