Leader's speeches to political conferences are always difficult to gauge. The the crowd is sympathetic, the atmosphere supportive and the applause is almost mandatory. Sometimes, though, there is the occasional gem which shines though. Neil Kinnock's hammering of Militant, John Major's call to "wake up" and Tony Blair's "three priorities" are recent examples that spring to mind. Ed Miliband, while not being in the Kinnock or Blair class as an orator, signified something quite different on Tuesday - the possibility of a sea change in British politics, the like of which we have not seen for a generation.
Clement Attlee's corporate state marked a huge departure from the pre-war years. Margaret Thatcher's devotion to Monetarism marked the end of that era and the start of something new. Now there is the chance that a different approach might be on the horizon. Ed Miliband signalled his intentions to reward those he feels behave properly, something which many believe in but don't have the courage to say out loud. The opportunity to reward ethical firms, individuals who serve and families who are the mainstays of their communities is long overdue. Giving Government contracts to those who take on apprentices is an excellent idea - but maybe one that needs to be tweaked to include Small Businesses which do not have such a capacity. Taking work done in the community into account when allocating social housing is another brave plan. I would like to see this go further - I would like to see a series of Community Credits given to those whose commitment to others goes unrewarded right now. This could take the form of Council Tax discounts, the opportunity to lead a community forum or be consulted on major issues. But the crucial point is that these people's efforts need to be recognised.
While we are at it, how about a new rule giving options to those who head up large companies and organisations. They would have a choice: take the bonuses on offer for the next five years or take the knighthood. Given that there would then be a lot of spare honours to give out, why not give them to people who promote local co-operatives, those who found small business forums and community champions? Rather than having a reliance on large organisations - multi-national corporations, centralised government and monolithic structures, give localism a chance. SME's should have first call when it comes to land and planning laws, local authorities should have more freedom to direct policy and make decisions based on what local people think, rather than on what Whitehall thinks is best.
Of course, the speech was just one interesting feature of the week. Maybe even more interesting was the reaction. Digby Jones called it "a kick in the teeth for business", which says more about his attitude to business than anything else. If calling for rewards for those who behave ethically is a kick in the teeth, how does he think businesses normally behave? Should we reward those who act unethically? Then again, this is the man who said he wanted schools to simply teach children to read, write and use a computer. As if that is going to help us compete with the rest of the world. Conservative Central Office were obviously taken aback by the content of the speech, but too late for vacant spokespeople like Baroness Warsi not to utter the obviously pre-prepared line. All the Tories could say was that Ed Miliband was a "weak leader", not something the polls taken after the speech agree with.
Finally, the BBC thought the Labour Leader would have difficulty defining those families who are getting something for nothing. He won't. They are defined every day, up and down the land. Ask anyone to tell you if there are families in their neighbourhood who fit the bill and they won't just tell you that they exist, they will name them for you. Presenters of the Today programme only think they would be difficult to define simply because they live in enclaves dominated by their own kind. They don't know these people. But the rest of us do.
So finally, we may be on the verge of something different. Those of us whose hopes were dashed by the Blair/Brown years might have something to cheer. An alternative to 'slash and burn'. A different set of rules which doesn't simply rebuild a creaking old system only for it to collapse again. After the speech, the BBC coverage cut to the studio to get the reaction from ex-Tory spin doctor and Times columnist Danny Finkelstein. Clearly flustered and going a strange puce colour, he delivered his pre-rehearsed line. So one of Ed Miliband's biggest victories on the day may have been to infuriate and confuse those who are indebted to Murdoch for a living. What a fine start!
Clement Attlee's corporate state marked a huge departure from the pre-war years. Margaret Thatcher's devotion to Monetarism marked the end of that era and the start of something new. Now there is the chance that a different approach might be on the horizon. Ed Miliband signalled his intentions to reward those he feels behave properly, something which many believe in but don't have the courage to say out loud. The opportunity to reward ethical firms, individuals who serve and families who are the mainstays of their communities is long overdue. Giving Government contracts to those who take on apprentices is an excellent idea - but maybe one that needs to be tweaked to include Small Businesses which do not have such a capacity. Taking work done in the community into account when allocating social housing is another brave plan. I would like to see this go further - I would like to see a series of Community Credits given to those whose commitment to others goes unrewarded right now. This could take the form of Council Tax discounts, the opportunity to lead a community forum or be consulted on major issues. But the crucial point is that these people's efforts need to be recognised.
While we are at it, how about a new rule giving options to those who head up large companies and organisations. They would have a choice: take the bonuses on offer for the next five years or take the knighthood. Given that there would then be a lot of spare honours to give out, why not give them to people who promote local co-operatives, those who found small business forums and community champions? Rather than having a reliance on large organisations - multi-national corporations, centralised government and monolithic structures, give localism a chance. SME's should have first call when it comes to land and planning laws, local authorities should have more freedom to direct policy and make decisions based on what local people think, rather than on what Whitehall thinks is best.
Of course, the speech was just one interesting feature of the week. Maybe even more interesting was the reaction. Digby Jones called it "a kick in the teeth for business", which says more about his attitude to business than anything else. If calling for rewards for those who behave ethically is a kick in the teeth, how does he think businesses normally behave? Should we reward those who act unethically? Then again, this is the man who said he wanted schools to simply teach children to read, write and use a computer. As if that is going to help us compete with the rest of the world. Conservative Central Office were obviously taken aback by the content of the speech, but too late for vacant spokespeople like Baroness Warsi not to utter the obviously pre-prepared line. All the Tories could say was that Ed Miliband was a "weak leader", not something the polls taken after the speech agree with.
Finally, the BBC thought the Labour Leader would have difficulty defining those families who are getting something for nothing. He won't. They are defined every day, up and down the land. Ask anyone to tell you if there are families in their neighbourhood who fit the bill and they won't just tell you that they exist, they will name them for you. Presenters of the Today programme only think they would be difficult to define simply because they live in enclaves dominated by their own kind. They don't know these people. But the rest of us do.
So finally, we may be on the verge of something different. Those of us whose hopes were dashed by the Blair/Brown years might have something to cheer. An alternative to 'slash and burn'. A different set of rules which doesn't simply rebuild a creaking old system only for it to collapse again. After the speech, the BBC coverage cut to the studio to get the reaction from ex-Tory spin doctor and Times columnist Danny Finkelstein. Clearly flustered and going a strange puce colour, he delivered his pre-rehearsed line. So one of Ed Miliband's biggest victories on the day may have been to infuriate and confuse those who are indebted to Murdoch for a living. What a fine start!
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