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.

END OF THE DECADE - PART TWO

IT is just about a week to go now until the New Year and the new decade. This is the second part of the review of the Noughties. War, terror, climate change and the boom and bust economy have all played a big part in the last 10 years.

JULY 7^TH BOMBINGS

The first week of July 2005 was one of London’s most memorable of the decade. London had just played host to a global concert (Live 8) to persuade G8 leaders to end poverty in Africa. On July 6^th London was announced as the host city for the 2012 Olympics but the party atmosphere was short lived. On July 7^th suicide bombers detonated explosives on the capital’s tube network and a bus. 52 people were killed and almost 700 injured.

The 7/7 bombings in London like 9/11 changed the way we now live. Government, under the guise of anti-terrorism, have tried and sometimes failed to enforce draconian legislation impacting on civil liberties. The failed 90-day detention law, the over use of section 44 of the anti-terrorism act (stop and search) are just a couple of examples. We live in constant suspicion – which is often over hyped by government and the media. If we are not careful our rights and liberties will be taken away in the name of anti-terrorism, and the Terrorists will have won.

WAR

In the Noughties, Britain was taken into two major conflicts. Both were in the name of anti-terror. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W Bush acted together to invade Iraq – under what can be seen as false pretences. Although the cruel dictator, Saddam Hussein was removed from power, the US and UK’s reputation was severely damaged.

The war in Afghanistan is seen to be more justified, but since 2001 it has taken the lives of many service men and women. The war has spanned most of the decade and looks set to continue into the next.

THE RECESSION!

We started off the decade in fairly good economic health. House prices increased considerably, we spent large amounts of money and we thought we had never had it so good. But, by the later part of the decade Britain and most of the world were plunged into economic doom and gloom. Due to huge amounts of debt, endless credit cards, ridiculously large mortgages, and a great deal of doggy bank activity the UK is in one of the worst recessions ever which we are yet to recover from.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change has become one of the world’s most important issues this decade. In the early years of the noughties it was a thought in the back of people’s minds, now we can barley escape it. Most world leaders are facing up to the consequences that could arise from a rise in global temperatures. Yet the recent climate summit in Copenhagen will probably change little. There could well be problems into the next decade as water, food and land becomes scarce, especially in the poorer developing countries.

FACEBOOK, MYSPACE & A LOT OF APPLES

Technology and the Internet now play a really big part in our daily lives. This was probably unimaginable ten years ago. The popularity of twitter, Youtube and Facebook changed how we communicate. We expect things instantly, TV on demand or through the Internet and BBC iplayer or 3G and WI-FI on our phones. Blackberries and iphones and countless other gadgets have revolutionised our lives, and sometimes not for the better.

So that's it for the round up of the Noughties. If you think something was missed out or you have something else to say then do feel free to add your comments.

I hope you enjoyed it and have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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.