Revolution of the mind! THERE IS ANOTHER WAY!

Sorry for the delay in this post, but due to working yesterday, I didnt really have chance! Yesterday, in addition to his appearance on Andrew Marr, Ed Balls wrote an article in the Independent- http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/ed-balls-same-old-tories-still-doing-it-maggies-way-2198368.html , in which he states the tories are up to their old tricks as “The relentless tax hikes and budget cuts are a high-stakes political strategy taken from Mrs Thatcher’s guide to winning elections.”

He is bang on when he says “we need to re-think. There is an economically more credible alternative to what this Conservative-led Government is doing. We need a plan that puts jobs and growth first. That’s why Ed Miliband and I are demanding a repeat of last year’s £3.5bn bank bonus tax to invest in growth and job creation this year, alongside a slower, steadier pace of deficit reduction. As Ed Miliband rightly said at Prime Minister’s Questions this week, without growth you can’t get the deficit down.”

What we need is a challenge to the hegemony in the media that these cuts are necessary, as the figures show this gamble is not paying off. Like a Jenga tower, if you take out too much, the tower collapses. We need growth, growth in jobs and cuts at a slower pace than at present. We need an alternative of hope and growth not decay and despair. I call for a challenge this yarn of the government. I call for a REVOLUTION of the MIND!

We’re looking for a revolution,

A revolt of a differing kind,

No trading of fists and batons,

Not one of blood on the body, a revolution of the mind.

A revolt against the broken promises of the blue and yellow tories,

Against the hegenomy, the orthadoxy, the same old stories.

Against the fear, let us bring some hope to banish despair,

We need to grow again, not cut the roots,

To this barren field we need the lifegiving shoots.

To challenge this dogma we need a revolt of a differing kind,

Instead of anger and violence, a revolution of the mind!

The gloves are off! Balls launches his first salvo!

2 Ed's are indeed better than one! The gloves are off Osborne!

 

Today, Ed Balls lauches an opening salvo against the con-dems mantra of ”there is no alternative” by callling us all to “destroy those myths, then start holding this government to account for the decisions they take.”

In in the article in the Mirror, http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/2011/01/24/shadow-chancellor-ed-balls-opens-fire-on-george-osborne-115875-22871244/#ixzz1Bx7tgvpw , he produces a call to arms, stating that the Labour Party “has a responsibility to stand up for millions of Mirror readers across the country who are already being hit by rising unemployment, rising inflation and the rise in VAT – with deep cuts to public services still to come. That is why Ed Miliband and I are determined to expose the Tory myths and show that there is an alternative to the reckless, carefree gamble the Tories are taking with our economy.”

I welcome Balls candour in this article in tackling head on the myth of TINA (there is no alternative) that seems to dominate the narrative. Here barely a week into the job, Balls is getting stuck in to the con-dems in a way that shakes the established wisdom seemingly propagated by the media that these cuts are necessary and Labours fault. Here Balls exposes the myth and states clearly the cuts are a choice, and as such gives hope to those feeling under threat from job losses and council cuts that Labour is figting back for them! After this article, 2 Ed’s are indeed better than 1!

Here’s my poem in honour of our new shadow chancellor if you missed it the other day!

Hail to the Bruiser,

To our rescue comes the warrior,

Strong, he defends us from the bullies,

A bulldog to savage them,

Attack them on their lies, their myths,

Their oppession, broken promises galore,

Expose them in the cold light of day,

Show us there IS another way,

A gladiator to challenge them,

To fight the good fight,

Who will fight for us, never surrender,

Lets raise a toast, a toast to the BRUISER!

All change in the ranks- enter the “BRUISER”

Tonight there is change afoot in the labour camp as shadow chancellor Alan Johnson has resigned from Labour leader Ed Miliband’s frontbench team, citing “personal” reasons. He is replaced by Ed Balls, previously the shadow home secretary.

