Ed Milliband

[number 6]

Don't judge him by his appearance or his geeky manner. He made a fine speech today and is definitely NOT new labour,more like old labour. The media hate him of course because they just hate Labour full stop,but i think he can beat Cameron in 4 years time.

[andy at handiwork]

He's got a long way to go if his lamentable PMQ performances are any indication, but as Lao-tzu wrote, 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.'

[mrmcfister]

Problem is he will be judged by his geeky manner.He knows nothing about working people having sailed through Oxford to some researcher type job after another...like his brother..oh and Cameron and Ed Balls etc etc.

[Lizard]

With respect, he is a fucking cretin placed where he is by the unions.

[David Johnson]

On the whole, unions are there to defend the pay, working conditions and safety of their members. The members of unions in this country tend to be joe public who put in a shift, support their families and pay their taxes.

Whilst the investment bankers have been cleaning up, Britain has seen the lowest level of strikes over the last 15 years at a time when your average union member has seen a squeeze on his living standards.

Now admittedly the Labour party electoral system is a very strange beast which could do with a complete overhaul and we could argue about the level of influence affiliates e.g. trade unions have compared to MPs and members of the Labour party (trade unions have less, by the way).

However when you say
"he is a fucking cretin placed where he is by the unions", it makes it sound that "unions" = "Islamic terrorist funded" rather than Joe Public casting his vote.

Cheers
D

[Arginald Valleywater]

Keep takin the tablets. Even worse than the richest man in Wales aka Neil Gimme The Money Kinnock.

[Lizard]

That's just my personal opinion.

This is what really happened:

"Older brother David won a majority of support from Labour's MPs at Westminster and party members, but Ed was ahead among members of trade unions and affiliated organisations in Labour's electoral college voting system."

"He sold himself to party members as the "change" candidate, securing the backing of three of the four biggest trade unions - Unite, Unison and the GMB.

Under Labour's complex electoral system, voting power is divided equally between three sections: MPs and MEPs, affiliated organisations including trade unions and ordinary party members


So, like I say, he was placed there with the backing of the unions, my own personal view is that he probably won't be leader of the 'opposition' come the next GE, unless he shapes up, which of course he might, but that will mean some real courage. I don't think he has that.

[David Johnson]

Hi

If you are saying that the support of the three major unions for Ed Miliband was instrumental in getting him elected, I agree 100%.

I guess where I would disagree is when some areas of the press describe the unions in Thatcherite terms of "the enemy within" and that to have their support is a very, very, very bad thing.

I am not sure if you are suggesting that you agree with this second perception or not.

On Miliband himself, I think he has made a variable start. Sometimes he has got the better of Cameron at PMQs. At others he has been poor.

If he can revive some of the old Labour values, then that would be fine by me. What he definitely needs to do is get a wriggle on with his policy review. It's a year into the new government and Labour don't appear to have a clear, high level policy alternative in a number of areas, unless I have missed it.

Cheers
D

[wayne]

I believe he and his brother atttended a comprehensive school.