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Posts Tagged ‘Ed Miliband’

It was the risk not the spending that Labour got wrong

11/01/2011, 04:15:34 PM

by Anthony Painter

Ed Miliband is in a bind. He is tied to a fiscal policy that the public believes was profligate and irresponsible. His strategy so far has been to defend that record to the best of his ability. That is not enough. It may be time to switch tack.

The debate is homing in on the question of whether Labour was spending too great before the 2007 turbulence. And actually if you pull out the figures the answer is marginally on the side of ‘defend the record’- on the face of it. Current spending was in deficit ahead of the crisis though not catastrophically so- 0.3% of GDP in 2006-2007. The public sector net debt was lower than in 1997 at 36.6%.

None of this looks irresponsible in fiscal terms. Public sector productivity and inefficiency tell a slightly different story- there is no doubt that the money invested in public services post-2001 failed to raise output as it should have done. Steve Richards in his articulation of the case for the defence in the Independent this morning acknowledges that fact:

“Labour failed to address inefficiencies in the public sector and some of the additional investment was wasted needlessly, but the overall spending was necessary at the time, as Blair discovered then and some senior Tories discover now.”

So the case for the defence seems to exonerate Labour for imprudence but is more ambiguous on wastefulness. (more…)

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Tuesday News Review

11/01/2011, 06:30:18 AM

Europe set to haunt the Tories again

David Cameron faces a serious rebellion from his backbenchers tonight when a bill on the referendum lock goes before the Commons. MPs will debate amendments to the bill, with veteran eurosceptic Bill Cash putting forward a series of radical changes. Tory backbencher Douglas Carswell branded the bill, which would ensure a referendum in the case of a “significant” EU treaty, “smoke and mirrors”. “This bogus EU bill is no substitute for the referendum we were promised. Nothing in this bill will cause the permanent British representatives in Brussels, who really decide Europe policy, to change course,” he wrote on his blog. Mr Cameron originally promised the referendum lock in opposition, when it became clear that his promise of a referendum on the Lisbon treaty would not be possible. But Tory backbenchers have been dismayed by the moderate tone adopted towards the EU from the prime minister and his foreign secretary, William Hague, since they arrived in office.
Combined with the unconcealed pro-European credentials of the Conservatives’ Lib Dem coalition partners, many eurosceptic backbenchers are intensely uncomfortable with the way Britain’s relationship with the EU is being managed. Labour is unimpressed by the law, especially the judicial review aspect, which they say hands power to judges which should be in the hands of elected representatives. “Even the foreign secretary must know this bill is a dogs dinner,” said shadow foreign secretary Yvette Cooper. “This bill is about failed Tory party management not the issues that matter for Britain in Europe. Instead of concentrating on things like growth, exports or cross border crime, William Hague is wasting time trying and failing to keep his eurosceptics happy.” – politics.co.uk

Angry Conservatives last night intensified their revolt over Britain’s membership of the European Union ahead of crucial Commons votes tonight. MPs are due to debate the full details of the Government’s European Union Bill. It is designed to prevent any further surrender of power from Westminster to Brussels without a national referendum. But Eurosceptic Tories are threatening to side with Labour in a bid to make the measures far tougher. Bill Cash, Conservative MP for Stone, Staffordshire, last night added an amendment to the Bill seeking to make clear that Britain’s sovereignty lies with Parliament. Despite the growing discontent on Tory backbenches, Government whips were last night relaxed about the debate. One Tory source said: “It does not feel as if this rebellion has really caught alight.” The European Union Bill includes a “sovereignty clause” introducing the so-called “referendum lock” promised in the Conservative election manifesto. This would oblige any future government to hold a referendum before agreeing to a treaty that transfers sovereignty to Brussels. – Daily Express

