Well done Ed Miliband for speaking out about the Daily Mail's article on his father

[claig]

The Daily Mail used a low tactic of accusing Ed miliband's father of hating Britain.

I think it was a nasty thing to do. Just because someone is a Marxist and may criticise some aspects of the country or its instiutions does not mean that they hate Britain.

[SanityClause]

When the proposed cap on fuel was announced at the Labour conference, the fuel company shares went right down. It seems the City wouldn't rule out a Labour victory.

[claig]

Good point, Sanity. The markets don't think a Labour victory is impossible and they aren't taking any chances.

If Labour could steal some of UKIP's policies,they could outflank the Tories and win a landslide. If they offered a referendum, went for lower taxes for working people, more freedom and libertarianism and less political correctness, then they could win lots of UKIP voters, who are mainly working and middle class people. The Tories would be left as the big business party without many voters.

[limitedperiodonly]

Maguire is brilliant. If he was in the Labour shadow cabinet instead of some of the others in there, Labour's votes would go up undoubtedly.

It's not for want of trying but I don't blame him.

I think he's too outspoken

[limitedperiodonly]

I really don't think Labour should go for UKIP voter



But respect

[claig]

It is outspoken honest people that the public are crying out for, not 'cabs for hire' who do whatever they are told.

To some extent, it is Boris's outspokenness and seeming honesty that make him popular.

[claig]

'I really don't think Labour should go for UKIP voter'

Maybe not, but if they did, they'd win.

[limitedperiodonly]

I think Kevin is a million miles the better man than Boris is

[claig]

I agree. I heard the beginning of Boris's speech today and I thought it was a flop. He criticised young British working people and had some sympathy for that idiot Jamie Oliver's view of them.

[MiniTheMinx]

I have just read the original, Eds response and the Daily mail comment "An evil legacy and why we won't apologise"

I don't think this will have done Miliband any harm but the daily mail have disgraced themselves.

I won't take the comment to pieces here because I could write an essay. Not only is it full of right wing spiel and propaganda its so badly written that even an imbecile could see through it. The arguments they put forward to support their thesis that Ralph hated Britain is lame. Had they have simply stated is disliked nationalism then people would have accepted this without question as fact.

Ralph Miliband like most Marxists would be in favour of open boarders, boarders that are open not as they are now to the free flow of capital which actually creates a situation where states are undermined economically but forced to act in national interest. But in favour of no states. What we have now is nationalism for the numpties open boarders for the flow of capital and cheap labour, it doesn't benefit us, only the capitalist class. Disliking nationalism and war is not the same as disliking Britain.


As for the argument about Marxists waging class war, I'm falling off my chair, its a fantastic read. Working class people do not wage class war, that is for the elite. How typical of the mouth piece of this elite to claim they are victims of class antagonism, hilarious. Say that to a working person now £1300 a year worse off since the Tories took office, the 73 people who die everyweek waiting for an appeal after Atos have atomised them, or the 50,000 people facing eviction now, the 500,000 using foodbanks, the thousands of young people paying 27,000 for a degree, the 3.5 million children living in poverty in the uk and the child going to school with an empty belly. Who is waging a class war?

They don't have the money their pockets, so who has, would that be the people winning the class war?

[MiniTheMinx]

Had they have simply stated *he disliked nationalism

[claig]

Comments of Daily Mail readers to Miliband's reply and the Daily Mail editorial are against the Daily Mail.

[BasilBabyEater]

All the Tories they approached on the Ch4 news were clearly embarrassed by it.

[Wannabestepfordwife]

I wasn't a Milliband fan but I have really warmed to him after reading his reply it was a thoughtful and touching piece.

I am normally a mail fan but I'm disgusted that they ran this piece and even more disgusted over their comment on the article.

I have to say the mail calling Milliband's reply menacing genuinely made me laugh in disbelief

[ttosca]

The Daily Mail is a fascist newspaper. It has always supported fascism.

It supported the Blackshirts in the 1930s, and it supported the National Front only very recently:

Despite her flaws, the only responsible vote in France next Sunday is one for Marine Le Pen

www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2132611/French-elections-2012-Marine-Le-Pen-responsible-vote-France.html

It has always hated women, hated coloured people, hated immigrants.

It has always been a nasty, reactionary piece of shit excuse for a newspaper.

