Ed Milliband - An empty Prime Minister to be

At least we know now, Ed Milliband knows absolutely nothing about economics. So little that in his most heralded ever speech, he managed just 30 seconds on the economy.

Compared to over an hour of hand-wringing, lefty whining about how the world is not a very good place and would all be better if we were just a bit nastier to the rich and nicer to the poor.  Apparently this follows in the footsteps of Disraeli or some such.

I have been unable to listen to the whole speech in full, given more pressing commitments. On balance it is quite worrying. Labour are likely, barring some large external event, to romp home to an election victory and Ed Milliband will be Prime Minister. To have such a political wonk, with no real experience of running anything, real people or an understanding of how the world works rather than how a wonk thinks the world may work, is pretty worrying.

With the Lib Dems having shaved 10% off their vote the majority of these votes are going to go to Labour if anywhere. So Labour will beat its 29% of the last election and reach more like 35% at worst. So level pegging with the Tories, who seems unlikely to increase their vote and may indeed lose some to UKIP.

Level even being a couple of % behind the Tories will make Labour easily the largest party and Ed Milliband Prime Minister. How Labour fail to get 35% of the vote is beyond me. A lack of Constituency Boundary reform, as Nick Drew wrote here, has sunk the Tories for a generation.

So what Ed Milliband says is of real importance and yet what he actually says turns out to be of no interest or meaning. No policies except further attacks on the Banks (which are OK as things go and are in reality quite small moves from where things will end up under Vickers) and a promise to soak the rich with higher taxes of an undefined nature.

What about the Deficit? What about the National debt? How do we cope with the continuing huge influx of immigrants? How will we keep paying for the NHS? What about really reforming education? What about Trident? What about independence for Scotland?

The list goes on, nothing about any major policy decision. The obvious answer to this to say why give hostages to fortune so far out from an election – my conclusion however is that they don;t have any answers. Just like they didn’t last time – spray money around and hope that keeps enough people happy to vote for us. Another dose of this is not going to do the UK any good.