One of the hardest tasks of any opposition is to gain the trust and credibility to run the economy. After what happened over the last few years, Labour have an enormous credibility gap.
Ed Balls’ decision to oppose any measure to deal with the deficit has reduced Labour’s economic credibility still further. So too has the two Eds’ decision to make attacks based on mis-truths, like denying there was a structural deficit before the election; or attacking the coalition for cutting bank taxes, when it is actually putting them up; and like backing another bonus tax, despite opposing it at the election, and despite Alistair Darling’s careful explanation of why it won’t work.
This left-wing tub-thumping may please the Labour base, but it doesn’t wash with the public. Perhaps that’s why on the key measure of who is to blame for the cuts, Labour is rightly blamed by just as big a proportion of the population as they were last summer.
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