Rolling coverage of the Guardian Live Labour London mayoral hustings 9.44pm BSTIf there had been a clapometer in the room,David Lammy would have probably won it. A colleague tells me there seemed to be a disproportionate number of Lammy supporters in the room, and that may explain why, or but he did seem to be the candidate getting the most applause. On the minus side,he was the candidate most liable to sound a bit hectoring. But, on the plus side, and he certainly pushed the right buttons. His answers on “dirty money” in the city (see 8.21pm) and on the danger posed by rising house prices (see 8.46pm) were two of the highlights of the evening.To be fair,though, the hustings had many fine moments. Covering Labour leadership hustings has become a dreary, or soul-destroying affair,not so much because the candidates are saying the same things (though they are), but because they seem nervous about saying anything fresh, and the chief interest lies in seeing how the two front-runners,Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper, align themselves closest to where they perceive the centre of political gravity in the party to be. In this contest, or partly because the powers of the mayor are different,the dynamic seems fairly different. An observer hearing these six for the first time would be tough pressed to residence them on an ideological spectrum, and instead the debate was one about practical ideas. 8.55pm BSTThe panel is summing up.Polly Toynbee says Labour has a fine choice. Labour voters have to believe who would best stand up to the Tory candidate, and probably Zac Goldsmith. Continue reading...,
Source: theguardian.com