Ed Miliband is learning. He has written a blog on Thursday’s strikes and it is plain that he has learnt from the errors he made during the March
against the Cuts by associating himself with militancy. First, he places himself firmly on the side of parents who will be inconvenienced by Thursday’s strikes:
“The Labour Party I lead will always be the party of the parent trying to get their children to school, the mother and father who know the value of a day’s education.”
Miliband gives the unions and their members pretty short-shrift to be honest. He writes:
“I understand why teachers are so angry with the government. But I urge them to think about whether causing disruption in the classroom will help people understand their arguments. You do not win public backing for an argument about pensions by inconveniencing the public – especially not while negotiations are ongoing.”
I expect that many outraged teachers were expecting more from Miliband than these tepid sentiments. Peter Hain was far less equivocal when he spoke to Andrew Marr on Sunday; indeed, Miliband’s comments sound closer to those made by Michael Gove on the same programme. But Miliband’s positioning is consistent with his whole ‘squeezed-middle’ meme – he is keen to represent the hard-pressed working family at all times.
Miliband goes on to castigate the ‘Conservative-led government’, but even then he seems to have more than one eye on the school run. The ‘public deserve better,’ he says, regardless of grievances. He calls for a negotiated settlement.
Comments