Why James Purnell can't lead Labour

The Spectator returns to the James Purnell charge today with a post from James Forsyth on Coffee House.

The magazine put the Welfare Secretary on its cover not long ago, promoting the case for a Purnell leadership. Now Coffee House points to an article by John Rentoul in The Independent which corroborates their story.

What should we make of it?

First, it is true that in many ways Purnell may prove a more convincing bearer of the Blair standard than David Miliband.

One close observer of the Blairites put it to me something like this - "David can get the point, but he doesn't start there. His instincts are more left and then he can move slowly to a more Blairite position. With James the Blairite position is his first instinct"

This can make Purnell seem more robust and instinctive, attractive qualities in a leader.

Second, I understand the objection that the generally perspicacious Forsyth gives on Coffee House:

I still think it is too much of a stretch to think of him as Prime Minister.

But I don't think it is conclusive. I think his relaxed style, his youth and his cool amiability would all prove assets in practice. In a leadership contest his very distinctiveness could suddenly prove very appealing.

So why don't I quite buy it?

Because, simply, I think James Purnell is too right wing. I don't think, when choosing a new leader, that the Labour Party will conclude, either in power or out of it, that its problem is that it wasn't right wing wing enough.

I think Miliband's very distance from the Blairite message would be, in fact, a big asset in a run off against Purnell.

Even if the Spectator would prefer that it wasn't.

Comments

[Diane Abbott MP]

Amazingly, in all the Purnell hype, you are the first person to have spotted that he is just too right wing to lead the Labour Party. Even now.

[tory guy]

Wishful thinking by Please-give-me-a-job-call-me-Dave-and Gideon.

They will not have the free ride Mr Finklestien is hoping for.

[David]

Too Right wing! B***dy hell, after Blair he probably isn't too right wing enough!!

[Neo]

A leadership change could prove costly to the Tories; with Brown stumbling from disaster to disaster, having a competent individual - whose policies could give him a run for his money - across the ballot box is unknow territory.