Ed’s inbox – June 21st

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

If Ed Miliband could only read five blogposts each day, he’d read these ones…

Refounding Labour: Winning Back Power – Scarlet Standard
By Emma Burnell

The 2010 election was a tale of two campaigns. On the one hand there were member-led innovations like Mob Monday and #Labourdoorstep which got activists targeting their support and pooling their resources.

Sadly, the campaign at the top seemed unable to capture this spirit and equally unable to really give the activists the space they deserved to lead the campaigns. The one opportunity I remember where this was attempted was the dreadful, disastrous “Fire up the Quattro” poster. When one considers how many people that went through for approval, it is astonishing that not one of them had the gumption to wonder about the public attitude to this pop culture figure. While one poster is not all that important in the grand scheme of things, this was emblematic of how distanced from the public and the lived experience of ordinary people. – Read more.

Against strikes? Actually, people support unions – Liberal Conspiracy
By Sunny Hundal

We are told by newspaper commentators almost everyday that widespread union strikes would not have public support.

Except, a poll by Populus this week has found the opposite. Bizarre that newspapers chose not to report on it.

Statements polled by Populus: – Read more.

Mapping the alternative – Progress
By Robert Philpot

The opprobrium that was heaped upon Labour’s former general secretary, Peter Watt, when he called in May on the party to adopt a little more realism in its response to the coalition’s cuts is a worrying indication of how narrow the space for debate on the party’s economic policy has become.

If it’s not expressed in the language of ‘too far, too fast’ and ‘heartless Tory cuts’, then it is held to be divisive, dangerously rightwing and a betrayal of all that Labour stands for.

I don’t agree with Watt’s view that Labour should simply accept the plans laid out by George Osborne in last year’s spending review. The current performance of the economy indicates that it is struggling to bear the degree of fiscal tightening Osborne is implementing. – Read more.

Are all these u-turns damaging David Cameron? – The Staggers
By Samira Shackle

Today’s polls show that the PM’s personal approval ratings are dropping, and voters no longer see him as “decisive”.

Following last week’s high profile retreat on the NHS, today brings the news that the coalition is to abandon its plans to offer 50 per cent sentencing reductions for criminals who plead guilty.

These about turns in policy are nothing new. David Cameron’s government has previously u-turned on scrapping free school milk, school sports, the housing benefit cap, and privatising forests.

While listening to public reaction could be seen as a strength, it could also be a sign of rushed and poorly thought through policy. Are these u-turns on policy damaging the coalition? – Read more.

Ed Miliband ‘more unpopular than Nick Clegg’ – Harry’s Place
By Gordon MacMillan

A little while ago Ed Miliband’s rating among voters was only 1% higher than Nick Clegg. Only 22% saw him as a good leader of the Labour Party. His approval rating even before the lacklustre performance in the elections was only 24%. An earlier YouGov poll placed Clegg and Ed Miliband on an equal footing with the public seeing both as out of their depth.

A new ICM poll today reveals those poor ratings are not a blip. The ICM poll says Ed Miliband is now even more unpopular than Nick Clegg. Who would have though that was even possible? The public really do not like the younger Miliband. – Read more.