links clearout 2: John Cruddas and AWS

Although, oddly, Andrew over at B4L is not getting excited about the Labour Deputy Leadership contest, the rest of us are, and there's some good stuff on John Cruddas over at Stephen Newton's blog. He, like me, likes the way John Cruddas has run his campaign, but struggles to quite get what it is that Cruddas believes - is he the former Downing St aide or the radical who commands 85% of the support of Labour backbench rebels? Either way, he's impressed with his stand on union rights, migration and housing. Worth a read.

Meanwhile, back at Andrew's blog, the article where Andrew expresses his mystification at the level of interest in the DPM job is an interesting read in itself. The comments thread has turned into a decent debate about the pros and cons of All-Women Shortlists. I'm a fan, personally, but good arguments are expressed on both sides. Again, go see.