[Chipstick10]

I agree with stig Abel, that ed milliband is now turning it into political capital. A crass article was written about his father and now he claims he is doing something very courageous by standing up to the daily mail. What rot. The mail was never going to support ed so he's not doing anything courageous. Bore off milliband. You have used your family as props when it's suited you.

[edam]

political capital? Nonsense. He's responding to an attack. He's defending his late father and standing up to bullying by the Mail. Disingenuous bullying because their real problem with Miliband is his stance on press regulation.

The Mail should be honest with their readers about what their issue is, not try to cloak it in some faux indignation about a 17 year old's diary entry. Especially a 17yo who fought for this country against the fascists that the Mail had supported.

Not the first time the Mail has tried to get their readers foaming at the mouth about an issue when the real agenda is their owner's commercial interests, of course. Every attack on the Beeb is basically motivated by jealousy of its website v. the Mails (which may well be bigger by now, I haven't checked, but only because the online Mail uses tactics that the printed Mail shrieks against).

[TheOneWithTheNicestSmile]

\link{http://33revolutionsperminute.wordpress.com/2013/10/01/the-daily-mails-ralph-miliband-editorial-annotated-version/\this annotated version of the DM response is wonderful} - really entertaining

[PetiteRaleuse]

Yes, they DID support the national front in France, albeit via their columnists. I had forgotten that. I think if UKIP or bnp would get more voters they would switch. But fortunately the UK is a little more humane than that.

(The National Front in France is rpresented as being similar to UKIP in the UK press but they are just a step away from Nazi thugs, think EDL in real life)

[DioneTheDiabolist]

OMG Claig!

I actually agree with your OP..
I keep trying to say something meaningful, but I just can't get over the shock of me agreeing with your OP.

[tethersend]

Am v impressed, claig.

The Mail have made a terrible error in turning you against them

[DioneTheDiabolist]

And I don't like (don't really know why) Ed Milliband. So it's not because of him that I agree with you.

And still shocked.

[claig]

"OMG Claig!

I actually agree with your OP"

It's good to see that for once you are right


'The Mail have made a terrible error in turning you against them'

I'm not sure I can actually turn against the Mail longterm. I may have to treat this as an unusual aberration on their part. When I saw Alastair Campbell laying in to them on Newsnight tonight, even though they deserved it, I started to feel a little bit sorry for the Mail.

[NicholasTeakozy]

As for the argument about Marxists waging class war, I'm falling off my chair, its a fantastic read. Working class people do not wage class war, that is for the elite. How typical of the mouth piece of this elite to claim they are victims of class antagonism, hilarious. Say that to a working person now £1300 a year worse off since the Tories took office, the 73 people who die everyweek waiting for an appeal after Atos have atomised them, or the 50,000 people facing eviction now, the 500,000 using foodbanks, the thousands of young people paying 27,000 for a degree, the 3.5 million children living in poverty in the uk and the child going to school with an empty belly. Who is waging a class war?

Blimey Mini, nail on head. Us working poor are told it's the fault of the scroungers, the feckless, indeed anybody but the real culprits, the kleptocracy at the heart of our financial institutions and by extension our government. I found their assertion that Ralph Miliband was 'against the free market' hilarious, seeing as we don't have a free market.

The Heil are liars, and they're upset, not that they got caught, but that they're being called on it.

[MissM]

What no-one's mentioned (I think) is that the Mail based its article on comments that Ralph Miliband made as a teenager when he'd first arrived in Britain. Yes, he went on to be a Marxist, but his 'hatred of Britain' wasn't based on anything he wrote as an adult, but as a child. And anyway, having a Marxist ideology doesn't mean you 'hate Britian', but that you are against aspects of its political system. Which in a democracy is entirely permissible.

Just heard William Hague responding on R4. The Tories have obviously been told to use the 'anyone would defend their parents' line as he was very careful in choosing his words. Shame on them I think, for not coming out in full support. This isn't a matter of just defending a parent, but of a scurrilous attack.

[northernlurker]

I don't think Ed Miliband - or David CAmeron come to that - uses their family for political purposes. There is quite a lot of interest in who Ed's brother is and I'm sure they'd both rather avoid that. Then there was a lot of finger pointing about the children's birth certificates which certainly wasn't of Ed's making. All the leaders are photographed wth their spouses and children sometimes. They'd have to never go out in public if they were going to avoid that.