Miliband branded “average” by Lord Sainsbury – Media roundup: May 13th, 2013

Is Labour going to turn the state upside down?

“Over the past month or so, I have been talking to a few people involved in the Labour policy review being led by Jon Cruddas, which seems to be pointing towards a three-part plan. Whether the leadership will buy in is unclear. The supposed realpolitik that underlies it is often hard to swallow, and many of its assumptions will cause people no end of annoyance, with good reason.But whereas most left responses to austerity are either fantastical or unrelentingly grim, this one has combination of realism and creativity. The essentials go something like this. Though there will be no reversal of existing cuts, in the context of George Osborne’s howling failure that loud debate about whether to stick to his post-2015 spending plans is completely misplaced. But at the same time, if Labour is to win the next election, it will have to commit to a set of iron, independently enforced fiscal commitments, perhaps to be met over a 10-year cycle, focused not just on the elimination of the deficit, but the ratio of public debt to national income – many of the consequences of which, to quote one Labour insider, could be “brutal”. Second, the party will need a clear-cut, demand-driven growth plan, based on a housebuilding blitz in particular. And how to square one with the other? The answer leads to the third part of the blueprint: a strong story about radically pruning central government, and pushing power downwards as never before.” – John Harris, Guardian

Miliband branded “average” by Lord Sainsbury

“The multimillionaire businessman and philanthropist who has given more than £12 million to the Labour Party has branded Ed Miliband an “average” politician, with an uninspiring political vision. In a rare interview, Lord Sainsbury of Turville, who bankrolled Labour through the Blair and Brown years, told The Times that he had no intention of donating to the party again.” – The Times(£)

Other highlights

• Balls to go? – The Sun
• Mandelson vs Unite – Guardian
• How Ed Miliband might save David Cameron – Kevin Maguire, Mirror
• Gordon Brown to speak up for the union – The Times(£)