Morning Report – April 1st

No April Fools on LabourList this morning, but plenty in today’s papers. Ronaldo sold to Spain. A slightly less subtle “Aliens to visit royal wedding” from the Sun. And over in the Daily Mail, Tory minister David Willetts says that Feminism widened the poverty gap and set social mobility back decades. What do you mean that wasn’t an April Fool? Surely some mistake? Perhaps Willetts is just a fool anyway.

Elsewhere in the papers today, there’s plenty of discussion of Ed Miliband’s leadership, much of which uses some fairly apocalyptic language. Johann Hari has a plan to “save” Ed Miliband’s leadership. John Harris has “Five ways Labour can fight back“. We don’t mean to sound optimistic, but Labour are ten points ahead in the polls at the moment, not sinking without a trace. By way of contrast, arch-conservative Peter Oborne says Miliband is a “ruthless, talented and effective” Labour leader. If we’re honest, the truth probably lies somewhere between these assessments. Labour and Miliband are doing ok, they’re making progress, and they’re gaining traction. Improvement is needed, but nothing needs saving. Not yet.