VOTE: David Miliband - I can get the Labour Party back in the game
LABOUR leadership challenger David Miliband visits Scunthorpe today to argue that he is best placed to get the party "back in the game".
Speaking ahead of a trip to the town's Corus steelworks, Mr Miliband told the Scunthorpe Telegraph that he could reverse Labour's drubbing at the May General Election.
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LISTENING: David Miliband.
In North Lincolnshire the party lost two long-standing MPs in Ian Cawsey and Shona McIsaac, while Nic Dakin held on to the Scunthorpe constituency but saw a large swing to the Conservatives.
While some blamed the expenses scandal engulfing former town MP Elliot Morley for Labour's performance, Mr Miliband said: "Shona and Ian worked their socks off in those seats, they were victims of a national swing, nothing else. I think we have to say this leadership election must be as focused on the 180 seats we've lost since 1997 as the 260 seats we've got.
"I've been going to seats we don't hold as well as seats we do for that reason, because we need to elect a leader who can get us back into the game.
"Part of the reason for the trip to Scunthorpe is to listen to people who didn't vote for us as well as people who did."
Mr Miliband is facing brother Ed, former ministers Ed Balls and Andy Burnham, and left-winger Diane Abbot in the race to succeed Gordon Brown as party leader. He has been the front-runner since the start of the contest, which ends with voting in September.
The winner must secure the backing of a combination of grassroots members, trade union members and MPs.
Mr Miliband, who was formerly foreign secretary, will travel from Scunthorpe to Hull for a hustings tonight.
He said: "We've got to understand why we got a kicking; because that's the first step to persuading people you're serious about not getting a kicking next time."
Promising a greater focus on housing and transport if elected, he added: "The reason we lost in 2010 is because the weaknesses of new Labour were addressed and the strengths were thrown away."
Yesterday Ed Miliband won the support of a second trade union in a week in his bid to become leader. He now has the support of two unions, as does his brother David.
Scunthorpe MP Mr Dakin nominated former health secretary Andy Burnham for the contest, but said he has yet to decide who to vote for.
Speaking to the Scunthorpe Telegraph earlier this month, Mr Burnham said that he could revive the party's fortunes in North Lincolnshire because he would be a "leader people can relate to and identify with".
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by kno it all, barton-upon-humber
Friday, July 23 2010, 11:12AM
“Its a pity that the candidates for Gords job didn't speak out when they were in power.Their policy along with the greedy ?ankers of spend,spend,spend got us into this mess and the coalition are now having to sort it out!
Kathy Winterton the people who have ruined Scunthorpe are Captain Kirk and his bunch of idiots who have the same agenda as the labour party had, to spend money we didn't and have not got ,like confetti on ridiculous projects in North Lincolnshire”
by maroni, Crosby
Thursday, July 22 2010, 9:25PM
“As Thoades says, labour really need to apologise to the people first and foremost. They let us down badly, and need to acknowledge this. The new government will sell us out. Already they are proposing to sell the motorways to privatise them Making us pay tolls to use them, with money being deducted from debit or credit cards without even stopping at a booth. This is just the start, its happened before, and the rest of our Country will be sold before our very eyes. I don't trust conservatives, and Liberals are so far up their backsides they are throwing away all their old values. Before long Germany or France will own our network of roads, rail and buses. How many other countries will own a piece of UK. We need to take back our Country, produce more and stop selling the country for 30 pieces of silver”
by john jeffery, Northants
Thursday, July 22 2010, 8:33PM
“Judas - you have competition! Cable is the bigger Judas (sorry second to Clegg). When you quote his speech of 28 April dont forget he said he was a Liberal and was actually fighting the Tories! Now he is pedalling their savagery. Which Cable are we to believe?
When you have finished blaming Gordon Brown for the recession in Uk- tell me how he is responsible for it being wordwide. Have you heard the news today from America that their economy is worse than imagined? And Cameron was only ther a few days!!”
by Judas, Sunny Scunny
Thursday, July 22 2010, 7:02PM
“Vince Cable MP recognised and predicted the implications of our unbsustained credit crisis and impending economic meltdown and he had been warning Brown for years.
He opened his speech to the Institute of Directors 28 April 2010 with:
"This building commemorates Britain at the peak of its economic power and glory. We are still an important country with much to be proud of. But that power and the glory have faded. And we are currently in a serious economic mess.
The current economic model is broken. It relied on consumer spending, financed by heavy borrowing and low savings; investment in property rather than production; rapidly expanding public spending based on temporary windfalls from oil, then financial speculation; and growth over-dependent on the fickle fortunes of the banking industry. Any party which does not face up to the scale of the problem, and the parallel crisis in our political system, does not deserve to win. And will not succeed if they do win."
And he finished: "Our political system and parliament in particular have lost their credibility, reputation and effectiveness. The economy also requires rebalancing and transforming."
Never were truer words spoken by a proven economic sage. And deluded Labourites think they will be allowed to go back to the roulette table and gamble with our already decimated economy?!”
by sad man, who sane?
Thursday, July 22 2010, 6:58PM
“new new labour = iraq war supprters
new tories = iraq war supporters
liberals = souls for sale for power
bnp = braindead nazi prats”