UK Labour party hire Obama campaign chief David Axelrod

[T_i_B]

Source: BBC

The Labour Party has appointed US election strategist David Axelrod as a strategic adviser on leader Ed Miliband's 2015 election campaign.

Mr Axelrod was a key architect of Barack Obama's victory over John McCain in the 2008 presidential race.

He will work alongside shadow foreign secretary, Douglas Alexander, who is to run Labour's general election strategy. Labour will pay Mr Axelrod a six-figure sum and use his consulting firm AKPD in its bid to win power.

After masterminding Mr Obama's election to the White House, Mr Axelrod went on to become a senior adviser to the president. He quit the post in 2011 in order to work on the successful 2012 campaign to re-elect Mr Obama. The strategist has since acted as a media commentator and as a director of the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago.



Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27062278

[mopinko]

1. go axe. we'll miss you

he is a truly decent human being. does some huge good works here in chicago.
for his sake, i hope the guy listens better than his last client, tho.

[mackerel]

2. Has UKIP got candidates over there that

riled?

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Not much overlap of potential Labour and UKIP voters

UKIP is more of a danger to the Conservatives (there's a certain amount of defection of local councillors and European Parliament MEPs between the two, and the more right wing Tories are pretty indistinguishable from UKIPers).

But the Tories do have Lynton Crosby, who has had a lot of success with the right wing in Australia. I think this is more Labour wanting someone with ideas to counter him (I do wonder how applicable Axelrod's work will be in the UK parliamnetary system, rather than with the individual candidates he seems to mainly work with - though I see he was chief political adviser for Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the successful 2006 campaign, so maybe he's good at molding a group too).

[craigmatic]

4. If that's the case, I'd say we still need him here more than ever. nt

[McCamy Taylor]

6. Not until 2016.

[McCamy Taylor]

5. Go get 'em. The UK needs a decent government.

And Miliband is great material.

[T_i_B]

8. Not convinced that Miliband is "great material" at all to be honest

Last edited Tue Apr 22, 2014, 07:49 AM - Edit history (1)

He isn't the most inspiring politician, and Labour has tended to drift under his leadership.

His one saving grace being how dreadful the Tories & Lib Dems are in comparison.

So whilst I agree that we really could do with a decent government, I don't see any major UK political party as able to provide this. Not the conclusion I want to be making at all.

[LeftishBrit]

9. 'Great material' is putting it a bit strongly; still, he may well end up as the best PM in 36 years

The competition for 'best recent PM' is admittedly not strong, though I rate Gordon Brown higher than many people do.

[cabrona]

7. Third Way is Third Way

In the States
Or in the UK.