A Veritable Stew of Visions aka The Labour Leadership Race

The Guardian recently invited the six contenders for the leadership of the Labour Party to set out their stall. Here they are in a nutshell in their own words

David Miliband will make the party "a living breathing movement that is necessary for the modern world." He will turn our dreams into reality. (Thanks for that). His own dream is for a "different, not just a better society." How different? Everything, it seems, is up for "reform" - sometimes "progressive" - alongside some "fundamental change" and a bit of "progress." He acknowledges our anger. Better get started then. This will be some makeover.

Brother Ed agrees as he urges his party "to put our values at the heart of our vision." He wants "a party that gives voice to members and is a living social movement." Sound familiar? He'd give everyone a fair chance; the economy would be "just," wages "decent," jobs "good." He'd rebuild. Responsibility is needed, a new, more imaginative response. We must all value "environmental sustainability, time, love and compassion." I feel it already, Ed. Go on, go on.

Over to Andy Burnham who has "made plenty of tough decisions" in his political life. Stop the "hand-wringing", cull the "introspection." This man is looking forward. He has a vision of his party as "a force for progress and good." Labour needs to "act pragmatically, identifying and delivering solutions." He identifies anti-social behaviour as a huge concern to people. Now we're getting somewhere. Members and supporters felt the party was "no longer on their side." He'd listen even if it was uncomfortable. It might be. Can he handle it?


"A grassroots social movement" driven by "pragmatic idealism" is John McDonnell's vision for the Labour Party. The "penetration of neoliberalism into the government's psyche meant we let the market rip, finance dominate, manufacturing decline and debt reach crisis point." Hold on. You did what?. But we get some specifics: withdraw from Afghanistan, scrap ID cards and Trident, end privatisation and bring in a fair tax system. This is the nearest any of them has got to a policy. There's a "progressive coalition" in there though and another bit of "reforming." Still, nice try.

Diane Abbott is another breath of fresh air and the only woman. She gets down to the nitty gritty. Stop making immigration, she says, the scapegoat for Labour's defeat. Complaints about immigration "are a proxy for concerns about housing, low wages and job insecurity." And someone needs to say that the Iraq war was plain wrong. She marched against it, the only one of the six to do so. "Rediscover our sense of moral purpose" she tells her colleagues. Forget the three Ps: Pop Idol, Personality and Presentation and choose a leader who learns from what went wrong. Who will honour the commitment to diversity. It's time to turn a page. Rest in peace New Labour.

And so last, but not least, to Ed Balls. Ah, dear old Ed, Gordon Brown's rottweiler, the loyalist who faithfully savaged anyone who dared to threaten his beloved master. Do we really want to unleash him on the wider world? Can a dog ever change its spots? But he's been listening, he reassures us. So what has he learnt? We must forge a "clear strategy to rebuild that winning coalition" for one (which one was that - PM and Chancellor?) ; have a "vision for the future;" " promote fair chances," and "narrow inquality." Above all "get it." Scrap seminars and party forums and reconnect. Oh, and green jobs would be good. Yes Ed - we get it: you are the past. It's not going to be Blairite or Brownite anymore for which we can all breath a sigh of relief. Does he deserve a chance? Maybe, but keep the muzzle on just in case.

So what did we learn? It is a veritable stew of visions, with a dash of home truths, few apologies, jargon spiced up with the odd suggestion of a real policy. Topped with a generous helping of self-belief. But what will they actually do? It's hard to fathom.