Party Conference will be the making – or breaking – of Ed Miliband

By Alex White / @iamalexwhite

This month’s LabourList State of the Party survey makes for depressing reading. Whilst the phone-hacking scandal had given us hope of a renewed, purpose-driven leadership based on morality and a freedom away from the constraints of relations with Wapping, it has amounted to nothing of note. Ed Miliband has failed to build on it.

He needs to make an impact and he needs to make it soon, else the slowly decreasing lead Labour have in the polls will turn into a game of ‘Chase the Tories’.

This turn of fate from leading the polls to being level is not about ideology; it is not about whether you are left or right of the party. It is a clear rejection of the tactic which Ed Miliband has employed so far – oppose every government initiative, every act and every proposal. It is ugly opposition. To be fair, it worked for a period of time. It frustrated the government, it provided those opposed to such draconian cuts with a voice. But as the anger of the cuts moves on to worry over growth and improving public services on a budget, Labour and Miliband are left with our necks sticking out. And that is dangerous territory.

This conference will shape his leadership. It will need big policy reveals founded on bold ideas. We don’t have the enviable position of the Conservatives who can play to the headlines rather than having to win core voters back as well. We as a party must focus on building foundations for an election – no matter when that is. That means making noise that matters; on public services, law and order and defence. If Ed Miliband walks out of conference having simply opposed every single Tory policy he will know his days are numbered. We need pro-Labour rhetoric, not just anti-Tory speeches.

And what of the supporting cast? The LabourList survey this month put three of our shadow cabinet as ‘untouchables’. Maybe that is so, but Ed Balls, Andy Burnham and Yvette Cooper have plenty to play for – and so do the rest. What rides on this conference is more than just setting out an agenda for a return to progressive power. It isn’t inevitable that Ed Miliband will be leader of the party at the next election. And if there is one thing to learn from the recent release of Alistair Darling’s memoirs it is that inability to seize the moment in a leadership challenge only weakens the party and isolates the leader. We do not need another Gordon Brown-type leadership; where credible alternative candidates fall by the wayside in fear of speaking out.

It is time for a brave new approach to both policy and communications. We can be a united party as well as having individuals being bold in their approach to setting out a new direction for Labour. But what is clear is that this tactic of opposing the government only works for a short period of time, and if we are a party serious about returning to power, the leadership must finally begin to spell out what we stand for.

Conference boosts morale amongst the PLP, staff and activists. It sets the tone for the next political year; just look at Tony Blair’s final conference speech. He called on us to take the fight to the Tories. That never really happened under a comparatively poor leadership, but it must now. The Labour Party should realise its identity at conference.

So, alongside a party united, the message from members of the shadow cabinet must be one of force and direction. Not to trigger a leadership challenge – that is not what we need at the moment – but to provide the electorate and party activists with the hope that there can be a brighter future. Else the fear is we will see yet another weak leadership follow in Ed Miliband’s wake.