Labour’s subdued response to Miliband’s victory

There’s an odd mood in Manchester at the moment. The leadership election result has discombobulated the Labour establishment. In some circles, there is irritation that union votes delivered the leadership to Ed Miliband against the wishes of the MPs and party members. Others worry that this has all come too soon for Ed Miliband, that – in the words of one senior member of the last government – “he still doesn’t know what he thinks”. While others are still getting their heads round the family dynamic. It was striking that when people arrived in the conference hotel bar from the Ed Miliband victory party they were not mobbed.

But Ed Miliband’s performance on Marr this morning was steady, there were – as Pete notes – no mistakes. He is also moving quickly to create a middle class agenda which would get him into the political territory he needs to be in. As I say in the Mail on Sunday today, Ed Miliband is Thatcheresque in his approach to politics in that he is trying to redefine what the centre ground is. Whether he’ll succeed or not, is another question.