What Wingco said. I was reading the Guardian's blow-by-blow account of the fiasco that was the abortive election, and they describe Brown's meeting with Alan Grenspan (who argued that the economy was going south, so he should call one now before the news hit home) as brown meeting his 'mentor'.

Now, how many Old Labourites could you describe as having had an Ayn Rand fan as their mentor?

If Brown wasn't a right-wing bastard, I'd think he was unfairly being typecast as the master of his own downfall, when if you look at the polls, the position now isn't too far from when he took over. The only reason the election talk was on was because having been tanking in the polls, the bounce Brown got made people think it might be their best chance. You'd think Brown inherited a position of strength which he's fucked up listening to some.

But he deserves it all. As E10 said, Labour are suffering for being New Labour, of which Brown was the real architect. Blair articulated the pitch - the high-concept of the vacuity of third-way politics - with Brown coming in as director and screenwriter. That Brown inherited Blair's ratings stands to reason as people realised that for all intents and purposes, the new boss is exactly the same as the old boss in all the ways that count, and the difference is in things they don't care too much for.

E10 - what role does the NEC have, these days?

Well it's more a reflective sounding-board these days, rather than much of a policy-making body. Though it still has a role in terms of things like parliamentary candidate panels and the like. Eviscerated to a considerable extent in the Blair-Blown era though, obviously, like anything that hints at the word "democracy" has been, but then political parties everywhere are becoming less internally democratic.

Even if it is largely meaningless though, if you get the chance to vote in anything, you should normally use it progressively.

Yeah, it was meant as a genuine question, so thanks.

The 'consultative' National Policy Forum process has usurped a lot of the NEC's policy-making function.

Oh, and other thing the NEC's members are responsible, and liable, for is the party's finances, which has led to some mischievous suggestions in left circles that we should vote all the Blairite lickspittles on so if the party's finances go tits up they all get fucked over.

You mean personal financial liability?!

For what it's worth, E10, I voted the same way as you, save substituting Nirwal (I was impressed by her statement) for Kenyon.

Isn't "Labour Today" a, ahem, cracking read?