Friday 30 September 2011

Miliband still struggling to make an impression

LABOUR leader Ed Miliband declared himself to be "his own man" this week as he celebrated one year in charge of Her Majesty's Official Opposition at the party conference in Liverpool.

But the problem for Mr Miliband is that, so far, the public has not really liked what it has seen.

For, while Labour has had a consistent lead over the Conservatives in the polls throughout 2011, Mr Miliband's personal ratings are pretty dire.

As reported on the UK Polling Report website, only 18% of people think he has provided an effective opposition, and 64% think he has not. Only 19% think he has made it clear what he stands for, 66% do not.

And, perhaps most pertinently of all, only 19% of people think he would be up to the job of Prime Minister, compared to 62% who think he would not.

Indeed, even Labour supporters have failed to warm to Mr Miliband - 51% do not think he has provided an effective opposition, and 52% of them think he has not made it clear what he stands for.

A plurality of Labour supporters believe he would be up to the job as Prime Minister but the 45%-34% lead on this question is hardly a ringing endorsement.

So, if Mr Miliband struggles in convincing his own supporters, just what sort of impression has he given the population at large?

Well, a recent report by Populus for Lord Ashcroft on this matter suggests that most of the general public cannot get past the obstacle that, frankly, Mr Miliband comes across as a bit "weird".

His demeanour, his manner of speaking, his apparently reluctant marriage and his 'fraternicide' in the leadership election were all factors which people found decidedly odd.

Of course, such qualitative discussions can swiftly denigrate into the most base and populist of debates but this was not the first occasion in recent times that the word "weird" has been applied to a major UK politician.

Former Labour PM Tony Blair described his Conservative opponent William Hague as such.

Now, because Mr Miliband is "his own man", he distanced himself away from his predecessors and, indeed, the very mention of Mr Blair's name was booed by some sections of the conference hall.

It would be difficult to imagine the Conservative party conference giving Margaret Thatcher that sort of reception and yet the fact is that they both won three successive elections.

But, while Lady Thatcher's reputation on the Right remains largely unharmed, Mr Blair made such a negative impact in the end for Labour, Mr Miliband has been quick to emphasis their differences.

Last year, the newly-elected leader stated his clear opposition to the Iraq war.

This year, in his keynote speech, Mr Miliband attacked New Labour's cosy relationship with certain businesses in the City and Rupert Murdoch's media empire.

The problem for Mr Miliband on the latter issue is that he was seemingly just as keen to seek the approval of News International until the phone hacking scandal really took off in the summer.

Mr Miliband was also on the defensive about his plan to tax some private equity firms differently - though, in response, he came out with what was perhaps his best line of the week, stating he is "not anti-business but anti business-as-usual".

However, much damage was already done by BBC presenter Andrew Neil who ran rings around several baffled shadow cabinet ministers on his show.

The lack of clarity there was not the only setback which the party has faced over the last few days.

For, although Mr Miliband was successful in diluting the union bloc vote in future leadership elections, no one failed to spot the irony that his brother David would have almost certain won the contest under the new rules.

By far the most ludicrous moment of the week, though, came when Shadow Culture Secretary Ivan Lewis suggested there should be a register of journalists who could be struck off if found guilty of serious wrongdoing.

The move was inevitably greeted with derision from all corners of Fleet Street with one journalist, writing on her blog, taking particular care to point out all the weaknesses of such a scheme.

Indeed, the best argument from Fleet Street Fox was that journalists, just like anyone else, remain subject to the ultimate regulation: the law.

Unsurprisingly, then, the register of journalists policy was quietly dropped that same evening in what has been described as the "fastest U-turn in history".

It seems, then, that Mr Miliband can do little to please anyone at the moment.

He made few friends with the Left at the Trade Unions Congress earlier this month when criticising some members' decision to strike while negotiations over pensions were ongoing.

Meanwhile, his attempt to distance himself from Mr Blair will have made the supporters on that wing of the party bristle at best.

Mr Miliband has already been given the hurry-up by the Fabian Society, a left-wing think tank, in the run-up to the conference.

Now, having left Liverpool without a major impression, the sands of time really are starting to slip away from him.

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