Monday 21 September 2009

The inside word on Labour's election campaign

There are a number of interesting things that came out of Mary Riddell's Fabian Review interview with Douglas Alexander, Labour's election co-ordinator - see an extensive extract in today's Telegraph

He brushes off talk of a rift with Lord Mandelson over who is running the campaign:

“Ulitmately, I believe Peter when he says he’s a Labour person. So am I, and in that sense, we share a common objective. I have a strong, constructive and positive relationship with Peter. He’s seen it all before, and he has personal stillness and authority which even his closest friends would concede were not as obvious when he went to Brussels. He’s come back a bigger figure than he left.”

He comes across as determined about the forthcoming campaign ("difficult but do-able"), and gives probably the clearest signal yet by a senior Labour figure that a move on electoral reform is likely:

“I think there’s a growing sense in the party that AV is something that should be seriously considered...It’s an issue that’s being discussed. What the timsecale is, I can’t say.”

There will be more discussion here on Next Left about other bits and bobs from the interview, and any thoughts about what lies behind the nuance would be welcome, but in the meantime, see the Fabian Review for the full interview.

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