Thoughts on the London Labour hustings

On Sunday I went to the London Labour hustings to see the various leadership candidates pitch themselves. Confusingly this took place at the same time as the pre-recorded Sunday Politics debate was being broadcast so there was a bit of a let-down that Andrew Neil wouldn't be there.

I went in with a couple of assumptions about Labour and the next few years:

1. Given the boundary changes and Labour's otherwise terrible position the best case scenario for the red team in 2020 is probably largest party in a hung parliament. More realistic aspirations include depriving the Tories of a majority and creating the type of hung parliament we thought would happen this year.
2. Austerity is to the 2010s as trade union law and privatisation were to the 1980s, an issue which splits the Labour party between activists and MPs but where the Conservatives (and much of the public) are broadly united. This makes any opposition an always precarious balance between irreconcilable factions and it is no surprise that Labour didn't re-enter office until the 1990s when one side of the major divisive issue had clearly won and a new consensus been established.

So, to the various candidates


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