Mr E Miliband

The last issue was, I admit, a little out of date. It was written back when the race for the Labour Leadership began, following Mr Cameron's appointment to Downing Street. I felt, however, that it still offered a few ideas to keep in mind when assessing the new labour leader, now known to us as Mr E Miliband.

In issue six I laid out some of the factors that an opposition leader for this new era will have to keep in mind. In short these were the ability:

+ to generate audience;
+ to represent diversity;
+ to be constructive;
+ to offer balance.

So to number one. An opposition leader needs to generate audience. This is all about a leader's ability to generate public awareness of policy, governance and parliamentary activity. As I have previously said, audience generates scrutiny. A leader of the opposition needs to be seen and heard to ensure proper observation of the political process.

I recall being at Manchester Pride and seeing Mr Miliband walk past and not be noticed or recognised by anyone around. While there are various reports of his being there, it didn't seem to stir anyone at the time. It would appear that Mr Miliband needs to raise his profile somewhat.

Speaking of Pride, number two is the need to represent diversity. At the new leader of the opposition's first PMQs Mr Cameron raised the issue that Mr E Miliband had been elected leader by Trade Unions and yet was racing to the defence of the 'squeezed middle'. While Cameron suggested this to be a weakness, Labour should be quick to push this as a display of Mr Miliband's ability to represent a broad range of interests. Mr Miliband has also offered to work with Liberal Democrats disaffected by the coalition, yet has also shown a less cooperative side by stating in the press an unwillingness to work with particular individuals:

"So you wouldn't work with Nick Clegg?"
“That's right. No."'
(Ed Miliband, in Cowley & Hasan, 2010)

This brings me to number three. To be constructive. This was something that was abundantly clear during the elections and which the speaker of the house stressed heavily during Mr Miliband's first PMQs. The people do not like it when politicians harangue one another. So we can be sure that the above quote does not present a constructive image. That said, Mr Miliband began his first PMQs by immediately promising to work with the Coalition Government over a series of issues. This followed up his commitment to lead a progressive party in his leadership speech at the party conference (Macintyre, 2010).

The fourth and final point is balance. As I finished the last article, an opposition leader is under more pressure than ever to represent a whole range of interests while maintaining a flawless media profile. As far as I can see, Mr E Miliband has launched himself headlong into the task of balancing (or juggling) these competing interests.

It is worth considering one last point. In the transcript (on bbc.co.uk) of Mr E Miliband's leadership victory speech, I found this telling quote which shows his ambitions:

"Every day out of power, ... another day when we cannot change our country for the better."

The downside of this quote is that it presents a fairly pessimistic opinion of life in opposition. It seems from his language that Mr Miliband has only one aim for the next four years. Get back into government. For me I would prefer if he where far less dismissive of parliament's role in British politics. I'm sure the members of the house (and those who elect them) would like the opposition leader not to act like debates can't make a difference.

In all Mr E Miliband certainly offers something different to Messrs Clegg & Cameron. Is it better? I'm not sure. Mr Cameron looks like he's trying to be statesmanlike; Mr Clegg looks like politics is his element, as if he has never known anything else. But Mr E Miliband? He is something very different. A mixture of ambition and underestimation, who so far is trying to be all things at once. He may be a good choice for Labour, for a while, simply because his election has confused all of their opponents and supporters alike.

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References:
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+ Richard Spencer's 'The 'squeezed middle' are victims of free market housing policies';

+ Left Foot Forward's '‘Squeezed middle’ facing the “age of insecurity”'

+ Jason Cowley & Mehdi Hasan's '"I won’t be defined by the right-wing press"';

+ James Macintyre's 'Ed Miliband: next prime minister';

+ The BBC's 'Ed Miliband: Labour leader's 2010 conference speech in full';

+ Patrick Wintour's 'Labour Conference: Ed Miliband: 'We are the optimists'';