For Cameron, looking weak is a bigger problem than being unpopular
Much was made over the weekend of a poll by Sunday Times / YouGov that Ed Miliband was now more popular (beyond margin of error) than David Cameron.
32% now say he is doing well, while 55% say he is doing badly. In net terms (% saying ‘well’ minus % saying ‘badly’) his rating his now minus 23. Cameron’s rating is now minus 29, and Nick Clegg’s minus 54.
But I would suggest this is wrong indicator to look at. What Cameron should be more worried about is that more people now seem him as “weak” rather than decisive and strong.
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We won’t see anyone else like Ken Livingstone again
contribution by Rachel Coldbreath
I love London.
I don’t mean it’s a great place to live. It can be. It can also be hell. It’s a hard place to live. It’s expensive. It isn’t easy to make close friends here, if you’re starting from scratch. You don’t get much space, and within that tiny space it is possible to be infinitely lonely. People come here, and hate, it and go. People come here, and love it, and stay. Those are Londoners.
I grew up here when “London Mayor” meant some old Lord, well connected in the City, who wore a big chain and a tricorn hat, who was wheeled out once a year in a fairytale gold carriage to be waved at by grateful orphans.
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Can Labour develop its own plan to bring back lost voters?
contribution by Mike Morgan-Giles
Recently it appeared that Ed Miliband had put a real marker down on the thorny issue of party funding, but that changed when reading the small print.
Labour is spending more than it brings in and the current arms race isn’t sustainable – state funding is now a necessity.
But to state the obvious: it was not a radical game-changing proposal. A strategic approach is needed on a wide variety of issues – such as campaigning and policy development – and it’s time those from the left started making their voices heard.
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Why I was pleased with Ed Miliband’s move on party funding
contribution by Karl Davis
As an increasingly critical and frustrated Labour party member, I found Ed Miliband’s comments about the thorny issue of party funding today quite pleasing.
I’m tired of party advocates squirming in front of TV cameras as Tories bully them into condemning every strike ballot, and launch jibes about the fact that the party is largely funded by organised workers.
It is clear for all to see that the Tories couldn’t give damn about radical reform of our political system and overhaul of its culture of dependency.
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Ed Miliband is still just talking to Westminster, not the country
I called a friend yeserday evening and asked him if he’d heard about Ed Miliband’s proposal to cap party donations to £5,000. “What are you on about?” he said irritably, “are we still playing poker this week?”
I may not have friends that represent Middle England, but I do know that like the rest of the country they don’t pay much attention to current affairs. Andrew Marr show? I’ve got chores to do on a Sunday mate.
Ed Miliband’s move was bold. It puts the Tories and Libdems on the defensive and scrabbling to play catch-up. But its impact outside Westminster will be minimal.
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Will the return of Respect test Labour left loyalty?
Labour councillor and organiser Luke Akehurst spent a few hours arguing with Salma Yaqoob and other Labour lefties on Twitter last night, which ended with him saying: “Digusted by sectarianism I am reading of alleged Lab members preferring Respect to their own party comrades. Shocking. Sick.”
He also added: “Labour left should be as hostile to Respect as loyalist Labour right was to SDP. SDP and Respect both scab parties.”
I’m no fan of George Galloway, as regular readers will know, but I think he has to understand why some lefties are drawn to Respect.
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Why Labour should be doing much worse than it currently is
The conventional wisdom in Westminster is that Labour should be riding high in the polls and doing better than it is now.
After all, the government pushing through really drastic cuts to public services, right? And with a government pushing forward such an unpopular agenda – why isn’t Labour riding high in the polls?
This bit of conventional wisdom has almost everything back to front. In fact, Labour should be doing worse than it is now.
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Why conventional Westminster wisdom is wrong about Bradford
An iron-clad rule of politics is that every major event confirms the long-standing views of most commentators. As Emma Burnell points out: “It’s important for the walking wounded to keep walking. Displacement activity helps.”
The Conservatives are wounded: their drop in vote-share was bigger than Labour’s even though Bradford West was a target seat in 2010 and they were hoping to sneak in to victory with a split vote. The Liberal Democrats are wounded too: they lost their deposit and didn’t manage to excite anyone at all. Naturally, both focused on what a ‘crushing’ defeat it was for Labour.
On Friday night I was asked on to Newsnight to discuss the by-election, and didn’t get a chance to expand on my comment that the by-election “strengthened” Ed Miliband. So here it is.
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Ed Miliband needs to seize the agenda, but not via more thinkers
Polly Toynbee is absolutely right in the Guardian today. She says: ‘This is a moment for Labour to seize’.
It is indeed. Labour has gone from a lead of zero to nearly 10pts (it’ll settle to 7-8 pts soon) in two months. Plus, Ed Miliband is doing an excellent job of bashing the Conservatives when he stands up in the Commons; his performance on Budget day was stellar.
But where I slightly disagree with Polly is on her proposed solutions.
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How Labour could seize the initiative to radically reaffirm union links
The #cashforcameron scandal offers easy picking for Labour at the moment, but it won’t last long.
The Tories are already working hard to cast Labour’s union funding arrangements in an even worse light than its own, and a compliant media will ensure that, when the dust settles, it’s a score-draw.
Miliband and his team should now think strategically, not tactically.
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