Was listening to Ed Milliband stumble, bumble and fumble his way through an interview on Radio Fivelive this morning, reflecting on the damage Gordon Brown has done to himself. If he wasn’t convinced that he could beat a motley crew of Cameron, Redwood and Goldsmith now, how does he think he’s going to in two years’ time, now that he’s shown himself (as Andrew Rawnsley says in the Observer this morning) to be not the solid, steam-ahead man he was presenting himself, but just as poll-driven and vacilating as Blair. Rawnsley says: “This makes him look like a calculating politician. And, worse, a calculator who miscalculated.”
And where his calculations might take him next hardly bears thinking about. Given that his sole political tactic seems to be to steal the Tories’ clothes, speculation this morning that he’ll “steal” their inheritance tax proposals, which are being seen as a significant factor in the Cameron poll bounce.
I’m sure Brown will do anything he thinks popular, but how will all of those decent Labour members who are trying to work for social justice and reducing inequality bear to stay with the party when he decides anyone should be allowed a cool £1m windfall, through no effort of their own, without paying a penny in tax?
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