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Labour coup in motion

by Whaleoil on November 12, 2012

David Farrar notes that there have been three posts in two days at Lynn Prentice’s hate speech blog The Standard calling for David Shearer to be axed:

  • Eddie – On David Shearer’s Leadership - For the Left to win in 2014, David Shearer has to resign as Labour Leader.
  • Irishbill – It’s time to go - David Shearer needs to go if Labour is to stand a chance in 2014 and he needs to go as soon as possible.
  • Queen of Thorns – Who could replace Shearer? - I agree with the other posters on The Standard who think Shearer needs to go as Labour leader.

He surmises that it is part of a calculated plan, and he is right. Though, I do note that Mike Smith has rushed forward with a 4th post that says “Don’t Panic, not just yet“. He isn’t saying Shearer shouldn’t be axed, just that now is not the right time.

Make no mistake though, the tumbril is rolling, and the coup plotters are moving. Just last week, while Grant Robertson was offshore, David Shearer received his first “delegation”….that suggested thing might go a bit nicer if he stepped aside.

You only doorstep a leader when you are sure of your numbers…you only are sure of your numbers when you are openly counting.

The only question remaining is when? I’m not sure Farrar is right about February…I think it may well be earlier than that.

It is all a great pity, because if anyone could have rescued Labour from the maw of their activist base or the perception that they have become the party workers party then it was David Shearer. No matter the UN is calling again no doubt.

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  • Guest

    The great thing about this coup is that it is slow moving. If they had any brains, they would be moving fast instead of having this take place over a long period of time.

  • Petal

    I really had my money on Shearer being safe until after the holidays. It makes no strategic sense to be doing this now.

    • http://www.whaleoil.co.nz Whaleoil

      Labour do lots of dumb things….this is one of them

      • Pete George

        Doing the right thing (replacing Shearer) at one of the worst possible times (destroying their conference) with the best outcome possible being a new leader who starts as widely unpopular and has to try and repair a dead duck caucus.

  • niggly

    Those posters/authors/whatever at Lynn Prentice’s hate speech blog are so dumb they think a leadership change will actually help Labour …. when the probelm all along for Labour is the calibre of their own useless MP’s (and the corrupt “Party” system that elects sycophants).

    Those dumb posters/authors/whatever at Lynn Prentice’s hate speech blog should hang their treasonous head’s in shame!

    Especially as their airing of dirty laundry in public is doing Labour no favours (mind you who am I to complain? Let them carry on)!

    Can’t wait for them to turn on Cunliffe when there is a change of leadership and they Labour stays stangnant in the polls!

    The Greens must be laughing all the way to the election at Labour’s and those dumb posters/authors/whatever at Lynn Prentice’s hate speech blog’s lack of disipline!

    • Pete George

      Shearer is a major problem, he has proven simply not up to leadership.

      But you’re right, a change to Cunliiffe won’t fix the party’s problems, it will simply change focus to another excuse for a failing party system with a lack of talent to call on.

      In one way Greens will be laughing, but they are also wary and should be concerned. If Labour lose badly in 2014 the left (and the Greens) will get dragged down too.

    • http://unsolicitedious.wordpress.com/ Unsolicitedious

      “when the probelm all along for Labour is the calibre of their own useless MP’s (and the corrupt “Party” system that elects sycophants”

      True, but I would say their inability to be re-elected has more to do with their fundamentally flawed policies……good policies almost always preclude left wingers!

      • niggly

        Agree, bad MP’s = bad policies.

        And just look on the Parliamentary website to see what private members’ bills are being proposed and many that Labour (and Greens) are pushing appear to be of self-interest (or political party interest), which many NZers wouldn’t care about and would think are not a priority (when NZers are more concerned about jobs & supporting their families in tough times)!
        http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Legislation/ProposedBills/

        • http://unsolicitedious.wordpress.com/ Unsolicitedious

          Yes I can see that – it seems no matter how much they get slammed by the polling or opinion pieces, they just dont seem to get how out of tune with NZers they really are. It’s like they are stuck in 1999.

  • Bea

    I just hope it will be Robertson! A gay fatty! Kiwis will love him!

    • http://unsolicitedious.wordpress.com/ Unsolicitedious

      True, until he starts to spit out the same old left wing rhetoric that many NZers are well and truly over….

  • cows4me

    So how will these clowns appoint a new leader , musical chairs , fish , pin the tail on the donkey , hide and seek , pick up sticks , spin the bottle ?

    • Phar Lap

      How about leap frog..,or chase the eighteen year old boys.

    • Tony

      They down elect a leader now days – they elect a piñata – a stuffed shirt which gets beaten with sticks by their work mates!

    • Shoreboy57

      Easy – the Unions do, so Andrew Little will be front-running into the turn

      • Liberty

        So the unions finally
        take over the Labour party

        And install a puppet Leader.

        You still end up with a lemon.

  • Dumbass

    They should make Jacinda the new leader. Then she would finally be seen as the inadequate useless MP she really is – shes already way above her skill level so they may as well promote her higher.

    I can’t stand that women, can you tell?

    • Troy

      Neither can I. She reeks of Clarkism and watching her in the debating chamber is painful – she spits questions forth with incredible vitriole… if she were to ever become PM we would slide back into a state of entitlement even more. She’s a wolf in sheeps clothing in any case… never been a worker, just a shitstirring socialist.

  • ZOLTAN

    His refusal to rip the guts out of the current caucus makes him just as bad as the rest.

  • Dave

    I read a Tweet from WhaleOil detailing a poll on Shearers Leadership in the Wairarapa Times-Age. At this point 2.26 AM 13/11/12, Shearer has to be a goner. 4% say very well, 26% say okay, and 69% Very Poorly. Thats about the leader of the opposition, only 4% of the Wairarapa Time-Age’s readers think he did very well.

    Lik ehas been suggested in another post on WOBH, Ah, um, Education is looking likely David, suggest you take a few tips from “the Duck”, ah, um, then do the opposite. (note, the numbers have a margin of error, presumably 1% as they don’t add up)

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