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.

[PetiteRaleuse]

Yes it is reality, I know :(

Anyone watching Cameron's speech? He's awful. It's so School Debating Society point scoring. Ed's was a masterpiece in comparison.

[Breadandwine]

TheOneWithTheNicestSmile Many thanks for that link - hilarious!

And true!

[niceguy2]

But the key issue is that the article is about Ed's father and since he's dead, he can't sue.

I think Ed would have looked weak and unable/unwilling to fight back against the DM. I'm glad he has. I hope at the end of this the DM are taken to task and sanctioned in some way.

We simply can't allow freedom of the press as an excuse to do whatever they like.

[claig]

Yes, that is true. But I wonder how long that effect will last. It seems that they are trying to create a link between Marxism, regulation of a free press and Miliband. I don't know if they will be successful in making it stick, but at the momemnt they are losing the battle.

Ed's speech was very good. Am listening to Cameron's speech. I think it is flat. Lame gags poorly delivered and running through the same old lines with no real passion or conviction, unlike Ed's delivery.

On this performance, it won't be Caneron who can defeat Ed, and maybe that is why the Mail has entered the fray in a dirty way.

[claig]

'Anyone watching Cameron's speech? He's awful. It's so School Debating Society point scoring. Ed's was a masterpiece in comparison.'

Agree entirely. It is appalling. No conviction, no passion. Ed's was far superior. Boris's was a jokey crap speech too. Only Ed and Farage have any conviction and that is why Farage was so welcomed at the Tory Party Conference by many of the attendees who are looking for conviction rather than rehearsed lifeless diction.

[HesterShaw]

Well done DM, you have been the final factor in my decision to vote Labour next time. And I am well aware of their short comings, and their history blah blah blah.

Bit of an own goal there.

Their behaviour has been completely despicable. So Ralph Miliband was a Marxist? And? Plenty of people were in the 30s and 40s. There was also quite a lot of fascism about, as I recall. Does this mean that his sons are without brains and unable to make their own political decisions? One thing that Ed and David have proven is that they are very clever people and are very unlikely to think something just "because my old man said so".

Their attack on Mr Miliband senior comes across as being anti-foreigner, anti-Semitic and anti-pretty much everyone apart from white, British, Christian Conservative voters.

[PetiteRaleuse]

Well I couldn't vote UKIP for EU reasons obviously.

Oh good, it's over. That was awful.

[HesterShaw]

Boris needs to stop with the whole "I'm so hilarious" thing as well even though his "kipping" comment was quite funny. Did you see the audience's indulgent smiles the minute he stepped on stage? Is he a politician or a comedy act?

[garlicvampire]

Just popping in to agree: Well done, Ed! Also good to see him arguing in a strong & measured way; shows DC up for the blustering numpty he is (and the DM!) Like many other Labour supporters, I've been despairing about Miliband's seeming lack of spine. I hope he's about to prove me wrong :)

I probably still won't much like Labour's current version, but I want to be able to have faith in its ability to get the Tories out.

[claig]

Agree, HesterShaw, I think Boris is a comedy act and the fatal flaw with that is that it means that there is a lack of conviction. Without conviction, they are sunk, no matter how many gags they can deliver, because the British public wants a vision, not a joker.

[HesterShaw]

Claig we agree!

[claig]

[HesterShaw]

And it's ridiculous because he is a very clever politician, and should be their sharpest weapon.


It seems that they think that he can't possibly show that side of him to the idiot public, because otherwise they would lose votes. Boris the Bumbling Buffoon is the vote winner and they need to keep him that way, seems to be the plan.

How incredibly insulting to the electorate.

[HesterShaw]

(I just tied myself up in knots and backed myself into a corner there I think. Boris the Bumbling Buffoon is clearly what people like, hence his being Mayor of London.)

[limitedperiodonly]

I presume they have some sort of plan which at the moment is difficult to fathom

I don't think they do.

[PetiteRaleuse]

Gove is being interviewed defending the Daily Mail and the freedom of press. This is not about influencing the content of newspapers. It's about decency and honesty. Ffs.

[PetiteRaleuse]

The subject is being twisted towards press liberty and the Tories are backing up the press. What a surprise.

[claig]

Yes, it is patronising to the electorate.

But being clever is nowhere near enough. They are all clever. They all went to Oxbridge and public schools, they all studied PPE, but that is not what the public wants.

The public wants someone who can articulate and realise a vision that the public's collective unconscious desires, and the public wants someone who has conviction in it and will turn over every stone to deliver it for the sake of the public. There aren't many of those people available - selfless people who believe in serving the public, not jokers who patronise and even insult the public's intelligence and use divide and rule to stigmatise sections of the population.

[HesterShaw]

Proper politicians in the way you describe seem to be in very short supply in recent years, at least in the Cabinet. It's all career men (very few women). I think Kinnock was one, though I know you won't agree with that .

Two of the saddest things about politics in the last 20 years in my opinion was a) the death of John Smith and b) Charles Kennedy hitting the bottle.

[claig]

I don't like Kinnock, but I liked John Smith.
John Smith was a very decent man who could unite the entire country. I like Ed too, he is a very decent man, but I am not too keen on some of those behind him.

[limitedperiodonly]

They are all clever

I'd dispute that, and I'm not the only one. According to Matthew D'Ancona, Gideon thinks Iain Duncan Smith is thick.

I think he's right but imagine that? Having your intellect questioned by someone I suspect needs all his fingers and toes to count up to 20.

[MmeLindor]

Claig
I agree with you.

I feel like I should write that a few times, cause it is so unusual. :)

It is a mark of how far off the mark the DM is, that we are almost all in agreement that it was a mistake. How often do we have any kind of consensus on Mumsnet?

[MissM]

Apparently Thatcher wasn't seen as very bright either, but I think that was more because she was a woman than down to actual intelligence

[TheHammaconda]

Having your intellect questioned by someone I suspect needs all his fingers and toes to count up to 20.

[claig]

MmeLindor, it is unusual that we are all in agreement

But it's probably just a phase, come tomorrow we'll all be back to normal again