Ed Miliband and #Lab11 conference: three key things to note


by Sunny Hundal    
5:48 pm - September 24th 2011

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I’m not going to offer any advice for Ed Miliband as he prepares for Labour conference – there’s too much of it around already.

Neither is there much point indulging the expected media narrative about Ed Miliband’s standing with voters. Anyone with a memory knows how Tony Blair went from ‘Bambi’ to ‘Bliar’, and how quickly Gordon Brown went from ‘Iron Fist’ to ‘ditherer’; perceptions easily change with events. Voters and the media are fickle.

Here’s some thoughts on the Labour conference.

1) Ed Miliband is getting better at shaping his narrative. People under-estimate how important this is: Tony Blair’s main narrative prior to 1997 was trying to convince the electorate Labour had changed from the bad old days (aka triangulating against the left). Gordon Brown did not have one at all.

At the minimum people need to know what a leader stands for and stands against, if they are to connect with them.

Ed Miliband started off by talking about the ‘squeezed middle’ – eventually forcing Tories to accept the issue had resonance. Now he is taking that further by saying he will take on ‘vested interests‘ (media conglomerates, energy companies, rail companies) and focus on how Britain’s future is being disrupted (esp for younger people).

It is populist, it’s anti-establishment and it’s a very welcome direction. It also allows him to push for policies that fit into the narrative. Expect ‘ripping up the rule book‘ to be his main theme at conference.

2) Don’t expect a jump in the polls Despite what media commentators and politicos say, the vast majority of the population aren’t going to tune into party conferences. They are far too busy trying to make ends meet or just get on with their lives.

The Libdems didn’t even get a dead-cat bounce despite announcing a blizzard of recycled policies the media faithfully regurgitated. The chances of people suddenly paying lots of attention to Labour and changing their opinion enmasse is highly unlikely.

3) The Conservatives are remarkably complacent on the economy The Tories are much at better at offensive than playing defensive. #Lab11 barely started and they issued a blaze of press releases and a handy ‘guide’ for journalists entitled ‘Ed Miliband: 52 Weeks of Weakness‘.

Very sweet of them but you know you’re trouble when even die-hard parrots like Priti Patel have difficulty coming up with suitable excuses.

The Conservative narrative on the economy is in a tailspin; consumer confidence keeps plummeting; the economy shows no sign of recovery and every sign of heading into a double-dip recession. In the face of this, the only gimmicks they can now produce is a ‘hotline to big companies‘. THAT WILL CREATE JOBS!

Labour aren’t complacent but anyone who think they’ll gain the upper hand after just 18 months, when faced with the might of the right-wing press and a compliant BBC, is deluding themselves. The direction of travel is certainly in Labour’s favour and nothing the Conservatives are doing now is changing that.

Going into Labour conference tomorrow, I shall be brimming with a sense of cautious optimism.

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About the author
Sunny Hundal is editor of LC. Also: on Twitter, at Pickled Politics and Guardian CIF.
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Reader comments


1. Bally Singh

I wish Ed the best of luck, a clear narrative against political, economic, and the ‘sensationlist’ media vested interests is the way to go!

I suspect that Ed will also promote a public service reform agenda not based on more marketisation or management theory, but instead a reform of ethos and practice that puts the community interest first.

To support the ordinary person against the vested interests that have so blighted life prospects for the majority, is the right battle to fight! It won’t be easy, and he will be attacked from outside and within.

It is since Thatcher we became a mean spirited country, losing a sense of common purpose to do better. But now I do sense a huge appetite for change, and

2. Bally Singh

…. when that change finally happens, we will know, because the values of ‘compassion’, ‘kindness’ and ‘commitment’ will re enter the political discourse :)

3. pagar

Now he is taking that further by saying he will take on ‘vested interests‘ (media conglomerates, energy companies, rail companies)

If you added in banks, quangos, public sector unions, local authorities, fake charities and the BBC I might even support him.

But how are you going to stop him coming across as a dork?

4. Barrie J

Pledges, promises, vows and manifesto commitments count for absolutely nothing, they are not enforceable in law.
I stand to be corrected but I believe New Labour failed to deliver on 32 such pledges.
New Labour’s legacy is one of lies, deceit, self serving corruption and incompetence.
Anybody who feels a sense of cautious optimism as a result of anything said by a politician at a Party Conference needs a reality check.
I write as an ex member of the Labour Party, my parents, grandparents and great grandparents, once members too.

5. John Ruddy

@3
He’s going to take on thise vested interests which are damaging Britain. I’m not sure you coud classify Local Authorities or the BBC in the same category as utility companies which make excessive profits at the expense of ordinary folk.

But then the right has always seen the BBC as a vested interest to be brought down.

6. Flowerpower

Sunny

It’s going to seem a bit odd to the electorate that Miliband and Balls are carping about very modest retrenchment averaging about 1% per annum against a news backdrop of Greece, which has failed to apply the due austerity measures, defaulting – and Italy and the Eurozone in chaos.

The public will join the dots and and conclude that if Labour was still in power, we too would be part of that chaos.

You can bet that, tailspin or no tailspin, the Conservative narrative will make those connections too.

7. Ray_North

I am going to offer the Labour Party some advice – here’s the ten things I’d like to see and not see over the next few days:
http://www.allthatsleft.co.uk/2011/09/labour-conference-special-10-things-id-like-to-see-this-week/


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Liberal Conspiracy

    Ed Miliband and #Lab11 conference: three key things to note http://t.co/46N5QOoJ

  2. Michael Bater

    Ed Miliband and #Lab11 conference: three key things to note | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/3oZP6Mjt via @libcon

  3. sunny hundal

    Three key points to remember about @Ed_Miliband and #Lab11 conference http://t.co/P65dQsr1

  4. Page van der Linden

    RT @sunny_hundal Three key points to remember about @Ed_Miliband and #Lab11 conference http://t.co/iBEDhLig

  5. #pressreform

    Ed Miliband and #Lab11 conference: three key things to note | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/dlfahTj9 via @libcon

  6. Chris Paul

    Three key points to remember about @Ed_Miliband and #Lab11 conference http://t.co/P65dQsr1

  7. Neill Shenton

    Three key points to remember about @Ed_Miliband and #Lab11 conference http://t.co/P65dQsr1

  8. Gus P

    Ed Miliband and #Lab11 conference: three key things to note http://t.co/46N5QOoJ

  9. Andy Bolton

    1. He's a knob. 2. Ditto. 3. Ditto. RT @sunny_hundal: 3 key points to remember about @Ed_Miliband and #Lab11 conference http://t.co/c4X402gR

  10. James Max

    Three key points to remember about @Ed_Miliband and #Lab11 conference http://t.co/P65dQsr1

  11. sunny hundal

    Ed Miliband and #Lab11 conference: three key things to note http://t.co/P65dQsr1 (from afternoon)

  12. Neil Walshaw

    Ed Miliband and #Lab11 conference: three key things to note http://t.co/P65dQsr1 (from afternoon)

  13. Richard Murphy

    RT @sunny_hundal: Ed Miliband and #Lab11 conference: three key things to note http://t.co/rS3YAKky (from afternoon) > worth reading

  14. Diane Lawrence

    Ed Miliband and #Lab11 conference: three key things to note | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/N4ls8jZZ via @libcon





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