Ed Miliband
The Postie’s twinkle
The Postman’s eyes twinkled as he met George Osborne across the dispatch box for the first time this afternoon. With the air of an apologist who isn’t remotely contrite, Alan… Continue reading
13 CommentsMaking the case for further tuition fees
Ever the opportunist, Ed Miliband recognised that university funding could be the coalition’s first test of resolve. Opposing a tuition fee hike has given him the chance to serenade disgruntled… Continue reading
14 CommentsAbbott caps Miliband’s defensive reshuffle
Those months of campaigning have finally paid off for Dianne Abbott. She has been made a Shadow Health Minister – which resembles a proper job. She was against the Blair-Milburn… Continue reading
19 CommentsShadow Cabinet or Cabinet of the Weird?
The real problem for the Labour Party with the election of Ed Miliband is not the man himself, who is easy to like and, by instinct, a centrist politician from… Continue reading
13 CommentsDon’t Over-Estimate Ed Miliband
In the grand scheme of things there are few less important things than the Shadow Cabinet. Nevertheless it’s the only toy in town today and so must be chewed until… Continue reading
13 CommentsEd Miliband may have just made the defining choice of his leadership
There are several eyecatching appointments in Ed Miliband’s shadow cabinet. Ed Balls at Shadow Home puts Labour’s most vicious scrapper up against a wobbly government department. Yvette Cooper as Shadow… Continue reading
49 CommentsBreaking: Alan Johnson is shadow chancellor…
…and Yvette Cooper is shadow foreign secretary. Ed Balls gets shadow home. So, looks as though Ed Miliband has bypassed the family psychodrama with an appointment that few expected, or… Continue reading
14 CommentsHow should Miliband respond to the child benefit reform?
Daniel Finkelstein and Philip Collins’ email exchanges are always enlightening. This week, they discussed child benefit. Both think it has altered the markings on the playing field of politics. Ed… Continue reading
12 CommentsCameron sells the Big Society to the public sector
David Cameron clearly wants us to waltz into the weekend with the Big Society on our minds – so he’s written an article on the idea for the Sun. It… Continue reading
20 CommentsOsborne has a laid a trap
One of the most intriguing questions about the decision to take child benefit away from households with a higher rate taxpayer in them is whether it marks the beginning of… Continue reading
20 CommentsThe battle for the low-paid working class
Should families on welfare limit the number of babies they have? Jeremy Hunt suggested so last night – kicking off a debate fuelled by our disclosure in today’s Spectator… Continue reading
27 CommentsJim Murphy for Shadow Chancellor?
Good stuff from Iain Martin: [Ed Miliband will] have to deal with Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper. Balls is an impressively robust “big beast” who wants to be shadow Chancellor,… Continue reading
2 CommentsWaiting for the shadow cabinet
You can say what you like about Labour’s penchant for internal elections, but at least it makes for good, political entertainment. Tonight, the results of the shadow cabinet elections will… Continue reading
18 CommentsCameron would be advised to talk about people power
David Cameron was speaking in odd circumstances today. He was talking to a party that was back in power after more than a decade in opposition. But unlike Tony Blair… Continue reading
11 CommentsThe government’s strategy has kept the child benefit story running
We have heard much since the coalition was formed about how Cabinet government has been restored. The child benefit flap reveals how limited this restoration is. There was no Cabinet… Continue reading
14 CommentsClarke ups the ante
Perceptions count and the coalition are perceived to be vulnerable on crime. Its policy of reducing the number of prisoners on short-term sentences has been caricatured as a reduction in… Continue reading
13 CommentsOsborne’s benefit risk
George Osborne’s announcement that child benefit will be taken away from any family with a higher rate taxpayer in it to help fund welfare reform shows how far Cameron and… Continue reading
15 CommentsReturning to the fray
I am travelling to Conservative Party conference in Birmingham today and thought this would be a good time to return to this blog. Thanks to everyone for your thoughtful comments… Continue reading
1 CommentLabour’s historic mistake
I’ve already mentioned George Osborne’s interview with the Telegraph, but it certainly merits another. As Ben Brogan says, Osborne is in a rich vein of ‘election that never was’ form.… Continue reading
38 CommentsMany Lib Dems want to be part of the New Generation
Politics tends to ruin an evening in the pub. On Wednesday, I came across a friend who had been a card-carrying Lib Dem prior to the coalition’s formation. He confessed… Continue reading
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