Ed Miliband will speak, but not march, at TUC rally

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Ed Miliband is expected to address the TUC rally on March 26th, but is highly unlikely to join the march beforehand. LabourList understands that Miliband has always intended to speak at the TUC rally, but the word from the leader’s office on Miliband joining the marchers is “don’t hold your breath”.

Interest in Miliband’s plans for March 26th rose again today, after activist and writer Owen Jones asked shadow cabinet member Peter Hain if Miliband would be joining protesters on March 26th. Hain replied that Miliband would – leading Jones to report this over at Liberal Conspiracy. Hain later sought to clarify that Miliband would be speaking, rather than marching.

Whilst statements coming out of the party are somewhat ambiguous, it is understood that Miliband will address the rally, entitled “March for the Alternative: Jobs, Growth, Justice”, which is expected to be the biggest protest yet against government cuts.

What we can now expect is that the Tories will attempt to tie Labour to an alternative deficit reduction plan (as showcased by Sayeeda Warsi’s rather clumsy attack on Miliband this afternoon, which suggested Miliband was being indecisive). Tory insiders believe that the TUC wants to see the deficit reduced over decades, rather than halved within four years under the Darling plan, and will seek to claim that this somehow signifies a shift in Labour’s position. It doesn’t.

Miliband must be wise to this tactic, and fight back against the assertion that by speaking at a rally with the TUC, or any other group, he wholeheartedly backs the entirety of their agenda. To make such a claim is to hold Miliband to a different standard than Conservative politicians, who aren’t assumed to share the views of any organisations that they might address.