During the Christmas holidays I watched the box set of ‘In the Thick of It”, a TV series parodying media spin as practised by the last Labour government.
Towards the end of it the Tory ‘spin doctor’ equivalent was introduced to the cast who was, not surprisingly, equally awful.
But the spin continues in real life from all sides of the political spectrum about the phone-hacking scandal in the Murdoch papers, while they keep up the pretence that they are non-partisan when it comes to party politics.
The latest example is a poll from the Murdoch stable about whether Ed Miliband is “too ugly”to be prime minister, vacuous and silly nonsense but still damaging if what matters is image.
The problem now faced by Labour is that, having lived by the sword, they may have to die by it. Preening as if the next general election is just round the corner, talking about “difficult decisions” seems to miss the obvious point of opposition, namely to oppose.
When the coalition was formed, many of us warned that low and middle income families would bear the brunt of austerity and that trade unions would face the fight of their lives in defence of working people. We were right on both counts.
That’s why, not unreasonably, many expect Labour to articulate in opposition what is wrong with policies that create joblessness, starve the economy of growth and line the pockets of the richest and most influential in society.
But attack is not enough. We also need - and expect - a configuration of defence against the coalition’s worst excesses that hit the poorest hardest, from the official opposition.
Sadly, far too many Labour MPs are drawn from professional occupational groups with life experiences that are miles away from low income families and the working poor.
Ed Balls says he backs the coalition’s public sector pay policy, including pay cuts on top of reductions in real income arising from zero pay increases, 20% VAT, higher cost of living including fuel and food prices.
The most pertinent reaction to this nonsense was the public sector worker I read about who invited Ed B to “walk a mile” in her shoes.
Like many Labour supporters, I want a solid alternative to austerity, a reversal in wealth distribution, respect for the role of public service and a Labour opposition that is four square on the side of the majority.
Is that too much to ask?
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