Miliband: We can’t go on like this

It’s odd how political leaders often address their parties in the clichéd terms of soap operas’ most tortured romances. Ed Miliband pre-trailed speech to the Labour’s National Policy Forum in Wrexham is replete with protestations of having grown apart and the need to listen and be more open with each other. “We cannot continue as we are,” he implores.

But there is some substance to Miliband’s rhetoric of reconnection. He has already announced his intention to appoint his own shadow cabinet, which caused some consternation among Labour’s more reactionary elements. In an interview with the Guardian, Miliband defends his decision on grounds that shadow ministers should not be “looking over their shoulders” worrying about the PLP. Loyalty must be to the leader, seems to be the message.

Elsewhere, Miliband is consensual. No doubt with one eye on dwindling