It’s still just bones, but there’s a debate being framed too

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

Today’s Progress speech from Ed Miliband was clearly pitched at the party. Returning to many of the themes he focused on at the leadership contest last summer. There was a reprise of the mea culpa of what Ed thinks we did wrong in office. But there was also a big plug for Blue Labour, and a nod to the sense of community and the loss of a social contract. In some ways it was the leadership speech painted blue.

Much of the speech was hard to argue with. Labour needs to win across the whole country. Labour needs to regain the trust of the country. Community and responsibility is important. He sketched out an optimistic vision of what Labour’s offer to the country should be.As an analysis of our failings and the distance left to go it felt accurate and authentic. His three big issues (the new inequality, the promise of Britain, strengthened communities) all need to be tackled, although it may have been clearer if he had focused on just one. The new inequality feels the most fertile ground for now. But what this was about was framing the future, and beginning to create dividing lines with the Tories. What is their response to the the new inequality? It’s a good question to ask of course, because they don’t have one.

Ed gave the speech with vigour and pace – and no little conviction. This is clearly an agenda that he believes in and feels invested in. Sometimes that seemed like he rushed over some obvious applause lines, which is a shame. Ed Miliband gets numerous rounds of applause from Progress is a headline that could have been helpful. But it will also provide his critics with ammunition, because there’s still an absence of how Labour can achieve the goals that end set out today.

Yet the bones of Labour’s policy review are on show. Ed is providing the rough direction of travel (and it still is a bit rough) – the party is gearing up to start putting some meat on those bones. At the moment it feels like Ed is trapped in something of a holding pattern. he knows the direction of travel but without the policies in hand he can’t give us his route to victory. But it’s coming, and that’s a relief.