Ed Miliband’s obduracy is admirable in a way and Westminster could learn a lot from it - Ismail Mulla
There’s something admirable about Ed Miliband. I know there will be many of our readers who won’t countenance anything positive about the Energy Secretary being said but I actually think there is a thing or two that some of Miliband’s Cabinet colleagues and would-be Cabinet members could learn from him.
And that is Miliband’s militancy when it comes to net zero. The former Labour leader has proven to be the most stubborn of Ministers. Miliband has operated with tunnel vision that could rival an owl.
He resisted efforts to remove him from the brief of Energy Security and Net Zero. Would not be knocked off course with his drive to carpet swathes of the countryside in metal and glass, despite repercussions for his Labour party colleagues. Any attempts to drill for oil and gas, regardless of the fears around supply of energy, met with an obdurate response from a steadfast politician who would not waver.
That is something that is sorely lacking in politicians today. Too often we’re governed by opinion polls and focus groups. It leads to vacillation, which lends itself to the inertia that our political system has been infected by.
The whole of Westminster could benefit from taking a leaf out of Miliband’s playbook. If you truly believe in something, have the courage and conviction to follow through on it.
His, for now, boss, Sir Keir Starmer could certainly learn a thing or two from being more steadfast. If there is one thing that has come to characterise Starmer’s short time in Downing Street it is that he has never been able to stick with anything.
The irony will not be lost on former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who Starmer branded ‘Inaction Man’ during a Prime Minister’s Questions while leader of the Opposition. It is Starmer who is now looking like ‘Inaction Man’. Unable to control his party, unable to govern effectively and unable to keep the public on his side.
The reason why Starmer has come a cropper is Labour’s failure to prepare for government. The now caretaker PM likes to talk about how Labour had been consigned to 14 years of Opposition and it was he who turned things around. But upon entering Downing Street, Starmer and his team had little in the way of ideas.
Looking back, the whole of the general election campaign was fought on what Labour won’t do rather than what it would do. This was bolstered with vacuous promises of change. What the public actually wanted to see is giant strides in policy. Efforts to improve the majority’s lives.
Instead, Labour fell into the trap of tinkering with policy areas. It betrayed a lack of a transformative vision at the heart of government.
That lack of conviction on Starmer’s part then filtered through the rest of his Government. U-turn and U-turn after U-turn. The Lady may have not been for turning but the Knight of the Realm certainly was.
The first whiff of discontent and Starmer would find himself back-pedalling. There was no appetite for taking the tough decisions and certainly not for sticking by them. That was compounded by a lack of a robust policy platform.
Which brings me back to the Right Honorable MP for Doncaster North. Now before The Yorkshire Post is inundated with angry letters, I’m not endorsing Miliband’s policies. Alienating communities over net zero risks setting back the transition for generations. And the cart has been put before the horse when it comes to infrastructure. Energy security cannot come at the cost of food security either. There’s not point keeping the lights on if
However, Miliband cannot be accused of wavering in his zeal for net zero. And there is something admirable in someone sticking by their principles even if there are times when they’re wrong.
It’ll be interesting to see where Miliband ends up next and what that could mean for Andy Burnham’s Government. There are rumours that he could be appointed Chancellor. Could he be the man to take on Treasury orthodoxy?
Whatever happens next, it is clear that politicians with conviction are needed. But that conviction needs to be paired with clear policies. It applies to politicians from all the parties. Even Nigel Farage and his Reform UK can only go so far acting as the renegades.
From day one, Burnham cannot afford to be wishy-washy. That is the trap that Starmer and his team fell into. There will be times when opinion polls don’t look favourable or when focus groups don’t agree. But inaction is no longer an option. The restive electorate wants change and that will require owl-like focus.