I know Ed Miliband isn’t trying to persuade me or, for that matter, many Spectator readers but I still don’t understand what he’s up to or trying to achieve. At PMQs today he had an obvious choice: attack the government on the economy or on today’s strikes by government-paid workers. Bafflingly he chose the latter, wrapping himself in the red union flag. Not for the first time, one’s left questioning Miliband’s political judgement.
The easy answer, much-used by the Prime Minister today, is that Labour is paid by the Trades Unions without whose contributions the party would be bankrupt. Plainly there is some truth to this and perhaps Miliband has been persuaded that he might as well attempt to make a virtue of this since the accusation will be made anyway, whatever he says. But there’s a difference between putting up with political stereotyping and reinforcing said stereotyping. Miliband does not appear to know this.
Today’s strikes are a distraction but it seems typical of Miliband’s political intelligence that he would choose to focus on the sideshow not the economy which is, by some distance, the bigger problem and, not coincidentally, the area in which the governmet is more vulnerable.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in