His resignation comes after just three-and-a-half months in the job following several recent gaffes when discussing tax and economic matters, including appearing in an interview not to know the rate of National Insurance paid by employers. Here is the shadow cabinet as follows:

NEW SHADOW CABINET

• Shadow chancellor – Ed Balls
• Shadow home secretary – Yvette Cooper
• Shadow foreign secretary – Douglas Alexander
• Shadow Cabinet Office minister – Tessa Jowell
• Shadow work and pensions secretary – Liam Byrne

I for one welcome Ed Balls’ elevation to this position as I feel due to his effective attacks on the coalition as shadow schools (hammer of the GOVE!) and shadow home secretary, I feel he will provide a savage attack on the con-dems and their repressive economic policies. As much as i respect Alan, i felt he was wrong for the job and his high profile disagreements with Ed seemed a weakness and a distrcation from the issues. This appointment can only bring added force to our opposing force. He shall be the bruiser friend who fights bullies who pick on you! As Ed Miliband once joked, “2 Ed’s are better than one” and hopefully we shall prove it. Osborne, take it from Gove, you should be shaking in your books, The Bruiser is after you!

Hail to the Bruiser,

To our rescue comes the warrior,

Strong, he defends us from the bullies,

A bulldog to savage them,

Attack them on their lies, their myths,

Their oppession, broken promises galore.

A gladiator to challenge them,

To fight the good fight,

Who will fight for us, never surrender,

Lets raise a toast, a toast to the BRUISER!

Shadow cabinet shockers!

Today saw the announcement as to which roles in the shadow cabinet were going to be assigned to which MP. Well there has been a big shock as the favourite to become shadow chancellor Yvette Cooper, has been made shadow foreign secretary instead, with Alan Johnson getting the prestigious post. Ed Balls has been made shadow home secretary and Andy Burnham being made shadow education secretary.

While as a newby to the politics scene, I may not have much insight as to the effectiveness of this, I personally think that Andy Burnham being made shadow education secretary is a good call, as his youthful energy not to mention his passion would be a great asset in this area and a great contrast to Michael Gove. I also think the Balls v May dynamic will be interesting to watch and as some have said on twitter that this is the “weakest political area for the coalition,” Ed Balls role in this will be crucial and his battling style will certainly keep Theresa May on her toes!

I think Ed has been very thoughtful about this, and time will tell whether this interesting combination will be enough to keep the tories to account. Let the battle begin!

Malleo Optimates

The magician conjures his team,

Gasps of shock as  he reveals the rabbits from his hat,

The bulldog ready to fight for the streets,

The northern knight defends the scholars,

His youthful energy and optimism a light in the darkness,

His wit and wisdom a greater weapon than this lance.

Dominating all is the king,

New found confidence, he grows to fill his golden throne,

The cub fully grown into the Lion,

He at the head of the table, new energy discharges,

EDWARDI PRIMI OPTIMATES MALLEUS!

(Edward the first, hammer of the conservatives!)

The fellowship of the Rose

Tonight after days of speculation, the shadow cabinet has finally been announced, with Yvette Cooper topping the vote, followed in second by John Healy and Ed Balls in third. Below is a list of all the successful candidates to the shadow cabinet:

Douglas Alexander

Ed Balls

Hilary Benn

Andy Burnham

Liam Byrne

Yvette Cooper

Mary Creagh

John Denham

Angela Eagle

Maria Eagle

Caroline Flint

John Healey

Meg Hillier

Alan Johnson

Tessa Jowell

Sadiq Khan

Ivan Lewis

Ann McKechin

Jim Murphy

I’m really pleased that my good friend Jim Murphy has got into the cabinet as from what i have seen of him, he is a really good speaker and really down to earth and has been a key supporter of the Movement for Change. Also really pleased taht Ed Balls and most of all Andy Burnham have been voted into it as they were both passionate speakers during the leadership campaign and Andy Burnham is really approachable and you can have a great conversation with him, and for me, approachablilty is a great asset! Ed Balls is a great fighter who will no doubt take the fight to the tories every step of the way!

In tributed to this, here is a poem i will write in their honour

The fellowship of the Rose

The shadow covers the land,

Trepidation lies in the air,

Injustice reigns in the darkness,

The dark one holds the people in his mercy.

Frodo choses his allies,

Blood brothers, a fellowship,

Petals of one rose,

One family to restore light to the darkness,

To restore justice to the bereft land.

To take the fight to the Dark one,

To oppose his malevolent will,

To loosen his iron grip,

To destroy his ring,

The ring used to seduce, to bind,

To control us!

 

 

Hacker-gate! Scandal in paradise!

Oh dear Andy Coulson, it seems the spectre of phone hacking has not been exorcised!  According to BBC news, Ed Balls has now entered the row over phonetapping. Balls has sated that The PM should ask Theresa May to assure MPs that the allegations would be properly investigated.