Cameron defeated over bank bonuses

Downing Street has accepted that it cannot halt large bonuses for bankers and is instead negotiating to make employers disclose how many are given more than £1 million. Despite public anger at the prospect, it admits it holds little sway with banks which are not partly stated-owned. A No 10 source said last night: “Whatever the bonuses are – if they are £7 billion or £3 billion – they will be too big. We are going to get flak and we accept that.” Some Liberal Democrats in the Coalition, including Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, had hoped that the Treasury would look at another bank tax to discourage the bonus culture. But No 10 regards last year’s levy as “a one-off”. Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, accused the Coalition of giving banks a tax cut by not renewing the levy imposed by the last government. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said that, while the Government wanted restraint, David Cameron would not “micromanage” the banks. “We are not going to set bonus pools for individual banks. We are not going to set pay policy for individual members of staff,” he said. – Daily Telegraph

David Cameron was humiliated yesterday by bank chiefs who insisted he does NOT have a veto over their pay. The PM threatened to torpedo a £2.5million bonus for Stephen Hester, head of Royal Bank of Scotland – a bank saved with £20billion of taxpayers’ cash. The PM boasted in a weekend TV interview that he ¬“absolutely” had a veto over RBS bonuses. But 24 hours later, the bank insisted he does not have the power to stop Mr Hester ¬pocketing the bonus. An RBS spokesman said: “There isn’t a formal veto.” He added that RBS agreed to let the body set up to run the nationalised banks decide the total bonuses paid to its workforce last year in return for extra government support. But the arrangement was a “one-off”, he stressed. Shadow treasury minister Chris Leslie said Mr Cameron had landed himself in an “embarrassing muddle”. – Daily Mirror

Miliband is forced to defend Johnson

Ed Miliband insisted yesterday that Alan Johnson DOES know what he’s talking about – as a furious bank bonus row erupted. The Labour leader’s vote of confidence in his bungling Shadow Chancellor came as it emerged ministers are thrashing out a deal with bankers to be more open. Mr Johnson said employers paid National Insurance at 21 per cent. The figure is 12.8. He has also admitted needing an “economics for beginners” primer, seemed confused about when Labour’s cuts were due to start and unsure how long it will take to reduce the deficit. With Mr Johnson at his side, Mr Miliband told a press conference: “Alan clearly knows about these things. It’s the big things that matter in politics. The things that matter are your instincts.” – The Sun

Ed Miliband yesterday backed Shadow Chancellor Alan Johnson despite his National Insurance gaffe. The Labour leader said he would trust Mr Johnson’s judgment “any day” over George Osborne’s. He was speaking after Mr Johnson was caught out on TV wrongly saying the rate of NI contributions was 20% when it is 12.8%. It was his second slip-up in a week, prompting questions about whether he is the right man for the job. Last week Mr Johnson had to correct himself after he forgot the date by which Labour hoped to halve the deficit. Asked about the comments, Mr Milband said: “Alan clearly knows about these things. It’s the big things that matter.” – Daily Mirror

Labour lead by eight points

Labour has opened up an eight-point lead in the latest ComRes survey for The Independent as the Conservatives start to feel a backlash over spending cuts and the rise in VAT. It shows Labour on 42 per cent, up three points since the most recent ComRes poll for The Independent on Sunday three weeks ago, the Conservatives on 34 per cent (down three), the Liberal Democrats on 12 per cent (up one point) and other parties 12 per cent (down one). This is the biggest Labour lead, and the Tories’ lowest share of the vote, in any poll since last May’s general election and the largest Labour lead since ComRes began polling for The Independent in 2006. The figures would give Labour an overall majority of 102 at the next election if it were fought in the current first-past-the-post system. According to ComRes, the Tories trail Labour among voters in every age group below 55 and in every region of Britain except the Midlands. Labour enjoys a narrow one-point lead among the AB top social group. – Independent

