Next Labour leader

[the other bob wilson]

Clive Lewis is the pick of the bunch in my view ,fresh ,young ,left of centre,but sensible with it ,the trick is to bring forward policies that are balanced ,caring and affordable.

I've not heard anything that sounds that refreshing lately, or seen any big punches landing on this goverment , who are unsure on thier own direction , hence this decesion today.

Don't really know enough about Clive Lewis to comment on his leadership potential.

I agree with what you say about the Government. One of the first things I heard when I switched on the telly as the news that there was going to be an announcement broke was the person being interviewed stating that they didn't think an election was going to be called because the deadline for one to be held on the same day (May 4) as the Council Elections had just passed and, surely, that would be the best date for a snap General Election if one was going to be called.

That's definitely what I would have advised if I was someone high up in the Tory party who was asked about going to the country. When you look at the reaction of the woman at the start of this piece

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39631693

you get an idea of how Theresa May's decision was greeted by many, you can't help thinking that, if there really have to be two more votes in some parts of a country which looks to be suffering election/referendum fatigue, wouldn't it be best to have them on the same day? You would have thought there'd be benefits for the Tories in the Council Elections from doing that as well.

As you would expect, there were plenty of Conservatives lining up to applaud Mrs May's decision once news of it broke, but the truth is that there was no one in that party really pushing for a snap election at a time when we were told that the attention had to be very much on the Brexit negotiations.

I'm guessing, but it seems to me that the Prime Minister came to her decision over the Easter Weekend and there were very, very few in her Cabinet or party who she confided in beforehand. If that is correct, then I'm pretty sure there will be those who will look at the decision as a pretty selfish one with what's the country needs coming fairly low on her list of priorities.

I know it's the Guardian and they were never going to be very complimentary about the Prime Minister, but this

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...nterests-first

resonated with me as a powerful and forceful piece which offers a clue as to how the very remote possibility that this could all go very wrong for Mrs May and her party may come to pass - if the feeling takes hold among the electorate that they are being used purely for political and personal gain at a time when we should be concentrating on what was decided in June last year, then the overall majority, assuming there is one, may not be anywhere near as big as anticipated.