Thousands have converged on London today, to march against the monolithic evil of ‘cuts’. They have not stated an alternative, a fact that led Phil Collins to write an eloquently savage critique in yesterday’s Times (£). That the protesters are incoherent beyond blanket opposition to the government is not really an issue: as this morning’s lead article in the Guardian argues, the Hyde Park rioters of 1866 weren’t brandishing drafts of the Second Reform Bill. But it’s intriguing that Ed Miliband has decided to address this rally, thereby endorsing it.
The Labour party hierarchy recognises that it is taking an enormous and perhaps totally unnecessary risk. First, Ed Miliband’s oratory is not in the same league as that of Michael Foot, Jim Callaghan and Harold Wilson. He may fail to make the desired impact; but even if he does, what is to be gained from addressing an avowedly left-wing gathering? Once the echoes of the megaphones recede, all that will remain is silence.
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