So this is opposition?

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

For the Labour Party, the transition into opposition has been hard. The first few weeks you can handle in a strange, almost numb, sort of way. The election and then the protracted will they/won’t they of the coalition negotiations meant that there was something almost unreal about it when it finally came.

Through the next few weeks there’s the mental transition phase, when you have to stop yourself thinking of Gordon Brown when someone says “The Prime Minister” on the radio. You begin to take proper notice of some of the Tory MPs who by now run government departments (and stranger and more unknown still – Lib Dems who run departments).

Most of us were able to stave off the real adjustment to opposition by focussing on the leadership contest, with it’s recognisable faces and appealing policies. Better still, our vote (or votes) actually felt like they meant something. The leadership contest was our methadone, weening us off the drug of government.

For months we lived off the final high-octane burst, as a new leader was selected at conference and a “new generation” took control of the party. We got to see our new leader and his team in battle straight away. Acronyms such as CSR and SDSR kept them (and us) busy.

Briefly there was intrigue, the whiff of rebellion, the stench of revolt. It passed. Quickly, and predictably, the leadership became comfortable with their new roles. Miliband assembled (and continues to build) a team around him for the long fight ahead. And so has the Prime Minister.

Almost nine months into opposition, both Cameron and Miliband now have their feet under the table. The weekly wednesday skirmishes will continue. The attacks from both sides will come and go. But we’re in to something of a pattern now. This parliament is likely to be a long haul for Labour. It’s likely to last at least another four years. What matters now is not how things look tomorrow, but how they look in 2015. That’s going to mean plenty of time outside the spotlight, and plenty of time for reflection. So this is opposition? Horrible isn’t it.