Stepping out of the Political Game – why Ed needs to play by himself

Hardly an article has been written about Ed Miliband that hasn’t mentioned his image problem. Still haunted by comparisons to his more presentable and charismatic older brother, the Labour leader has struggled to convince people of his ability to head the party and the country.

But what is the quality that some politicians seem to posses that allows them to convince the public of their competence, regardless of whether they actually possess it or not? And should we be placing such importance on this ostensibly superficial aspect of leadership? To me, the clear answer to this is no. By ranking appearance as so important, we are encouraging politicians to spend more time coming up with sound bites that appeal to the public than they do formulating policy that is sound. This only serves to justify the untrustworthy and shallow political atmosphere that we also all despair of. An interesting undercurrent from a number of speakers at the Fabian conference on Saturday was a call for a different kind of politics.

In his speech at the conference, Ed Balls made this call expressly, saying the Labour party has “a duty to make the right argument on growth and jobs – even if this has put us outside the consensus for a time.” He criticised those who agree with Labour’s stimulus approach to the economy, but who resist advocating it on the basis that it is “‘out of tune’ with the public mood” and therefore “bad politics”. This, Balls said, is not honest politics. This goes a way to explaining the apparent u-turn in Labour’s stance on cuts that he announced in his speech; it is hard to miss this reversal as damaging to the credibility of Labour’s ‘economic alternative’, but it is, in the current situation, what he believes the country’s economy will need. Changing policy and admitting mistakes will not win public confidence, but it is honest, and brave.

Ed Balls’ sentiment was echoed in the conference’s ‘Credibility versus Compassion’ session. The debate looked at whether Labour’s economic credibility was compatible with the party’s compassion for those feeling the cuts. Speaking on the panel, Peter Kellner stated that “Labour’s fight-back must be rooted in courage and honesty”, since, whilst in opposition, we only have words to convince people with. A fair point, and backed up by ‘truths’ he believes Labour must accept (dealt with in more detail in The Fabian Society’s soon-to-be-released ebook on the conference). However the kind of politics we now need is not one that should be borne of a desire to be in power, since it is then focused on what is popular and not what is right. Honest politics should be an end in itself, and only this way will it actually be honest.

Politics needs to make a move towards a more responsible and long-term vision. Ed Miliband has been saying the same thing about capitalism for a year, and now this ethical vision must be extended. And Ed Miliband must be representative of this honest politics. It is precisely because he lacks the easy charisma of David Cameron or David Miliband that he is in the strongest position to do this. He needs to play to his strengths and stop trying to compete in the political game of appearances that he is so clearly losing at. He doesn’t posses the style to hide behind, so he can, and must, offer substance in its place. By imitating his words on a fairer capitalism, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems have started to offer his substance vindication.

Labour may have conceded a series of points on the economy, including how their recent back-tracking on cuts has been perceived, and they will probably continue to do so in the future. However if Labour stay focused on the long game, their honest politics can still win out. They must stand strong on what they believe is right, and if they don’t they will fall into the dishonest, short-term point winning that has caused such distrust in politics and politicians. Having paved the way to a fairer capitalism, Labour must now make a strong call for better politics.