Peter Hoskin

Miliband’s first hundred days in five points

Ok, so Ed Miliband’s one hundred day anniversary actually falls on Tuesday – but what’s a couple of days between bloggers? Besides, even with two days to go, it’s safe to say that his will be a peculiar century. By some scientific measures, Labour are doing alright; sucking up Lib Dem voters to push ahead of the Tories in opinion polls. But that belies what has been an unconvincing start from their new leader. Here’s my quick five-point guide to his bitter honeymoon:

1) What’s the economy, stupid? One of Miliband’s boldest moves to date was his appointment of Alan Johnson as shadow chancellor. Indeed, at the time, I suggested that it could be among the defining moments of his leadership – and not so much because he’d reached out to one of his brother’s most effusive supporters, but because it meant a rejection of Ballsonomics. By not picking Ed Balls or Yvette Cooper for the role, Miliband had turned down their No Cuts approach to the deficit, instead choosing the more sensible Darling plan espoused by Johnson. Putting aside Johnson’s lack of economic expertise, it was a responsible move, and one that augured well for a mature debate about the public finances.

But it hasn’t quite worked out like that in practice. What we’ve seen since Johnson’s appointment is similar to Miliband’s victory speech in Manchester: a neither-here-nor-there wavering that is meant to appeal to all-comers, but is too ill-defined to properly appeal to anyone. So, here, Miliband talks about the importance of cuts and of deficit reduction. But, there, he attacks each and every cut and tax hike that the coalition introduces, without suggesting any reasonable alternatives. “We no longer have our hands on the books,” he says, “so we can’t give any details.”

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