Minister in fishy embarrassment

Fisheries minister Richard Benyon has been caught out by TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall after the politician revealed his lack of knowledge about Britain’s most common fish. Benyon was able to pick out only cod and monkfish from 12 of the most obvious fish and, after a second chance, managed to identify pollock too. However, he was unable to identify favourites such as halibut, haddock and plaice. Fisheries minister Richard Benyon could identify only three of 12 common fish. The minister makes the gaffe on the TV quiz show Hugh’s Fish Fight, which screens on Channel 4 tomorrow. He was clearly nervous about his level of knowledge when presented with the task. ‘Oh God, this is so cruel. I’m a landlubber,’ says Mr Benyon. – Daily Mail

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Monday News Review

10/01/2011, 06:25:39 AM

Leaders clash over youth jobs

David Cameron has betrayed a generation of young people by denying them help to get a job, Labour leader EdMiliband will say today. The Prime Minister has summoned businesses chiefs to talks today on boosting employment. But Mr Miliband accused the him of ignoring the problem of youth joblessness, which is at its highest level for a quarter of a century. In March the Tory-led Government will end the Future Jobs Fund, which provides 100,000 places for under 25s, but the “work programme” which replaces it will not start until June. Speaking at a press conference in London, Mr Miliband will warn that Mr Cameron is repeating Margaret Thatcher’s mistakes, which led to the creation of a “lost generation” in the 1980s. Mr Miliband will say: “The first thing Mr Cameron should be addressing at his meeting today is the risk of a lost generation of young people in this country. “There will be a looming gap in the help given to unemployed young people. “This decision to betray young people is not just unfair it is the wrong long-term economic judgement.” – The Mirror

The key political battleground of employment will flare up today as David Cameron meets 20 leading multinational companies which have pledged to create jobs in Britain, and Labour mounts a campaign attacking the Coalition on youth unemployment. Ed Miliband is warning that thousands of young people face a “looming gap” when they look for help to find work because of the Coalition’s plans to scrap the Future Jobs Fund.But Mr Cameron counters that 300,000 private-sector jobs have been created in the past six months and he has plans to unveil more job pledges today. He hopes that by enlisting the support of large companies, such as McDonald’s, Shell and Toyota, the Government will appear pro-active in delivering jobs. The Prime Minister also gave warning yesterday that trade unions that strike over public-sector job cuts would find they would not be able to “push anyone around”. Speaking on the BBC, he said the Government was ready to talk about the impact of cuts but would not be forced into changing tack. “Striking is not going to achieve anything and the trade unions need to know they are not going to be able to push anyone around by holding this strike or that strike or even a whole lot of strikes together – they can forget it,” he said. – The Independent

Johnson jibes

Alan Johnson has been dogged by claims that he is not knowledgeable enough to be an effective opponent to George Osborne in times of economic hardship.His latest slip was seized upon by both Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats as an example of his lightweight ability. Mr Johnson appeared on Sky News on Sunday to criticise the Coalition Government’s announcement that VAT will rise to 20 per cent, a move he described as “fiscal fundamentalism”. Labour wants to increase national insurance as a way of tackling the deficit. Accused of being an economic “novice”, Mr Johnson said: “The accusation of economic novice is that when you take over a new job, you have to ensure that you bone up on these things.” A few seconds later, presenter Dermot Murnaghan asked the shadow minister to give the current rate of employers’ national insurance contributions. Mr Johnson tried to avoid the question before he said it would increase by one per cent, rising from 20 per cent to 21 per cent. Mr Murnaghan interrupted, to say: “Sorry, National Insurance, employers’ secondary class one-rate for employers, stands at the moment at …?” There was an awkward pause where Mr Johnson appeared unable to answer before the presenter came to his rescue, telling him the figure of 12.8 per cent. Mr Murnaghan went on: “Right, OK, I helped you out there. Just out of interest, there is still a lot to learn for you in terms of the job.” – The Telegraph (more…)

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The tyranny of the daily tracker poll

08/01/2011, 10:30:56 AM

by Emma Burnell

If, like me, you’re a political geek (and I have to assume that if you’re reading this site, you take at least a passing interest), then you’ll be following the YouGov daily tracker polls. Every night we see how the parties rise and fall. Will we be ahead? By how much? How low will the Lib Dems fall?

