One question swirling through the sea of British politics is this: how will Ed Miliband
act towards the Lib Dems? The Labour leader certainly didn’t flinch from attacking the yellow brigade during the leadership contest, at one point calling them a “disgrace to the traditions of liberalism.” But surely he’ll have to soften that
rhetoric in case the next election delivers another bout of frenzied coalition negotiations.
Which is why Andy Burnham’s article in the Guardian today is worth noting down. In making his point – that the Lib Dems haven’t won the pupil premium they sought – he does all he can to force a wedge between Nick Clegg and his party. It’s “Clegg’s failure”. It’s “Clegg’s ideological journey”. It’s a “problem for Clegg,” and so on. Indeed, all of the harsh language is reserved for the Lib Dem leader, whereas his party is completely absolved of any blame. Burnham even concludes, “I don’t think this is an education policy that most Lib Dems can sign up to.”
In other words, it looks as though Ed Miliband’s campaign promise that he could only work with a Clegg-less Lib Dem party is now official Labour policy.
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