Election catch-up: Blairites for and against a Miliband victory

Plus the latest on the Mili-monolith, and a top tip from a master remover

1. Sound advice, this, from Messrs Anthony Ward Thomas.

2. Blairites cannot do both at this election. We have to decide, and have divided again. Some Blairites think that it would not be in the country’s interest for Brownite Labour to win. Others are more tribal and think a Labour government is always better than a Conservative one. But a third faction argues that a Labour victory is needed for the bearers of the eternal truth to prevail in the medium term.

A friend writes:

“The best outcome for the Labour Party – and particularly for those of us who want to see it return to being a strong force for progress – is for Ed to be prime minister.

“If he loses we get five more years of decline under Yvette Cooper or Andy Burnham. If he gets to be prime minister our people get to be ministers in office and a chance to shine. Tristam Hunt may turn out to be a great minister. Similarly Liz Kendall and we actually get to see if Dan Jarvis matches the hype – plus we might get Pat McFadden in the Cabinet.

“Our people get to fight and they don’t have to be lightning conductors for the Prime Minister as they were when Tony was in office. And while we are relatively small in number compared with the leftists (EdM’s true believers) and the right opportunists (Balls et al), we are better than them.”

3. Ed Miliband is right about one thing, though. The NHS is in danger. Not from the Tories, but from the inability of any politicians to grasp the huge challenge of social change and bureaucratic inertia.

4. My comment on Charlotte Elizabeth Diana: I am a republican on grounds of child cruelty.

5. The weirdest thing about the Mili-monolith is that Labour could have used it (and the pledge card) to advertise six specific and believable promises. It took me five minutes to knock these together:

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6. And finally, thanks to Moose Allain for this:

“My friend’s organising a football match and asked if I’d like to make up the numbers. I suggested squix hundring and nankety noof.”