Like an underlying drumbeat, the tracker feeds into our daily narrative on the state of politics and the Labour party. Some people celebrate wildly each new time Labour pulls ahead of the Tories and the Lib Dems fall behind “Others”. Conversely, for some Labour supporters it seems to depress them even further, as they convince themselves that Labour is becoming complacent in reading these celebrations.

I try to fall between the two. I think Labour has a long journey still to take, but I take heart from the polls, they make me optimistic for the future. And I channel that optimism into working harder all the time for a Labour victory, taking nothing for granted.

Ed Miliband and his team should be doing the same. That is what the voters – not the hacks – expect. To hear some commentary, you’d think that we were weeks from the next election. But we’re not, and the public knows it. The Tory-Lib Dem coalition will hold, and as the polls get worse for them are cemented together. No politician – and especially not one as wily as Cameron – would go to the polls by choice with a 20 point disapproval rating. Their programme is clearly designed to ensure that a 2015 election will be at the best possible moment economically. Labour and Ed have time to get this right. There will be hundreds more tracker polls before the only poll that counts, and both optimists and pessimists must learn to take the daily ups and downs for what they really are – a snapshot. (more…)

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Thursday News Review

23/12/2010, 07:48:21 AM

Telegraph strikes again

David Heath, the deputy Leader of the House, said the Chancellor had the “capacity to get up one’s nose” and did not appreciate what it was like to lose £1,000 a year – the value of the cut in child benefit for higher earners. Paul Burstow, the care minister, told reporters from The Daily Telegraph: “I don’t want you to trust David Cameron.” And Andrew Stunell, the local government minister, said he did not know where the Prime Minister stood on the “sincerity monitor”. Norman Baker, the transport minister, even privately compared the Conservatives within government to the South African apartheid regime, claiming that it was his job to campaign from the “inside”. The disclosures come on the third day of this newspaper’s investigation into the true feelings of senior Liberal Democrats towards the Coalition. – Telegraph

Mr Baker is a minister in the transport department, working closely with the Conservative Secretary of State, Philip Hammond, and a junior minister, Theresa Villiers. “But what you end up doing in the Coalition, as much as we can is we play them off against each other. You try to get the Tories [to] do things. For example, telling you more than I should be telling you, in the Department for Transport, the rail minister, Theresa Villiers, is actually pretty sound on railways, the Secretary of State is more sceptical, so you know I’ll get Theresa Villiers to argue with him about that, because she can persuade him from the side of the Tory party, because she wants to deliver effectively what is Lib Dem policy.” – Telegraph

David Heath, the Liberal Democrat MP for Somerton and Frome, said that “the awful thing” about the General Election result was that it left his party with “no alternative” but to join forces with its Conservative rivals. He said his party would have been “wiped out” at the next election if they had refused to enter the Coalition, because voters would have asked, “What’s the point of the Liberal Democrats?” The former optician also said that some of his Tory colleagues “have no experience of how ordinary people live”. – Telegraph

Ed on the attack

Talk about a Christmas miracle: Ed Miliband has set about the task of Opposition with ruthless efficiency today. As both Guido and Nicholas Watt have noted, the Labour leader is all across the broadcast news this afternoon, after upping the heat on Vince Cable and the coalition. His party’s attack comes in the form of a letter sent by the shadow business secretary, John Denham, to the Cabinet Secretary, Gus O’Donnell. It asks, mischieveously, whether Vince Cable has broken the ministerial code by promising to wage war against Rupert Murdoch, and whether Jeremy Hunt is impartial enough to step into the breach. And while nothing is likely to come of these exhortations, they have already done their work in terms of grabbing Labour, and Miliband, some rare attention. – The Spectator

