To set the scene....... It was a cold night in Derby, I was sat in the Socialist republic of the Silk Mill pub, beer in one hand, nuts in the other, and mind on leadership matters. The open fire was roaring in the corner, and the crackle of wood and smell of smoke meant that my thought quickly forgot about the cigarette I was craving to who should be the next leader of the Labour Party.
A mental list started to appear in my mind, and the first person it thought of was Yvette Cooper. To be honest, I can't remember and don't know why she was the first on the list. I think it was a muddled mixture of why she wouldn't stand because her husband Ed might (I still think this is why she didn't stand, and I totally respect that) Going back to my mental list, I thought of the usual suspects, the Mili's, Burnham et al, but I could not get out of my head why I would like Yvette to be on there.
I have only met Yvette once, and that was to say a quick hello at the recent Leicester South Parliamentary by-election. However, previous to this I have watched her in may TV interviews and Parliamentary debates. In the latter she is confident, self assured and speaks with great authority. The Tories are frightened to death of her, and usually have very little in the way of reply to her constructive arguments. In the former she shows great leadership and refuses to be bullied by what are usually hostile, testosterone filled male interviewers. Now before you read too much into this, I am not asking her to challenge the current leader, nor am I saying that Ed is doing a bad job, as I don't think he is. I am merely saying that I think that if we are to adopt Harriet Harman's idea that at least one member of the leadership team should be a woman, then I am of the opinion that it should be Yvette. On the other hand, if Ed decided after a year that enough was enough, then I would certainly have no hesitation in calling Yvette and asking, nay begging for her to stand.
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