THE BIG EXIT

DAVID Miliband has this afternoon announced that he will not stand for re-election to the Shadow Cabinet.

After days of speculation since the shock victory of his younger brother Ed Miliband, who was elected as Labour leader on Saturday, David finally announced his intention to quit front-line politics.

He expressed how he needed to “recharge his batteries” and would be looking forward to spending time with his family after so many years in front-line politics.

David wants to give his brother the space to be able to lead the Labour party free from comparison and without the continuing family soap opera that has been played out in the media.

However the door is not completely shut, David has not ruled out a return in one way or another in the future.

The Labour party must, on the one hand, be breathing a sigh of relief.

There is to be no repeat of the tense underlying relationship at the top of the party as seen when Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were in power.

On the other hand, the Shadow front bench has lost one of its strongest members.

David Miliband, the former Foreign Secretary, still has tremendous support within the party and would have brought a wealth of talent and experience to the new Shadow Cabinet.

One message that could be read by David Miliband’s actions today, is that he simply does not have confidence in his brother’s leadership of the Party nor the conviction to back Ed’s differing political positioning of Labour.

'VICTORY' FOR ED

YESTERDAY, Ed Miliband (the younger and less attractive Miliband brother) was elected as the new Labour party leader at its autumn conference in Manchester.

He managed to scrape ahead of his brother David (the former foreign secretary) by a wafer thin margin of the vote, winning by only 1.3%. Ed, failing to win majority support from Labour MPs, MEPs and party members had his ‘victory’ secured by the Unions, who also get to vote in Labour Party leadership elections.

The new “hand puppet for the unions” will have to unite the Labour party after its worse defeat in history at the 2010 general elections. The dependence on the Unions vote to secure his victory may very well come back to bite him. Ed will find it a tough juggling act to please both the party - the majority of which didn’t vote for him as leader - and the Unions, who will want the Labour party to take a tough stance against the huge public sector job cuts expected to be made by Cameron’s Government.

The hesitant appointment of Ed well and truly marks the end of new Labour, as the ‘heir to Blair’ David Miliband failed to take the crown which he thought was in his grasp for the past few years. The party claims to be united under him, but how long will we have to wait for the backstabbing and plotting that seems to go hand in hand with Labour politics.

What will be the future for David Miliband’s political career in Westminster? His brother insists he deserves to play a vital role in the shadow cabinet, but will David be able to put up with serving his younger brother? It seems like too much of a bitter pill to swallow and perhaps we are witnessing the beginning of a new psycho drama within the top rank of the party.

Ed Miliband, the former adviser to Gordon Brown and author of the loosing Labour 2010 election manifesto apparently marks a new era for the Party and represents a new generation of Labour. But he has a lot to prove.

HERE WE GO AGAIN

TODAY, the Labour Party announced that Ken Livingstone is to be their candidate for the London mayoral elections in 2012.

Livingstone, who served two terms in office between 2000 and 2008 won 68.8% of the votes, defeating his rival, the former MP Oona King. It seems that Labour and London cannot shake off Mr Livingstone, having served as the first Mayor and previously as leader of the Greater London Council in the eighties he just keeps coming back.

So expect a rematch of the 2008 elections as Ken and Boris fight for City Hall, again. In his acceptance speech Ken stated; "everywhere you look Boris has broken promises and taken his axe to services Londoners rely on". Livingstone attacked Johnson for the cuts that are to hit Londoners in the year ahead. Mr Johnson did not comment on the event but a deputy said; “choosing to exhume Ken Livingstone is a very odd decision”. Unfortunately, we probably have two years of this tit for tat and Livingstone’s criticisms of Boris to look forward to, even if he does promises an ideological rather then personality contest.

Tomorrow is an even bigger day for the Labour Party, as they announce the results of their leadership contest. Rumours suggest that Ed Miliband will beat his older brother (and front runner for most of the campaign) David. Whoever wins, the party hopes to heal the deep wounds left by Gordon Brown’s defeat at the elections as they try and form a credible opposition to the coalition government.

THE FINAL HOURS OF NEW LABOUR

WE COULD, be hours away from a new Prime Minister and new Government.