Ed Miliband’s new media advisers appear to be making their mark. Tom Baldwin and Bob Roberts have only been in their jobs for a few days but already the Labour party appears to have sharpened up its act. Miliband, who had struggled recently to develop a clear message, is dominating the headlines after outlining a sharp two-pronged attack on the government after the downgrading of Vince Cable’s position in cabinet. So far the signs indicate that Miliband is winning the media battle today but making no progress on substance. But Miliband has made a decisive mark in perhaps the most significant part of his intervention today – sharpening a broader strategic attack on the coalition. Miliband now wants to ram home a very simple message: Britain has a Conservative government, enacting Conservative policies that will alarm progressives by, for example, increasing child poverty. – Guardian (more…)

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Ed needs to answer the question Cameron can’t: why does he want to be PM

22/12/2010, 03:00:01 PM

by Jonathan Todd

The front page of the Spectator Christmas special depicts Nick Clegg crushed between David Cameron’s foot and ice. This captures the conventional wisdom. Cameron is doing well out of the deal that created his government. Clegg isn’t; and Ed Miliband isn’t in sight. The Tories hover around 40 per cent. The Lib Dems have shrunk beneath 10 per cent. Labour leads these polls, but we are told that Miliband is insufficiently visible.

While Cameron may glide over the ice on The Spectator’s cover – just as he glided away from the bullets that Clegg took on tuition fees – this ice masks ideological differences in all three parties. The strategic questions are obvious. How should Cameron consolidate his dominance, Clegg recover and Miliband become more prominent? The answers, however, reveal deeper ideological fissures.

John Kampfner urges a bolder articulation of Clegg’s liberal beliefs in the face of the existential threat to his career and party:

“He has to produce a radical narrative that differs from the Tories’ ideological opposition to the notion of government as an economic actor, while maintaining his distance from the overtly statist instincts of Labour traditionalists”.

Clegg will campaign for AV, while his Tory ministerial colleagues defend the status quo. Kampfner demands, additionally, a full and distinctive articulation of liberal principles from Lib Dems in government.

The more principled Lib Dems have been thought those who stayed out of government, voted against tuition fees and who have been wooed by Miliband. Tim Farron leads this cadre from the backbenches, as Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee, leads what Tim Montgomerie calls mainstream Conservatives. Kampfner wants Clegg to prove that Lib Dem principles aren’t the exclusive preserve of the backbenches.

For Clegg to do this he needs more policy wins to justify his cohabitation with Cameron. However, these wins would threaten liberal conservatism, the counter point to mainstream conservatism. As a Cameronian minister put it to Daniel Finkelstein:

“The narrative might easily develop that anything progressive comes from the Lib Dems, and that is very dangerous to us”.

Liberal Conservatives, like Nike Boles, want Tory/Lib-Dem government to last into the next parliament. Maybe they see more to like in Clegg than Brady. However, the Conservative brand may retoxify (assuming it ever fully detoxifies) if they allow liberal conservatism to seem only capable of delivering progressive outcomes in combination with Cleggite liberalism. The Lib Dem ideological renewal that Kampfner wants is not, therefore, without risk for Cameroons. Particularly if this renewal combines with louder and more organised complaints from mainstream Conservatives about dilution of Conservative principles on tax, crime, immigration and Europe, the need for liberal Conservatives to flesh out a principled argument for continued Tory alignment with the Lib Dems may become more pressing.

Two-party government is unusual in this country. Two parties clearly setting out ideological differences in government is more unusual still. The likes of Farron and Brady may sit on the same side of the House but they are sure to make ideological arguments of quite different flavours over the next year. Kampfner illustrates the pressure Clegg is already under to demonstrate the ideological consistency of decisions taken in government. Cameronian ministers may come to face similar pressure. How will they react?

In last year’s Spectator Christmas special James Forsyth wrote:

“The most important thing Cameron should think about over Christmas is why he wants to be prime minister. As the Times — normally favourable to Mr Cameron — opined last week, he has not yet conveyed a clear sense of this to the public”.

