In a keynote speech repeatedly emphasising the notion of “responsibility” he said that “rightly or wrongly” the party had become inextricably associated in voters’ minds with not just the undeserving rich but also undeserving benefits claimants.
But while the speech was always going to be assessed more for its tone and the confidence of his delivery than its detailed content, Mr Miliband importantly chose the moment to give the green light to Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Liam Byrne to say the party plans to push benefits claimants into work.
Among those measures are plans, copied from the Australian Labor Party, to make long-term workless households with pre-school children attend compulsory employment workshops in return for childcare costs. The party also says it will ensure council and social housing will be prioritised for those in jobs or “volunteering” in their communities.
Mr Byrne, Treasury Chief Secretary until the 2010 general election, said the radical re-think was necessary because its own research showed Labour had become out of touch with ordinary people and its core supporters.
“When we lost office last year, the result was simply awful. A 1983-level of returns. The worst performance since 1918. A result that means it is now possible to leave our capital in north London, carry on north and not reach another Labour seat until one bumped into Austin Mitchell in Grimsby. Nearly 60 per cent of voters said Labour was not just a bit, but seriously, out of touch with the lives of ordinary working people. For the people’s party, that was a hell of an achievement.”
At the same time, former leader Tony Blair – who is promoting the updated paperback of his memoirs and canvassing for the creation of the post of a directly-elected European Union president – urged Mr Miliband to keep faith with his centre-right New Labour “philosophy” and said he supported David Cameron’s education and health policies as they are a continuation of work he began.
He said: “Look, when I became Labour leader, the party had never won two consecutive full terms in office. The longest Labour had ever been in power was six years, right? We won three consecutive full terms and were in power for more than double the length of the longest-serving previous Labour government.” Instead, Mr Blair said, Gordon Brown and others thought the party had gone too far down that path and needed to pull back.
He added that Ed Miliband needs to prevent the party becoming trapped by “its own ideological past”.
“[New Labour] can’t possibly be over because the concept isn’t time-related”, Mr Blair told The Sun.
