Ed Miliband's conference speech live stream

[FrancesMumsnet]

Live stream of Ed Miliband's speech here if you're interested:

[mumzy]

Watched the whole thing through last night on the daily politics. He looked far too over rehearsed as if he was in a school play all the body language, relaxed jokey ennui seemed put on. Contrast this with Boris Johnson who really is a natural at this sort of thing and can instinctively connect with the general public.

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

Judder I think well off middle-class kids do ok in a comp, because they have other resources.
Teenagers from deprived backgrounds not so much, although there are obviously many exceptions.

And one good speech does not make strong opposition...

[Pagwatch]

I think that if there are indeed children at state schools who imagine that you have to go to private school to make it as a politician then they probably have bigger issues to worry about. Possibly being a bit thick would be one.

The son of a fabulously wealthy man who was smoothed into Oxford and never intended to be anything other than a career politician trying to pretend he is just like me makes me want to weep.

The ridiculous emphasis on the schooling of forty something men in politics is such a waste of time.

At my comp we knew the posh kids, the rich kids were nothing like us. They were in a completely different world with their extra homework,piano lessons, weekend trips to France and skiing holidays.

Really. Stop it.

Not least because 'look, I am just like you. I am not one of Lord Snooty's pals' seemed to be the thrust of it. Look at Britain. Look at the holy fuck of a thing we are at the moment and 'ooo-er but just look at where they went to school' is all he has got.

The instinct to have a image to rail against is fine. I can understand the urge. But it is just sneering at something that to be honest neither he nor Cameron nor anyone else actually chose.
Is he actually saying, when you really drill it down, that if his parents with all their millions had chosen instead to send him to Eton then his moral compass, his compassion and empathy would never have existed?
Would he have been destined to be a cunt had he just gone into a different school.
Does he really want to tell kids in a slightly crappy school that they will never leave that behind. It always must define you.

I went to a comp. I'm lovely. My dh went to a very expensive private school. He is lovely too. Yet Dullard is trying to make us slice the nation into plucky state school kids nd selfish private school cunts.

It pisses me off massively. Lazy and thick.

[Pagwatch]

If instead he had promised to indeed get down just for the funk of it, I would have been right there.

[LittleFrieda]

Ed's speech wasn't so much about whether he's got what it takes to lead the country, but whether he can lead Labour. And I don't think he can. He's not appealing to anyone.

Shame as I thought he would be the more appealing Miliband and therefore more appealing, but he seems to have diminished not grown. Perhaps you get the wrong person when you allow the trades unions to choose.

[mumzy]

I went to a bog standard comp in the inner cities and one of my classmates went on to become a major journalist on a news programme at the BBC. But her father was an emeritius professor at the university and her lifestyle and expectations were totally different from mine. I remember being coached for the Oxbridge entrance exam with her and she would quote the distinguish and often well known visitors who would frequent her parents soirees. I suspect Ed Millibrand's upbringing was like that of my famous classmate and bears little resemblance to the experience of the vast majority of people educated in comps.

[mumzy]

And I bet Ed Millbrand never had to work grotty summer jobs in kitchens, factories, hotels as a student getting to know how the vast majority of the country survives, he probably spent all his time at Labour HQ. God I hate all politicians smug b***ds

[Fishwife1949]

He is a pratt cannot lead a dog let alone one nation



And all this i just a poor boy from a poor family shit


He harldy grew up in a estate in brixton did he

Its like saying oh yes i went to a comp and then being asked were you live oh primrose hill
The type of comps were the homes near cost 500k you might as well be at a private school


Is father had all the connections je was never gonna end up working in greggs now was he

[Fishwife1949]

mumzy there is no bog standard comp in primrose hill

[aufaniae]

Fishwife that's absolute nonsense.

If you read my post above you'd see I went to the same school as the Millibands, only a few years later, so I speak from first hand experience when I say Haverstock school is absolutely what I'd call a bog-standard comp. Can't say I particularly rated the education there tbh.

There were some middle class kids there, sure, but the school is flanked by estates, and there were plenty of working class kids. (Can't believe we're arguing about this )

Primrose Hill is down the road. But Chalk Farm (where the school actually is) and Camden traditionally have a large working class population. It's certainly not not all posh houses.

You're talking out of your arse, as my school mates would have said!

[Fishwife1949]

Yes your right hes stright out of the chalk arm massive


He didnt live in a big house

Have nice hoildays
Or have connections many could only dream of

[Fishwife1949]

Farm not arm hehehe

[aufaniae]

Fishwife you're moving the goalposts.

You didn't mention his homelife before, you were talking about his school, and you were making it up as you went along.

Are you not big enough to say "sorry, my mistake"?

[Judder]

Apart from Ed Milliband I cannot think of one political leader who went to their local state comprehensive school. Because of this I do happen to think it is a massive deal, because it is so bloody rare. According to Pagwatch's "if kids in comps don't think they can be political leaders they must be a bit thick" theory this means that nearly all kids in comps are 'a bit thick', otherwise we would see more of them as political leaders. I do not subscribe to your theory, Pagwatch. Instead I think that there are social and cultural bars to children becoming political leaders if they don't go to private or selective schools, and one important step to breaking down these barriers is to have a political leader role model who went to a comp.

By the way, I do not accept the "it might have been a comp but it was in a nice area, and his parents were intellectuals so it doesn't count" argument. Of course it counts. He did not stand up and say "I was poor and deprived and I went to a sink school". He just said "I went to my local comprehensive school", which is a true statement that one that few political leaders can say, regardless.