The failure of the Conservatives to win an outright majority shows that Cameron never managed this. Abandonment of Conservative principles is unconvincingly blamed for this by mainstream Conservatives. Cameron displayed agility in forming a government having failed to secure a Conservative majority. But it remains bizarrely unclear why he wants to be prime minister. It may be out of belief in the same things as Brady. It may be out of belief in the same things as Clegg. Or does Cameron stand for a liberal Conservatism that is distinct from both Brady’s mainstream Conservatism and Clegg’s liberalism?

He seems likely to believe whatever is necessary for him to remain PM for as long as possible. Undoubtedly, there is scope for Miliband – leader of the most ideologically united of the three parties – to make mischief. He should build bridges with disenfranchised Lib Dems. And encourage the disgruntlement of mainstream Conservatives.

But, first, this Christmas, Miliband should answer the question that Cameron didn’t answer last Christmas: Why does he want to be prime minister? He doesn’t want to be prime minister to make unhappy Lib Dems feel better. He doesn’t want to be prime minister to resurrect policies rejected by voters in May.

He wants to be prime minister to prove that Labour’s best instincts are in tune with the best instincts of the British people. That when the native genius of these people combines with the liberating force of Labour government, great things happen. Finding a way of successfully communicating this, and embedding Labour’s authenticity, is a more important strategic challenge than the tactical games of pulling at the ties that bind the Tories and Lib Dems together. This is, fundamentally, about ideology.

Jonathan Todd is Uncut’s economic columnist.

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The left is losing its marbles

21/12/2010, 07:00:06 AM

by Dan Hodges

I’ve taken Tom Watson’s advice. I’ve poured myself a stiff drink, kicked back and raised a festive glass to Ed Miliband.

But nothing’s happened. I waited for the warm glow. A mellow wave of positive reflection to engulf me. Nothing.

Try as I might, I cannot conjure up the magic. The excitement. The anticipation. The child-like optimism. Like the boy in the Polar Express, I no longer believe.

I wish I could. I wish I could see the things that others see. Ed striding up Downing Street, waving to the cheering crowds. Len McCluskey, Charles Kennedy and Charlie Gilmour locked in a sublime embrace of unity and comradeship. New foreign secretary Chuka Umunna, chancellor David Miliband and community rehabilitation secretary Ed Balls applauding his arrival.

There is the audacity of hope. And there is the sleep of reason. We have ended the year succumbing to the latter. (more…)

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Tuesday News Review

14/12/2010, 06:59:23 AM

It’s not over yet

Controversial government plans to raise university tuition fees in England to as much as £9,000 a year are to be debated by peers. In the Lords’ vote, Labour peers will have to overturn a coalition majority of 40 to have a chance of blocking the government’s education proposals. Labour’s leader in the Lords, Baroness Royall, said: “Labour opposed the government’s policy in the Commons last week, and Labour will oppose the government’s policy in the Lords this week.– BBC Politics

The Liberal Democrats ran into fresh trouble today when the party’shigher education spokeswoman in the Lords, Lady Sharp, said she was not sure she could vote tomorrow for the coalition government’s trebling of tuition fees. Sharp told the Guardian: “I face a dilemma. I have a lot of reservations, and I am in the same position as many Liberal Democrat MPs. I have not decided how to vote.” – Guardian

Labour reaches out

Labour leader Ed Miliband yesterday appealed to disgruntled Liberal Democrats to work with him against the UK coalition Government. With 21 Lib-Dem MPs having voted against government plans to raise university tuition fees in England, Mr Miliband said the party should recognise its “common interests” with Labour. At his first Westminster press conference since becoming Labour leader, he called on Lib Dems to submit ideas to Labour’s policy review. – Western Mail