He said “government “integrity” was at issue because the paper’s former editor was now No 10′s head of communications.” He is the latest in a series of Labour politicians to call for fresh inquiries into the claims, and to question Mr Coulson’s suitability for his current position, who include Tessa Jowell, who says her phone was hacked 28 times, and Lord Prescott, who has threatened to go to court to find out whether he was targeted.

I agree with Balls call here, this is something that seriously needs to be investigated especially with Coulson holding such a senior position in the heart of the Coalition. This is something that must be fairly investigated Mr cameron, or it will affect the integrity of your government and you can kiss goodbye to any semblance of fairness and justice that you possess! We want honesty now!! 2 poems about this methinks, hope you enjoy!

Hackerphone (inspired and based on Lady gaga telephone)

Hello hello baby you called, I cant say a thing,

my phone is the target of some phone hacking.

Wha-wha-what did you say your breaking up on me,

Be careful what we say it may be on the BBC!

Stop hacking,

Stop hacking,

I dont wanna play anymore,

Dont want my private calls all over Channel 4!

 

SPECTRE OF THE PAST

Spectre of his past haunts him,

Relentless, he cant exorcise it,

Elevated, he still cant exorcise it,

It pursues him like a predator.

These claims should be brought into the light,

These whispers made louder,

Whether they be truth or lies,

You cannot hide him within fortress No 10!

Leadership Gossip??

A certain tweet has been making the rounds that Ed Balls may drop out of the labour leadership race to back David Miliband. Naturally, such an interesting tweet pricked my ears up and its increasing frequency is causing me to wonder whether indeed it is true. One tweeter, has featured a blogpost about it, the link below:

http://waugh.standard.co.uk/2010/07/will-balls-drop-out-to-back-david-mili.html

In the blog, Paul waugh states that ” if, as expected, Unite backs Ed Miliband tomorrow, Ed Balls could drop out of the race next week and endorse David Miliband,” and makes the startling suggestion that ”by dropping out and backing David M, his chances of becoming Shadow Chancellor are greatly enhanced.”

Wow very intersting stuff, however i do agree with one of the statements of critque that Paul says, why would Balls have fought so hard to give up now?? It may be a load of rubbish, and I am wary of such stories, but my duty is to pass on any info I get. We shall watch this story with interest!!

Any of the candidates who read this, pls get in touch to tell me what is going on if you have chance!!

Worthy second choice??

Miliband the younger- is Ed my second choice????

As you all know, I back David Miliband for the leadership due to his inspirational speeches, his genuine passion, and his warmth when I met him, contrary to press reports that he is an unemotional “android”. Now to think of which candidates deserve my 2nd preference!

After reading some of what Ed Miliband’s campaign is saying, he is looking like a possible contender.  In the Guardian today http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jul/12/ed-miliband-labour-factionalism-psychodrama , Ed has stated that the party should ”move on from the “factionalism and psychodramas” of the party’s past. in refernce to the publication of Mandelson’s memoirs.  he also adds that “”we began as the party of the windfall tax on the privatised utilities and the minimum wage in 1997, we ended – despite doing great things – as the party that was defending bank bonuses and a party that was pushing forward ID cards. I think there are profound lessons for us about how we make our values central to what we do.” Such an analysis is an astute one, one that my man also made, but was criticised by his mentioning of names, which in my view was a brave step.

Ed has also impressed me with some of his ideas, including his campaign for a ”living wage” of more than £7-an-hour. However, Ed Balls has also impressed me with his attacks on Michael Gove’s school policies. Point being all the candidates have distinct virtues. The proof will be in the pudding when i see them all at the Manchester Hustings on 31st July, then the 2nd preference will be decided!!!!  Note to candidates, (except for DM as he has already impressed me ) pull out all the stops!!!

To conclude, here is a poem dedicated to Mili the younger

 

The new force (EM)
 
A new force comes to bear,
A light coming forth from the shadows.
Light of pure idealism, fairer pay,
A green warrior saving the earth from our mistakes, our excesses, our abuse.
His weapons, his words, his passion for justice.
Though not embraced by him, I admire from afar,
His flame of hope, i also see in his brothers eyes,
A flame i also share, reminding me we are kindred,
all bearers of a precious gift in these bleak times, a gift of HOPE!