Jayne Dowle: The clue’s in the name, Ed; Labour must get tough with those who refuse to work

He’d need to watch carefully and really listen, not do that rabbit-in-the-headlights manic smiling thing, his default mode when encountering the general public. And if he did, he would hear exactly why he needs to man up, get tough and come down hard on those who are taking this country for a ride on a mobility scooter.

He’d see the dad “on disability” who is not so disabled that he’s incapable of fathering numerous babies by different mothers.

He’d see the woman known for having children just so she can cash in the child benefit.

He’d hear about the bloke who got a new car “off the social” because he lied about how he devotes his life to caring for his aged mother. And he’d realise, surely, that the ordinary people, the people he wants to vote for his party, are just as disgusted by the scroungers and the lead-swingers and the whingers as the most uncompromising, hard-line Tory.

Ordinary people like the lad I know who drives a taxi. It broke down the other week, so he’s had to take out a loan to get it fixed, all the while losing the income he needs to look after his family because he can’t work.

His views on those who live off the system are not printable, but you will probably be able to work them out. Then there’s the dad-of-two who got laid off from his job laying roads the other week and is too ashamed to go to the Job Centre because he’s mortified to be thought a beggar.

It is people like this, people who grew up thinking that the word “Labour” meant just that, who Miliband must give respect to. And sadly, from the evidence I see, he is failing to do so.

It is pitiable that he’s still not got it after more than two and a half years as Leader of the Opposition.

According to party sources, he admits himself that “we need to do more on welfare”. What he needs to do, actually, is to forget for a moment what the coalition is doing, and to stop using the issue of benefits in an attempt to settle political scores.

By refusing to acknowledge that the Government might have a point, he is making a serious misjudgment. He fails to accept that the only people who think generous benefits are a splendid idea are those who live off them with no ambition to do anything else, and those who live in politically-correct ivory towers and have never had to live off them in their lives.

Even the liberal intelligentsia recognise that progressive politics are supposed to be indeed progressive. The founders of the Labour party made it a rallying call to support those who wanted to move forward in dignity and pride, not fester forever in welfare dependency, bringing up children to think that work is not for the likes of them.

Obviously, there are people who genuinely need the financial support that they are unable to provide themselves, whether because of disability, illness, redundancy or short-term unemployment. A society which could not support those in need would not be fit to call itself a society. This is not what we’re arguing about here though.

What we arguing about are solutions to curb an unsustainable national benefits bill, a bill which costs £159bn at the Department of Work and Pensions alone, representing almost a quarter of all public spending. What we need, from the Leader of the Opposition, is a sensible idea on what he would do to curb this bill should his own party come to power, because however sympathetic you are, this level of spending is simply not sustainable. On the evidence so far, this idea is not forthcoming.

If he’s up for it then, he can pop down to school one afternoon, because he’ll meet some interesting people who might be able to help him get his priorities straight. He’ll meet people like my friend, who I will call Sandra to spare her blushes.

Sandra is a single parent in her forties with a little boy in my daughter’s class. Ever since I have known Sandra, all she has wanted is a job, any job, to get herself off JobSeeker’s Allowance and end those “humiliating” (her word) Job Centre appointments. And at last, she has got one, working in a hotel. She is bursting with pride. She wanted a job, she wanted to get off benefits, and I know for certain that she won’t want a single penny of her taxes going to support those who can’t be bothered to take responsibility for their life as she has.

It is people like Sandra who Ed Miliband needs to talk to and listen to. Why? They could write his elusive welfare policy for him.