In the Cabinet Office on Whitehall, Liberal Democrats and Conservatives are still negotiating an agreement for governing the country. Just a few meters away in Downing Street it is believed that Gordon Brown is preparing to resign as Prime Minister.

It is believed that Brown is in his office at Number 10 with his wife Sarah. Having spoken to Tony Blair on the phone he is waiting with Peter Mandelson, Alistair Campbell, Ed Miliband, Ed balls and Douglas Alexander, as the last rights are said for New Labour. His aid, Sue Nye – made infamous from the bigot-gate affaire in the election campaign – is there too. Gordon is most probably blaming her for the mess of the election results, possibly throwing around a few bits of stationary too.

WHEN and IF an agreement has been reached by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, Gordon will make his way over to the Palace to advise the Queen to call David Cameron to form a new government. Of course Cameron and Clegg will need to get agreement from their parties but we are CLOSE to having a new government.

AFTER THE FIRST DEBATE: new cross-party catch phrase 'I agree with Nick'

BEFORE the leaders debate started tonight I was considering writing a blog asking whether anyone else was starting to suffer from election fatigue. With the wall to wall coverage online, on TV, on radio and in the papers I was starting to get a bit bored. Tonight's event - the first ever televised debate between leaders of the three main political parties - was not the damp squid it might have been and has slightly changed my mind.

It was interesting to hear what the leaders had to say about their policies, even if parts did sound very rehearsed and scripted. The 72 rules didn't seem too restrictive and the audience even chuckled at Gordon Browns poke at David Cameron and the Lord Ashcroft campaign funding affair.

Cameron started off looking rather nervous with a red flush round his neck compared to the confident Nick Clegg. It seems as though Clegg certainly came off the best, being constantly referenced by Brown and Cameron. But will the debates have made any difference to how the public vote? The Lib Dems may have gained a couple of votes but Cameron and Brown did nowhere near enough to make a dramatic difference. But if anything we have a new cross-party catchphrase 'I agree with Nick'.

It is certain that the debate will be analysed and picked over for at least the next 24 hour news cycle. So maybe that election fatigue may just try and kick in again.

THERE’S A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING

TONIGHT for the first time ever, UK airspace has been completely closed. A cloud of volcanic ash has been steadily moving across the country shutting airports canceling all flights in and out of the UK. As the evening progresses the clock is ticking down to the first ever Prime Ministerial debate.

At 8.30 on ITV Nick Clegg, Gordon Brown and David Cameron will be live across the nation as they put forward their policies and argue their positions to impress voters. In the style of US presidential debates it is the first of three such events to be held during the election campaign.

Will Brown bumble his lines? Will Cameron finally woo the nation or appear too slick? And will people now finally recognise who Nick Clegg is? The debates could be a big deciding factor in who wins the election as the race is very close at the moment. But remember, the event is governed by 72 rules and the studio audience are not allowed to make a sound, it could be one big damp squid. We’ll have to wait and see.

MANIFESTOS, MANIFESTOS, MANIFESTOS

IT IS nearing the end of the first full week of the elections and the three main parties have all launched their election manifestos. Brown, Cameron and Clegg have set out their party’s stalls for the voters.

To be honest there hasn’t been much excitement so far. Dear leader, Mr Brown, revealed his party’s document with a rather ‘soviet looking’ image on the front cover announcing Labour as the People’s Party. He acknowledged tough choices would have to be made to reduce the deficit, but failed to outline how. That was left to the Lib Dems, as yesterday Nick Clegg described the deficit as the ‘Elephant in the room’ with Vince Cable being dubbed the ‘Elephant man’ and the best person to solve the problems.

The Conservative’s big idea is to get the public to be part of the government. We’re not going to be invited to be next Chancellor but the Tories want us to have more involvement in the running of the country as we take over the running of schools and generate numerous amounts of petitions. But is this idea just a way to shift the blame from politicians onto us when things start to go wrong again?

THE RACE BEGINS

GORDON Brown has officially announced that the general election will take place on May 6. Standing on the steps of Downing Street with his cabinet ministers behind him, Gordon Brown set out his mandate for election. The message Brown wants to take to the country is that “Britain is on the road to recovery and nothing we do should put that recovery at risk” hinting at the negative effect Conservatives policies could have on the economy.

