How are the Labour leadership elections going? (01.06.10 17:30 update)

As of 17:30 update today:
Diane Abbott - 1 (no change) - Just David 'Mastermind' Lammy, are you not going to nominate yourself Diane, are not sure if you are the right candidate?
Ed Balls - 33 (no change) - still no nomination from Gordon Brown, can he not decide who to damn with his vote?
Andy Burnham - 17 (no change)
John McDonnell - 7 (up 1)
David Miliband - 55 (no change) - keeping ahead of his younger, even smugger, brother
Ed Miliband - 45 (no change)

So just two Labour MPs managed to get off their arses and nominate one of these outstanding candidates over the Bank Holiday weekend and today.

There are 258 Labour MPs of which 158 have nominated. So how will the other 100 Labour MPs nominations fall? Will enough plump for Diane Abbott to allow her into the voting? Will John McDonnell manage to persuade enough MPs that he deserves a run from the left? And will Andy Burnham persuade enough MPs that an Alan Hansen lookalike is best suited to be Labour leader? What promises are the 100 hoping to extract from the as yet not 'Nominated' candidates?


Of course this is all academic as the decision as to who will lead the Labour party is largely in the hands of two organisations:

1) UNITE who will hold a very large proportion of the Union third of the electoral college as well as influencing a large number of UNITE sponsored Labour MPs - good news for Ed Balls and thus the Conservative party

2) The National Executive Committee who have apparently yet to decide what process to follow this time around in deciding who wins the contest - will it be simple 'first past the past' as in the 1994 Leaders election or the sort of preferential vote system that saw Harriet Harman win the Deputy Leader contest in 2007. Obviously this decision will affect the chances of each of the main contenders winning and so one needs to ask who its members want to see win? Who enters a competition before the rules are defined?




Meanwhile I note that according to the the labour party the NEC is made up as follows:
Leader Gordon Brown
Deputy Leader Harriet Harman
Treasurer Jack Dromey
Government Pat McFadden
Government Angela Eagle
Government Tom Watson
EPLP Leader Glenis Willmott MEP
Young Labour Stephanie Peacock
Div. I - Trade Unions Keith Birch
Div. I - Trade Unions Jim Kennedy
Div. I - Trade Unions Harriet Yeo
Div. I - Trade Unions Diana Holland
Div. I - Trade Unions Paddy Lillis
Div. I - Trade Unions Norma Stephenson (Vice Chair)
Div. I - Trade Unions Andy Kerr
Div. I - Trade Unions Cath Speight
Div. I - Trade Unions Mary Turner
Div. I - Trade Unions Chris Weldon
Div. I - Trade Unions Andy Worth
Div. II - Socialist Societies Dianne Hayter
Div. II - Socialist Societies Keith Vaz MP

Div. III - CLPs Ann Black (Chair)
Div. III - CLPs Ellie Reeves
Div. III - CLPs Peter Wheeler
Div. III - CLPs Peter Kenyon
Div. III - CLPs Pete Willsman
Div. III - CLPs Christine Shawcroft
Div. IV - Labour Councillors Jeremy Beecham
Div. IV - Labour Councillors Ann Lucas
Div. V - PLP/EPLP Anne Snelgrove MP
Div. V - PLP/EPLP Dennis Skinner
Div. V - PLP/EPLP Michael Cashman MEP

I think that might need updating a little in the area of 'Leader', 'Government' and did all thise MPs get re-elected?