Irony from Labour MP's

We've just come home from a quick dash to the supermarket. Whilst we were waiting at the check-out, the cover of the Listener caught our eye; or to be specific, this headline:

LABOUR'S SECRET LEADERSHIP PACT

Naturally, or interest was piqued, so we shelled out for a copy. Unfortunately, the Listener doesn't post its stories online until a week after publication, but what we found at P26 was a six-page puff-piece on what a great guy Phil Goff is, why he is so media-shy, and the fact that he will lead the party in 2011. Yes, that's the pact bit - we quote:

But there is some concern within Labour that panic and destabilisation of Goff may set in in a year's time if Labour is still polling dismally. Other senior Labour MP's say that won't happen. Why? "We had a pact. It was for the full three years." says one senior Labour MP.

Interesting eh! So much for Helen Clark saying that there was no Plan B! She made it clear to Paul Henry on Breakfast last week that she had no intention of being Opposition Leader again, so her decision to pull the pin on election night was not, we suspect a spur-of-the-moment gesture.

Anyway, back to the Listener story. A number of "senior MP's" have been interviewed apparently (even though several of those quoted are from the Class of '08), and they have provided some quotable quotes. So as a public service to those who cannot afford the Listener, we'll publish one each day this week. We're sure that you, like us, will recognise the irony in some of these quotes, so here goes - make of this what you will:

Clare Curran on Phil Goff:

He's a guy that likes to get stuff done. He likes to roll up his sleeves and get his boots dirty and do a bit of hard work. He's a real man. And we need that.