It is clear that the economy is to play a big part of the election campaign as the major parties tussle with each other over cuts and taxes. The Lib Dems will be projecting Vince Cable, their highly regarded Treasury spokesmen as one of their great selling points. Whereas the Conservatives promise to fight for the “great ignored” getting rid of proposed increase to National Insurance contributions among other measures. It seems as though the issue of class will also have a big part to play in the campaign. Gordon stated, “I come from an ordinary middle class family” pointing out how ‘well connected’ he is to the voter compared to Eton schooled Cameron.

The 2010 election is set to be a tough fight. With mixed polls, there is certainly no clear-cut winner so far. In his speech, Brown highlighted, “I am not a team of one I am one of a team” – showing strength of his well-known Cabinet compared to David Cameron’s unknowns. But Cameron (who if elected would be the youngest serving Prime Minister) is playing up the idea of a “fresh start” and “real choice” as he stated in a speech to party faithful earlier this morning. Cameron will be taking his vision of “the modern conservative option” to the country with plans for a smaller government and ‘Big Society”. In his speech today Nick Clegg said that Gordon Browns’ days were numbered reinforcing that this election was not just a “two horse race”.

The election will be like none before it. With three – US styled – leadership debates and the possibility of the first hung Parliament for at least 30 years it is sure to be very dramatic.

WILL THE VIEW BE THAT GREAT AT THE SUMMIT?

TODAY, David Cameron gave his closing speech at the Conservative Party conference. Against the backdrop of blue skies he announced that it would be a steep climb but the view from the summit would be worth it. He was talking about pulling through the recession but could the phrase be used in relation to the battle for victory at the next election?

The public haven’t really warmed to the Tories yet. The polls put them ahead of Labour, but it is not due to their policies and fundamental party beliefs. It’s more to do with the fact that Cameron is not Gordon Brown. Voters want change but some still probably fear the Tories.

With Cameron’s climb to the economic summit, it will be a lot steeper for some then it will be for others. It can be difficult to believe that ‘we are all in it together’ as George Osborne (shadow chancellor) hammed on in his speech earlier this week. Very difficult when the men who might be leading the country are ex-Etonians, with rather large bank balances. Obviously they wont be feeling the squeeze quite so much as the rest of us.

That’s the end for today, and the end of the conference season. Now the very long road to the general election begins.

BOOMERANG BLAIR

AFTER a week that has been neither good nor bad for Gordon Brown, his old boss has managed to overshadow him once again.

If all goes to plan, Tony Blair the former Prime Minister, could take the new position of European Union President. The Irish public need to vote yes today to the Lisbon Treaty for this to happen. If so within a few weeks Blair could be adding a new job title to his CV.

This is certainly a kick in the teeth for Cameron and the Tories. Just when they thought they were in luck - The Sun, proclaiming earlier this week it has switched alliances to the Tories – Blair comes back to cause trouble. If Blair becomes President of the EU, the Conservatives would have to assess their stance on Europe.

It is quite funny to consider that the next government - be it Labour or most probably Conservative – will have the shadow of New Labour and Tony Blair hanging over it.

WHERE IS BRITAIN’S OBAMA?

ANOTHER week, another storm for the Prime Minister. Gordon Brown’s leadership skills were once again called into question by the media and a number of Labour party heavy weights.

After the furore to get a one to one with US President, Barak Obama at the UN and G20 – which left many pondering the ‘special relationship’ –Brown has ambled on to Brighton and to the Labour Party conference.

It has made me think about the up coming general election next year. Labour seems to be floundering and as Alistair Darling put it, has ‘lost the will to live’. The Conservatives don’t seem to be offering anything new or different apart from ‘savage cuts’, which could possibly worsen the UK’s economy. What choice is there?

Britain needs a change, the public are crying out for it. After the events earlier in the year regarding the MPs expenses scandal, there was a chance for real change and reform in British politics. The public felt disconnected to Westminster and many had lost confidence in their MPs. So far nothing has happened and it looks as though nothing will.

Remember though, It is not just Parliament that needs reform. The gap between rich and poor is the greatest since the 60’s. There need’s to be a tighter grip on the financial system to prevent a repeat of last September. The list could go on.

So it seems Britain is crying out for it’s own Obama, who unfortunately doesn’t seem to exist.