By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter In The Times (£) I make a case for some sort of mansion tax (my preferred model is higher council tax banding) but I end the piece by noting that however justified new property taxes might be they do not add up to an economic policy fit for today's […]
By Peter HoskinFollow Peter on Twitter Rachel Reeves has an article explaining Labour’s 10p tax policy in today’s Sun. “So what?” you might think, “isn’t this what shadow ministers do?” But there’s still something striking about this article in itself. Consider where it appears: the Sun, a newspaper that might have cause to be unfriendly towards […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. Ed Miliband's pilfering of Robert Halfon's 10p tax rate restoration proposal, balanced out by his borrowing of Vince Cable's plan of a mansion tax on homes worth more than £2 million, is almost completely meaningless. The Labour leader is not committing to the measure if he wins a majority […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. At least, that's the only sense to be made of Labour's selection of John O'Farrell – "The Joke Candidate" – to fight the Eastleigh by-election. Miliband had a strategic choice in the Hampshire seat: To try not to take votes from the LibDems, run a campaign so low-profile as […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. If Ed Miliband commits to David Cameron's In-Out referendum, he could lose it if he becomes Prime Minister – and might well then have to quit. (A Prime Minister Miliband recommending a Yes vote, with an Out-leaning Conservative Party urging No, is a very different animal from a Prime […]
By Harry PhibbsFollow Harry on Twitter Ed Miliband expresses irritation at being given the label "Red Ed." The Labour leader can reasonably point out that he is not a Communist – he does not want to abolish capitalism or overthrow Parliamentary democracy. However, while he is not on the far left himself, he does show signs […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. Ed Miliband woke up to some horrible headlines this morning. Which in itself means nothing one way or the other – that's the lot of party leaders. But this particular set re-raised a problem that can't easily be solved. Boris Johnson steamed into the Labour leader over the EU […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter. Andrew Rawnsley's column today rolls together a report and an argument. The report is that Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg are getting on much better together: The two men met at the Royal Wedding, and got along well. Miliband apparently found Clegg to be "a pretty decent human being". […]
By Peter HoskinFollow Peter on Twitter It’s only 239-words long, but this Guardian editorial packs quite a wallop — particularly if your name is Edward Michael Balls and you’re the shadow chancellor. Indeed, it contains an implicit attack on Mr Balls in its very headline, which pitches the idea of Paul Krugman, American commentator and Nobel […]
By Peter HoskinFollow Peter on Twitter Today’s the day for pre-emptive strikes. Ed Miliband, Douglas Alexander, Nick Clegg and Vince Cable are all spread across the airwaves, attacking David Cameron’s Europe speech in advance of its delivery tomorrow. And so their main points of difference with the PM have become clearer, but also — more neglected […]
By Peter HoskinFollow Peter on Twitter Standing in for the recovering Andrew Marr, James Landale managed to extract several noteworthy lines from Ed Miliband on the Marr Show earlier. Among them was the Labour leader’s claim that, despite recent speculation to the contrary, Ed Balls would “absolutely” remain in his job until 2015 — but more […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Tory MP Dom Raab has revealed that the energy subsidies that Ed Miliband introduced when he was Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change have exploded in cost. Mr Miliband introduced subsidies of household solar panels and wind turbines when he was in Gordon Brown's Cabinet. Although the […]
By Peter HoskinFollow Peter on Twitter Tension between the Labour leader and the man he’s put in charge of his party’s economic policy? Who’s ever heard of such a thing?! But, despite there being absolutely no precedent for it whatsoever, it appears that such tension may exist — at least judging by Kevin Maguire’s article for […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter It's not the most extensive poster campaign in political history but Grant Shapps has placed this poster on six poster sites across London – to coincide with Tuesday's Commons vote on benefits uprating. The message is very clear… The poster develops an argument that the Tory Chairman made in […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter Do you remember how Left-wingers greeted the election of François Hollande? Labour's spindoctors told everybody who'd listen that Ed Miliband was his best political friend. He was the Labour leader’s ideological bedfellow. The Miliband prototype. Finally, they argued, there was an alternative to Cameron and Merkel. Left-wing pundits were […]