Little to wait until 2011

EPMU Secretary Andrew Little has announced he will not stand for Labour in 2008, but is likely to try and stand in 2011.

This has a number of interesting aspects to it. The first is that Andrew has probably judged the chance of Labour winning a 4th term in 2008 as not being great. The best time to enter Parliament is the election before you enter Government.

The second is who will stand for Rimutaka for Labour in 2008? It is a very red seat so the candidate is likely to be a MP. Will one of the many Wellington based aspiring candidates be willing to move up there?

The third is what seat might Little stand for in 2011? He’s far too smart to want to rely on a list place only, putting him at the whim of the hierarchy. The new WC MP won’t be about to retire. OB is not a Labour seat. Probably not the right person for Mana. So that leaves Hutt South or Rongotai. My pick for now is Little to replace Mallard in 2011.