Filed under: Labour, Leadership | Tags: john reid, leadership challenge, siobhain mcdonagh
Siobhain McDonagh is the latest, and most senior government (now ex) member, to break ranks and call for a leadership election to ‘clear the air’. Forget McDonagh, that’s not the story. Senior Westminster insiders tell me that this ’smells of John Reid’; so we’re left to ask: is this the start of a John Reid comeback?
Siobhain McDonagh is a former PPS to Reid and her sister Margaret McDonagh (now Baroness McDonagh) was responsible for the abortive Reid leadership campaign in 2006. Airdrie and Shotts – Reid’s constituency – have yet to announce a Labour candidate to replace Reid who announced that he was standing down over a year ago. So why the delay?
Is Reid riding to the rescue of the Labour Party? Stranger things have happened.
UPDATE: Where CentreLeft lead others follow. Today both the Telegraph and Political Betting pick up on the Reid speculation. Clive Davis at the Spectator also picks up the thread…
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I don’t think is matters who leads the party, the New Labour initiative, which can hardly be described as new after 11 years in government, is tarnished. Anyone with any sense would not want to be responsible for leading the party to a defeat at the next election and it would be a brave person, or sitting Labour MP of course, that would predict another Labour victory.
Comment by UK Voter September 13, 2008 @ 6:31 pm