'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.

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.

END OF THE DECADE - PART ONE

THE Noughties are fast drawing to a close. At the end of first decade of the 21^st century the world is a changed place. We started off the new millennium with great hopes, the only fear was an over hyped computer bug, which in the end never existed. We leave the decade in recession, facing huge debt, worries over climate change and a great number of other global concerns.

Here is the first part of the top ten events that have shaped our decade. It’s one opinion so you are welcome to add your thoughts to it.

SEPTEMBER 11^TH 2001

The Al-Qaeda terror attacks in New York, in which two passenger jets were crashed into the World Trade Centre Twin Towers, shaped the decade. In the early days of the Noughties the world’s biggest concern had been Y2K bug. Over a year and a half later, the West was fast approaching a road to war that would last longer than World War 2.

The 9/11 terror attacks have to a great extent shaped our decade and the way we live. The fear of terror has been used greatly by politicians, the state, and even police to control citizens lives like never before. More surveillance, an erosion of human and civil rights are just a few of the consequences.

BUSH ELECTED AS PRESIDENT

George W Bush was elected to the White House in 2000. Bush, probably one of the most prominent politicians of the decade, but not always for the right reasons, led the US to war in two countries and took it upon himself to ‘fight terror’.

Though he may have done more harm to the democratic state of the world then good he certainly gave us much entertainment. Whether it was chocking on a pretzel or giving somewhat unintelligible speeches, he is defiantly one President the US will not be able to forget in a hurry.

THE BEIJING OLYMPICS

The 2008 Beijing Olympics signalled a big turning point for global politics. As the Communist super state with ever increasing wealth could no longer be ignored by the West. Near the end of the decade emerging super states and powers like China, India and Brazil slowly started to become more powerful on the world stage. It seems that power maybe slowly shifting from the West to East.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

History was made in the US in 2008 when Barack Hussein Obama became the first black man to be elected to office of President of the United States. Promising hope, change and reform he also embarked on a much-needed attempt to change the world’s view of America, which had been eroded by President Bush.

SUSAN BOYLE & CELEBRITY BIG BRITAIN’S STRICTLY GOT THE X-FACTOR

Susan Boyle, now a global sensation, represents the craze and obsession over reality TV. Whether it was Big Brother, Pop Idol, Popstars, Strictly Come Dancing, I’m a Celebrity, the X-Factor or Britain’s Got Talent, in the noughties we became a nation obsessed by reality TV. Whether it was the z-list celebrities or hard done by sob stories from contestants, the cheap to make, formulaic shows, have become a staple of prime time television.

And in an age of digital diversity and the ability to choose from a vast number of channels these shows have drawn the country together, lately amassing audiences of up to 19 million.