[Judder]

Slightly off-topic, but I have introduced my kids to this fantastic game on the UK parliament web site that opens up the world of political leadership to all ? you get to make decisions as an MP for a week:

www.parliament.uk/education/online-resources/games/mp-for-a-week/

Recommended for KS2 and KS3!

I really think that to get the best leaders, we need to open up the opportunities wider.

[Vagaceratops]

I cringed when he bought his old teacher out - like he needed proof or something, just in case we didnt believe him.

[claig]

The Mail has some info on the school.

Miliband did get very good A level results, so we can't say that he had an easy way into Oxford

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2211962/Hardly-bog-standard--Ed-Milibands-days-Eton-lefties.html

His family wasn't wealthy and they were a political family. That is a sign that they really believed what they said. They were not ordinary Joes, but they are also not toffs.

It is important that politicians represent the people and understand how they live. They represent us, and should understand our lives and be in contact with ordinary people rather than living in ivory towers.

I think it was Clegg who thought that the old age pension was something like £30. That is not a good sign and shows how out of touch he was with the people he represents.

Some of these politicians are millionaires and have had all the privileges. They have chauffeur driven cars and some had expenses for duck houses and they get trips to Rio to discusss global warming. Some even introduced policies that fined struggling old-age pensioners £100 for not closing their bin lids (thankfully now scrapped by man of the people, the Tory Eric Pickles). That is why it is so important that politcians understand the lives of teh people they seek to represent.

We have seen on TV programmes, how good MPs have changed their views about the hardships of people living on benefits, when they have had to spend a week living on those council estates.

Miliband is not an ordinary Joe, but he is closer to all of us, has more empathy for us and understands us more than some of the toffs.

[losingtrust]

I went to a comp and am of immigrant stock although second generation from my father but would not vote for somebody simply because they did the same. It is all about the person. The politics for me is irrelevant. They all end up doing the same when they get into power or meddle for meddling's sake. Labour are just glad they can blaim Tories for the cuts and the tories are happy they can blaim labour for the financial problems. As long as they all give into their votes for their own personal political careers like Cameron and the single State Pension and Ed Milliband and the unions, they will all be utterly useless. The only two politicians I rate are Duncan Smith and Steve Webb. Funnily enough DS did go to my school when it was a secondary modern but that is not the reason. Both of them seem to be following their ideals although unpopular with some rather than their political careers. Also much preferred David to Ed.

[Viviennemary]

I've never liked Ed Miliband and thought his speech was nothing but waffle. He doesn't have any answers to the problems this country faces. All this one of the people nonsense is fooling nobody. The Labour Party has no chance unless they get somebody else to lead it. That's my opinion.

[Davros]

I know Haverstock School and agree with what aufaniae says about it. DM did grow up in Primrose Hill which used to be a bit of a dump in the 70s tbh, although dump is relative, it wasn't anything like it is now. The Millibands did live just round the corner from where Boris grew up. Same area, different outcome!
I had to turn off the Daily Politics last night to take advantage of a sick bag.
I am sick of hearing "blame the bankers", OK they did their bit but the Labour Govt spent ALL the money. I know, I got plenty of it thrown at me as the parent of a disabled child. I don't mean the money to pay for my DS to have a decent school and home life, but all the shite like "making mosaics" courses to make me feel better. And then there was the Child Trust Fund which DD got FFS.

[CogitoErgoSometimes]

"Miliband is not an ordinary Joe, but he is closer to all of us, has more empathy for us and understands us more than some of the toffs"

Right now, when the global economy is going to hell in a handcart & none of the options on the table are exactly pretty I suspect a lot of the electorate are not looking for hand-wringing empathy and understanding and couldn't give a shit whether it's from 'toffs' or 'Joes'. I think the reason Milliband is failing to score is that he's not nasty enough. Not saying the Tories have the monopoly on Machiavellian techniques but he doesn't come across as someone who could kick ass at the G7, put nuts in vices, threaten to show where the bodies are buried and whatever else it takes to get UK Plc back on the road. Maybe when things are a little rosier we can go back to touchy-feely, let's all worry about where we sat our O-levels politics.... I don't think it strikes the right chord at the moment.

[ElBurroSinNombre]

I think that the speech as a whole lacked substance - I only detected one firm policy commitment in the whole thing - to seperate venture capital banking from high street banking. For me, that is much more of a problem than Miliband's school posturing - although it is rather cynical to use the fact that you went to a comp. to gather votes. It is true that there are not that many state educated politicians - particularly near the top of their parties. To me, the major reason for this, is that Labour government's in the 70's abolished grammar schools in most of the country - one of the few ways in which some bright working class kids could get a good education. It is particularly ironic that the architects of this policy, Hattersley, Healy, Jenkins et al., were all highly educated, working class ex grammar school boys.

[Faxthatpam]

I think people feel disconnected from politicians and the political process - look at the stupendously low election turnouts ffs - and what Ed was trying to do was get people to reconnect. This is a worthy ambition imo and should be applauded, though a little ham fisted it was better than attempts by the absurd Boris Johnson - does anyone REALLY believe he would make a good PM??? I am open mouthed at his antics whenever he appears in public .
The life experience of a politician must count for something, and whatever the circumstances, a comp experience of any kind will be very different to the Eton experience of most of the cabinet.

[Fishwife1949]

The long and short is they choose the worng brother the unions bavked the worng horse or wallce as is the case

[claig]

'he doesn't come across as someone who could kick ass at the G7, put nuts in vices, threaten to show where the bodies are buried and whatever else it takes to get UK Plc back on the road'

Do you mean someone like Thrasher?