Someone in Labour has been whispering in RadioLive political editor Jessica Williams' ear; check this out:
But wait, as they say in the infomercials; there's more. We even get the numbers:
There's a real irony in this. Barry Soper noted after Saturday's meeting in Levin:
The audience who'll all get a vote for the leadership were urged not to spill the beans to the media but the couple who couldn't contain themselves ended up cancelling each other out. One said he was never going to vote for a gay leader, his ballot would be for Cunliffe the other said he'd come to cast his for Cunliffe, but having heard Robertson he was now firmly in his corner.
However much the party tries to shut the rank and file up, the Labour caucus continues to leak like a sieve. Anyone who believes that the leadership election is going to produce a united Labour caucus has, as John Key told David Shearer in THAT secret meeting about the GCSB Bill, rocks in their head.
Barry Soper is back from a trip to Africa, rejuvenated, and in fine form. And he has laid into Trevor Mallard for his attack on Nick Smith during Question Time on Wednesday; check this out:
Over the next three weeks the spotlight will be on Labour and in particular the three wannabes.
But it's a party that can't help tripping over itself as it did yesterday when Trevor Mallard flew into the bear pit, accusing the pedantic Nick Smith of bludging off the taxpayer after he tearfully relieved himself of his ministry last year when his Bronwyn Pullar conflict of interest became an embarrassment.
Of course he's repented and is now back in the fold. Mallard claimed he'd stayed on in his taxpayer supplied ministerial home when he wasn't entitled to.
Smith tells us he stayed on for a couple of weeks so that his kids could finish their school term which would seem reasonable in the circumstances.
But big Gezza Brownlee wasn't going to let them get away with that. He ruffled Mallard's feathers, saying what's good for the goose is good for the gander.
If he expected Smith to cough up some cash then what about Dithering David doing the decent thing?
Since making the dramatic announcement last Thursday, and then refusing to take any questions about it, Shearer got on the next plane out of the capital and will be lying low for the next three weeks.
He's still picking up his leader's salary and the perks that go with the job, which Gezza says is a bit rich given Labour's view of Smith's indiscretion.
More points on the Tory board then as Labour again scores an own goal!
Labour simply can't take a trick at the moment. Maybe it's time for some of those who keep stuffing up to shuffle off into retirement.
When someone like Barry Soper turns feral on the Labour Party, you know that the world is changing. But that's exactly what he has done in his regular semi-satirical piece on Newstalk ZB, and released on the Newstalk website; Soper opines:
The dismal opinion poll ratings for Labour a few weeks back charged the Tory's political arsenal. Every time the hapless, Dithering David Shearer stood up in Parliament's bear pit to ask State Homie John Key whether he stood by all his statements, the volley began.
Of course he stood by the statements he'd been making to his fellow conspirators that The Ditherer's days were numbered.
It was 'head on the plate stuff', but this week it'll be carcass on the spit with Labour's so called man-ban, where they'll consider standing only women in some electorates to get a gender balance. Shearer was quick to distance himself from the feral feminists but he does lead a Party where the idea's been entertained.
Currently they've got 14 women and 20 men MPs, even if the media had to point out the correct figures to them. So why do they want more women? Well there could be two reasons for that, to improve on the talent, or lack of it, that they've already got or to Morris dance with The Kermits who're committed to the gender balance.
Their highest ranking woman Jacinda Adern is more teeth than gnarl, no match for her opposite number, the Tory's Paula Benefit.
Nanaia Mahuta's also up there because, well she's Waikato Royalty. Louisa Wall's done what she came to the bear pit to do, allow gays to marry, and has never been heard of since. Moana Mackey took over from her mum and has been keeping the seat warm ever since.
There's the caustic Clare Curran, who came to Parliament as a former PR spin doctor but is little more than a hospital orderly, finding it difficult to contain a press release to less than one page, and then it's a worst seller.
And of course they have Megan Woods, anointed to take over from the mogadon man Saint Jim Anderton and has been asleep ever since.
Now we don't necessarily endorse all the comments that Soper has made here, but as we said at the beginning of the post, his "editorial" piece normally has strong piss-take overtones to it. Underlying his rather colourful descriptions of some of Labour's female MP's is a very strong message that Labour has stuffed this up completely, as they did with the SkyCity corporate box affair.
Soper's closing paragraphs however contain a very serious warning to Labour over its political management:
In fairness there are some Labour men who do little more than keep their seats warm as well, and for that matter they can be found across the political spectrum.
But Labour brought this on themselves.
If they want to be taken seriously, they should be thinking about a winning team rather than the makeup!
Barry Soper is absolutely right; Labour has no-one to blame but itself for this unholy mess. In its desire to be all things to all people, it has reverted to the political correctness that brought the party so much negativity during the Clark Government's second and third terms and saw it voted out in 2008. Unless Labour starts to focus on the issues that matter to the people likely to vote for it instead of pushing the barrows of a few Labour Party members and party Council activists, the wilderness beckons.
