Miliband’s not afraid to say what needs to be said

By Mark Ferguson / @MarkFergusonUK

There will be some bluster over the next twenty four hours over Ed Miliband’s comments on the BBC strikes next week (during Tory Party conference) and their impact. Debate will continue about whether Ed should have said anything, and whether he has effectively been able to call an end to the strike. I’d say this misses the point – what today has done is show Ed’s decision making in action again. This wasn’t an easy shout, but he didn’t allow it to drag on and made an early call. This shows two key things about his decision making which are crucial for understanding how Ed Miliband will approach future challenges.

Firstly, Ed Miliband doesn’t shy away from making tough decisions. As with his removal of Nick Brown earlier in the week, he is showing himself to be decisive and confident with the choices that are put infront of him. As today was the first day after our own conference it was the first opportunity for him to speak on the issue, and he did so clearly and without equivocation. It was a hard-headed decision, and a swiftly taken one.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, he has shown himself to be willing to stand alongside his Tory opponents and criticise something on the basis of fairness. Ed has already outlined a willingness to work with the government on some issues, but this goes a step further. If you’re looking for the “new politics”, and the grown-up dialogue that he spoke about on Tuesday, then surely wanting your opponents to have an equal platform is a prime example of it.

Of course, the focus on Ed’s comments misses the fact that several big players in BBC journalism made a statement yesterday in response to the proposed strike. There’s a vast difference between a strike that causes a blackout, and one that still sees Paxman and Nick Robinson take to the airwaves. Add to this the fact that the new BBC offer is believed to be in the order of millions of pounds better than the last one, then you have to consider whether or not it is the government, rather than the opposition, whose intervention was more important. Arguing that Ed brought the strike to an end ascribes powers to him that he simply does not have.

I’m aware of the argument that Ed must be careful not to be seen as someone who can decide if strike action goes ahead or not. I am aware that Ed will now be asked if each and every strike is appropriate (but then that would surely have happened anyway). But there’s a line in the sand for most people in the country when it comes to strikes, and that revolves around an essential sense of fairness – especially when it comes to the thorny subject of (potentially) high value pensions. Ed has placed himself firmly on one side of that divide tonight – and I think that’s to his credit.