Ed Miliband is a Game Day Player. It sometimes seems like
he loves taking us to the last minute until he shows his stuff. He did this
with his come-from-behind win in the leadership election. He did this with his
conference speech that crushed the ‘Red Ed’ narrative just moments before it
took hold and he did it this week with this week’s ‘Most important PMQs
Ever.’
Who won?
It was the Westminster Village that had looked set to win
this week – but it didn’t. With both the Daily Mail and the ubiquitous Dan Hodges singing from the same hymn sheet this week(The shock!
The horror!), everyone inside the bubble was ready to write the story that they had already scripted: Ed down and almost out. Ed imperilled. Dark
rumours swirling. Repeat media narrative ad nauseum. In fact, the story has become
so predictable that it is even caricatured on Twitter with the amusing
@slaggingoffed ‘Showcasing the
attention seekers who just can’t resist slagging off Ed Miliband despite being
ahead in the polls.’
But in PMQs terms, Ed scored the win that he needed by doubling down on
the qualities that won him the leadership and can yet make him prime minister:
passion and substance.
Here’s how he did it.
Ed followed up on his successful weekend’s speech on welfare by keeping up the pressure on the government ahead of tonight’s vote
on the bill. Ed said: ‘The welfare bill leaves 7,000 cancer patients worse off
by 94 pounds per week.’ Citing Macmillan Cancer Support, Ed was able to connect
his ‘you-can’t-trust-the-Tories-with-the-NHS’ line of attack with a very human
rationale for opposing the welfare bill delivered with passion, aggression and
gusto, particularly when calling out Cameron on the ‘disgrace to talk about
cancer patients as a smokescreen.’
Ed was successful this week because he married his natural
talent for policy detail (reminding the Commons that ‘as usual Mr Speaker,
he (Cameron) doesn’t know what is in his own bill’) with the fire in his belly
that Labour and the press needed to see.
Beyond the bear pit though, Labour understands that
tactical victories in the Commons aren’t what will win the next election.
Consistency will. And consistency of attack on the Tories’ record on the
economy is the key.
Best
question?
That was why the best question came from Labour’s Geraint
Davies that ‘the deficit was the price paid for averting a depression’ and that
‘cuts are causing growth to slow, hindering not helping the economy.’ It was
pithy. It was sharp. And it was on the battleground that will determine the
election.
Best
question, answer, comment or joke?
It was no joke when Ed attacked on welfare and cancer. Ed may not have won the
Best Joke award for this PMQs (it was a serious and at times sombre session
with questions on cancer, famine and the killing fields of Cambodia) but he won
something more important, best line: ‘I think it’s a
disgrace that Conservative members are shouting when we’re talking about
cancer.’