I have never been a member of the Labour Party, but I have voted in two Labour party leader elections. The first time was in 1983 when Neil Kinnock was elected, the second time was in 1992 when John Smith was elected. I was allowed to vote because I was a member of the Trade Union NUPE. I was entitled to vote so I did vote – for the candidate who I thought would make the worst Labour leader.
Both Kinnock and Smith won handsomely, so my vote, however it was cast, didn't make much difference – Labour got who Labour wanted, for better or worse.
It appears that Ed Milliband has been elected, by the skin of his teeth, by the union vote. Which could mean that a couple of thousand people who did as I did in previous Labour Leadership elections and voted for him as the worst possible candidate may have tipped the balance in Ed's favour this time!
Rather a daft way of choosing a leader!
No comments:
Post a Comment