Miliband and Labour’s cuts

He did say that “the next Labour government will get the deficit down” and that he would like eliminated by the end of the next Parliament. He was effectively aligning himself to George Osborne’s financial strategy, just as Labour did prior to the 1997 landslide when Tony Blair and Gordon Brown endorsed the recovery plan put in place by John Major and Ken Clarke.

In some respects, this is an astute move politically – the Tories outflank Labour on the crucial issue of economic competence. But it is not enough, for this reason. Having opposed virtually every coalition cut, Mr Miliband still has to outline the spending reductions that he would force through. And, when pressed about the role of Ed Balls, he simply said the Shadow Chancellor is doing “a great job” – even though the Morley and Outwood MP’s uncharacteristic low profile is a talking point.

Mr Miliband did not fare any better when he tried to set out his plan to empower consumers by giving them a greater say over competition levels within the banking and energy sectors. Labour’s plan to break up the larger banks saw hundreds of millions of pounds wiped off their share value last week and this will re-enforce the view that a Miliband government will be far more interventionist than the Blair or Brown administrations, and this could be a significant drain on the country’s wealth.

And Mr Miliband’s attempt to reach out to undecided voters, the people who hold the key to the next election, stuttered again with his unconvincing answers to questions about whether the power and influence of the trade unions will be curtailed. His hesitancy spoke volumes.

Yet there is also another contradiction that Mr Miliband needs to reconcile as he attempts, on a daily basis, to explain away the failings of the last Government. By setting every policy in the context of “a cost of living crisis”, he is danger of becoming yesterday’s man.

Yes, household incomes have been badly squeezed over the past five years – but the economy is growing, even the BBC admit to this, and Labour needs to show that it is a party of the future. It can only do this by Mr Miliband being far more candid about public spending, standing up for those on those on the side and aspiration and dispelling the view, still prevalent, that he is in the pocket of the unions. He has much to prove, despite his promise on the deficit.

Open to challenge

PUBLIC confidence in the criminal justice system, already strained by recent controversies, will not be helped by the number of occasions in which the decision of prosecutors to discontinue a case has been overturned. Some perspective, however, is required. The number of such instances are relatively few and represent a tiny percentage of the correct decisions being taken by the Crown Prosecution Service on a daily basis.

However today’s findings do highlight the wider merit of the Victims’ Right to Review scheme – the CPS should be subject to the same level of scrutiny which is applied to other public sector bodies and it can only be hoped that the presence of such policies leads to better and more consistent decision-making.

These initial results also show that communication is critical if the relationship between the CPS, public and politicians is to improve. Calls to place victims at the heart of the criminal justice system have been a regular refrain since Tony Blair first made this commitment in 1997.

However, it has often been difficult to translate the rhetoric into reality, despite the best intentions of former home secretaries like David Blunkett and Alan Johnson. And the reason is this – many victims still believe, rightly or wrongly, that they are the last to be informed about key decisions pertaining to their case.

Progress is being made to remedy this, but more clearly needs to be done before it can be said, with confidence, that victims are being put first at all times.

Passing of time

IF the service on the Normandy beaches to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings this June is to be the Queen’s final overseas visit before she scales down her duties, the occasion’s poignancy will be entirely in keeping with her reign.

Her Majesty has always enjoyed a special affinity with war veterans and her very first official duty, aged 16, was to visit the Grenadier Guards in 1943 as Britain fought for its future liberty.

After a 62-year reign that has included 261 official visits overseas, many of which have been physically demanding, it is inevitable that the Queen will cut down on her arduous travel – she will be 88 this April and the Duke of Edinburgh has shown some signs of frailty.

But she can draw immense comfort, and pride, from the fact that the steady passing of more duties to the Prince of Wales is being undertaken with so little fuss – and this was also reflected by the new roles in public life that are being assumed by Princes William and Harry.

They are more than ready to accept a greater share of responsibility – and would be the first to say the Queen has earned the right to a quieter life while staying true to the Coronation vows that she accepted with such solemnity in 1953, and which remain her guiding principles.