Is it possible to think too much? Perhaps not. But over-analysing is sometimes a huge mistake. That is what Ed Milliband has been guilty of this week.
Given my previous involvement in politics, I appreciate as much as anyone the need to outflank your opponents. Every advisor and researcher wants to give their politician the ammunition to achieve the result - the unanswerable question, the evidence that forces the other side down, the killer phrase that ends the debate. Often, though, the maxim of doing what your opponent least wants you to do has to be ignored. Sometimes you have to play into their hands and accept the jibes because it is the morally correct path to follow.
Ed Milliband has this week fallen into that very trap this week. He criticized yesterday's industrial action, saying that it was "a mistake to resort to disruption at a time when negotiations are still going on." I'm not sure of Ed's definition of negotiations, but it seems to be very different from that used by the Government. The Conservatives and Lib Dems seem to have already made up their minds about pensions, wheeling out the parasitic Francis Maude to misquote the Hutton Report at every chance, boring his way through successive interviews, showing an alarming alacrity to veer from the truth at every available opportunity. Asking public sector workers not to take action is the equivalent of the silent film baddie tying them to the railway in time for the Tory Express to steam down the line.
I fear that the reason Ed Milliband has taken this stance is less to do with the details of the case and more to do with the potential taunts he would face in the Commons. The Tories have managed to come up with a strategy for dealing with Labour which has not yet been countered, which is puzzling, given the scatter gun nature of the tactic. The constant repetition of various allegations seems, in some cases, to be doing the trick. One of those they fire at Milliband is that he is "in the pockets of the Unions", a ridiculous jibe, but one which may well stick. So young Ed, keen to avoid this taunt, distances himself from the industrial action to reassure middle-England that he is not 'Red Ed', another ludicrous attempt by the Tories to discredit him. This is quite a double-edged coup for the Tories, as it backs him into a corner. Support the strikes and risk alienating the very people Labour need to win back in order to form a Government. Criticise the action and risk annoying the core voters, the very people who stuck with Labour at the awful 2010 election. It seems like a no-win situation. But it's not.
Whatever Ed Milliband does, David Cameron will continue to scream and shout at Prime Ministers Question Time. He will show his usual lack of grace and dignity. He will carry on avoiding questions and misleading people. If he wants to portray Ed Milliband as left wing, let him. A Prime Minister whose party is in the pockets of the banks to the tune of £11.4 million a year has no room to criticise. Yes, Union members voted for Milliband, but putting up Baroness Warsi (who on earth voted for her......?) to criticise this shows how lacking in judgement Cameron is. A Prime Minister that has to be rebuked by the Speaker, as Cameron was only a couple of weeks ago, should be exposed for what he is. The Conservatives have more holes than a Swiss cheese, but Labour seems to be making little impact.
Labour members and supporters are screaming out for the party to take the attack to the Conservatives. We all know that there is a policy review underway, but that does not stop the party heavyweights taking a stand. This Government has shown a huge lack of competence in many areas, with policy fanfare being followed by criticism, being followed by u-turn. Unfortunately for Labour, it is others making the arguments. Supporters of Forests, anti-rape campaigners, GP's, Nurses and now teachers are all landing the blows that Labour should be raining down on the coalition. If Danny Alexander and Francis Maude are the best the Government can offer, it is in a very sorry state. When the opposition cannot match them, let alone beat them, serious questions need to be asked.
http://edmiliband.org/2011/06/30/i-wanted-to-respond-to-people-who-disagree-with-me-about-todays-strike/
Given my previous involvement in politics, I appreciate as much as anyone the need to outflank your opponents. Every advisor and researcher wants to give their politician the ammunition to achieve the result - the unanswerable question, the evidence that forces the other side down, the killer phrase that ends the debate. Often, though, the maxim of doing what your opponent least wants you to do has to be ignored. Sometimes you have to play into their hands and accept the jibes because it is the morally correct path to follow.
Ed Milliband has this week fallen into that very trap this week. He criticized yesterday's industrial action, saying that it was "a mistake to resort to disruption at a time when negotiations are still going on." I'm not sure of Ed's definition of negotiations, but it seems to be very different from that used by the Government. The Conservatives and Lib Dems seem to have already made up their minds about pensions, wheeling out the parasitic Francis Maude to misquote the Hutton Report at every chance, boring his way through successive interviews, showing an alarming alacrity to veer from the truth at every available opportunity. Asking public sector workers not to take action is the equivalent of the silent film baddie tying them to the railway in time for the Tory Express to steam down the line.
I fear that the reason Ed Milliband has taken this stance is less to do with the details of the case and more to do with the potential taunts he would face in the Commons. The Tories have managed to come up with a strategy for dealing with Labour which has not yet been countered, which is puzzling, given the scatter gun nature of the tactic. The constant repetition of various allegations seems, in some cases, to be doing the trick. One of those they fire at Milliband is that he is "in the pockets of the Unions", a ridiculous jibe, but one which may well stick. So young Ed, keen to avoid this taunt, distances himself from the industrial action to reassure middle-England that he is not 'Red Ed', another ludicrous attempt by the Tories to discredit him. This is quite a double-edged coup for the Tories, as it backs him into a corner. Support the strikes and risk alienating the very people Labour need to win back in order to form a Government. Criticise the action and risk annoying the core voters, the very people who stuck with Labour at the awful 2010 election. It seems like a no-win situation. But it's not.
Whatever Ed Milliband does, David Cameron will continue to scream and shout at Prime Ministers Question Time. He will show his usual lack of grace and dignity. He will carry on avoiding questions and misleading people. If he wants to portray Ed Milliband as left wing, let him. A Prime Minister whose party is in the pockets of the banks to the tune of £11.4 million a year has no room to criticise. Yes, Union members voted for Milliband, but putting up Baroness Warsi (who on earth voted for her......?) to criticise this shows how lacking in judgement Cameron is. A Prime Minister that has to be rebuked by the Speaker, as Cameron was only a couple of weeks ago, should be exposed for what he is. The Conservatives have more holes than a Swiss cheese, but Labour seems to be making little impact.
Labour members and supporters are screaming out for the party to take the attack to the Conservatives. We all know that there is a policy review underway, but that does not stop the party heavyweights taking a stand. This Government has shown a huge lack of competence in many areas, with policy fanfare being followed by criticism, being followed by u-turn. Unfortunately for Labour, it is others making the arguments. Supporters of Forests, anti-rape campaigners, GP's, Nurses and now teachers are all landing the blows that Labour should be raining down on the coalition. If Danny Alexander and Francis Maude are the best the Government can offer, it is in a very sorry state. When the opposition cannot match them, let alone beat them, serious questions need to be asked.
http://edmiliband.org/2011/06/30/i-wanted-to-respond-to-people-who-disagree-with-me-about-todays-strike/
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