No pork in Pickle’s agenda

The biggest cuts to police and local councils “in living memory” were yesterday unveiled by ministers with some parts of the country losing almost 10 per cent of their budget in a single year. Inner city areas of Liverpool and Manchester and parts of London including Hackney will be worst hit with spending reductions of 8.9 per cent. However richer parts of the country such as Surrey, Buckinghamshire and Wiltshire fare much better with cuts of less that 1 per cent. – Independent

The revolution in local government outlined in Eric Pickles‘s localism bill has laid ministers open to the charge that their package of new powers coupled with drastic spending cuts will hit the poorest in society hardest, enable big business to buy off local opposition and devolve difficult political decisions to councils at a time when they are least able to cope with them. Overshadowing the devolved powers in the bill are the cuts imposed on local councils and the impact on local services as well as the potential job losses, amid claims that more than 140,000 people will be handed redundancy notices by town halls next year. – Guardian

Cost guard Cuts

Opposition MPs claimed lives would inevitably be put at risk if the cutbacks were put in place, and rank-and-file coastguards spoke privately of “an impending disaster”. Angus Robertson, defence spokesman for the Scottish National Party, said: “The Tory government is putting lives at risk on sea and land by their reckless cuts to the Coastguard and privatisation plan for Search and Rescue services. The coalition is planning to sell off the search-and-rescue service to a foreign consortium. – Telegraph

Don’t forget me

The former foreign secretary said his brother Ed had ‘done well’ since winning their battle for control and it was a ‘very difficult job being leader of the opposition, especially in the first year of a parliament’. The 45-year-old added: ‘I have no plans to return to front-line politics – at the moment, that is. ‘For now, I’m doing what’s best for the party and leaving the field open for Ed to lead the party. I’ve got to admit, I wish the leadership campaign had gone differently but who knows what will happen in the future?’ – Metro

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He is right to take it slow, but Ed needs to earn his carpet slippers

06/12/2010, 08:00:42 AM

by Kevin Meagher

Of course some people are asking questions about Ed Miliband’s nascent leadership. This is the Labour party. We love a good moan. In response to a poll in 1997 that showed 93% of voters were satisfied with Tony Blair, professional New Labour irritant, Bob Marshall-Andrews, quipped: “look, there’s seven per cent. We can build on that”.

So there’s nothing new in the anti-leader muttering that is going on. And it is going on. Ed Miliband has huge expectations to meet. Frustrations to assuage. Why isn’t Cameron toast already? Why hasn’t Clegg been destroyed? Why have we not landed more blows over the cuts and the splits?

It’s all still early days. It is unwise to draw definite conclusions after the first five minutes of a football match. Yet commentators do so anyway. Just as they do in politics. Of course, until Ed establishes his own clear, compelling direction, the armchair managers will continue to chirrup. It may be pointless and energy-sapping, but it is not unexpected. Few have the patience for what he is embarking on.

The truth is that Ed Miliband has taken to opposition far better than many of his colleagues. He realises that a five year stretch in opposition is just that: an unfathomable eternity for Labour hacks with political attention deficit disorder. Especially those now hooked on winning elections and running things. (more…)

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Ed’s team: the argument for greybeards

01/12/2010, 12:00:54 PM

by John McTernan

What does Ed most need? A double dip recession? No, the cost to our people would be so great that any political benefit would surely not be worth while. A catastrophic error on the part of the government? Well, first – it’s not in his hands. And, second, there are too many to choose from – benefit cuts, NHS reorganisation, the so-called strategic defence review (aircraft carriers without any aircraft), housing policy, the list just goes on.

No, he needs luck. Napoleon was right when he said that the most important quality he demanded from generals was that they were lucky. How do you get lucky? In the immortal words of Arnold Palmer, you practise. So, how does Ed practise for luck? He plans. And he staffs.

Staff. The most underestimated element of any political machine [disclosure: I am a recovering staffer]. But the flurry of speculation around the promotion of Stewart Wood and the move of Katy Myler back to the private sector speak to a truth. A good team is so often the difference between success and failure for politicians (as, in truth, for leaders in almost any setting.) (more…)

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