Ed Miliband's Labour conference speech: what he said and what he means
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Version 0 of 1. “It’s here four years ago here that I won the leadership of this great party.”– So anyone wondering if there could be an alternative leader, forget it. I’m not going anywhere. (There wasn’t much of a cheer for this – certainly nothing like the cheer the mention of Gordon Brown got a minute later). “I’ll let you in on a story … I was on my way to a public meeting … I ran into a woman … her name was Josephine and it turned out she was a cleaner in the building.” – The first of a crowd of colourful characters who populate all Labour speeches (there’s been Maria, Elizabeth, Xiomarin, Gareth, even an NHS patient called Colin who has since died …) in a determined attempt to show politics is about real people. Gareth later turns out to be an Oxford graduate, and Ed is always, unmistakably, “pamphlet” Labour; that is a man who works outwards from political theory. This becomes increasingly obvious as the speech unwinds. “Can we build a better future for our whole country? With a different idea we can … An idea that is just one simple word: Together. – The big but simple idea that animates pre-election Ed. A new way of describing solidarity, collectivism and the virtues of the big state. Quite useful, especially set against the later message of “You’re on your own with the Tories – unless you are a millionaire needing a tax break or a Russian oligarch wanting to make up a four for a game of tennis.” Of course, the best “Together” example is the NHS, and there is a lot of that which wakes up the previously rather somnolent hall. But the £2.5bn that he will raise is about 3% of the NHS annual budget – not quite as transformative as he promised. And there was no mention of the huge cost-pressures every hospital is under, or the backlash against integrated care that is building. “A new ethic. A national effort. Labour’s plan for Britain’s future.” – Ed’s “different ethic” theme may not be as bad as the “endogenous growth” that Gordon Brown once described. But still, it’s wonkspeak. “I want to set out six national goals.”– The following pledges are short on specifics and big ideas, notwithstanding the extra cash for the NHS. Some ideas, such as launching Lord Cashman on the global campaign for LGBT rights belong in the “You couldn’t make it up” category.“But a plan for the next 10 years. Britain 2025”– This is the nearest thing to a mention of the deficit. That is, it’s going to be a long, long haul. “We’ve had five years of their experiment with your life and so we have a pretty clear view of what the Tory future looks like. Your family worse off. Your family can’t afford to take that risk. Your family can’t afford another five years of David Cameron.” – A nice attempt to turn the politics of fear against the Tories.“But to make this plan really work, we need to change who has the power so that all those people who feel locked out are let back in.”– There may actually be some real meat here in the promise to change the way politics is done. Votes for 16-18-year-olds were on the cards, and so was the people’s convention. But Lords reform to make the upper house a “senate for the nations and the regions” sounds interesting.“In the Scottish referendum people showed us they can be proud to be Scottish and proud to be British. And let’s play tribute to the First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones. Proud to be Welsh and proud to be British. And let’s be proud of our Englishness too. No political party owns our English national identity. So is time we fought, this party fought, for the traditions of England and did not cede them to others. Englishness: a history of solidarity. From the Battle of Cable Street to the spirit of the Blitz. Englishness: traditions of fairness. From the Dagenham workers who fought for equal pay to today’s campaigners for a living wage. Englishness: a spirit of internationalism. From those who fought in the Spanish Civil War to our generosity to those overseas. There will be some people who tell you that being English, Scottish or Welsh means cutting ourselves off or seeking to divide. That’s never been our tradition. And that’s not our future.” – The Scots don’t have a monopoly on social democracy, Mr Salmond.“Over four years, I’ve shown this party has learnt the lessons of the Iraq war. We have all been horrified by the murderous actions of ISIL in the last few months.” – He had to have something to say on Islamic State.The proposal for a UN resolution is flimsy – Russia will almost certainly veto it – but it will do for purposes of the speech. “Friends, as prime minister I will show the same resolve. My opponent stands for something different. He stands for the “you’re on your own” idea. And he seems to believe that a good photo opportunity will fool you into thinking he doesn’t just stand up for the rich and powerful, he stands up for you. But, he’s been found out.” – Whatever you do, don’t mention bacon sandwiches. |