5 key quotes from Ed Miliband’s Mirror interview – on refusing to measure the curtains, Ed Balls and David Miliband

There’s an interesting interview with Ed Miliband in The Mirror this morning, covering his views on the shadow cabinet, Ed Balls, David Miliband, welfare and the economy. Here are 5 key quotes from the interview:

Miliband says no-one in the Shadow Cabinet is guaranteed a job in government

“I have the same rule for everybody across the Shadow Cabinet. And it’s a very principled position, I am going to do nothing that’s about measuring the curtains…Why would you start naming your Cabinet two-and-a-half years before the election? Honestly.”

And on Ed Balls

“I think Ed Balls is doing a great job but I am not going to get into that.”

On a possible return for David Miliband

“Look, of course it was a bruising leadership contest and as time goes on that sort of recedes and that’s good for our relationship. I wouldn’t take it as indication about a change in his view he’s not coming back to the Shadow Cabinet – but the door is open.”

On the Tory strategy

“It’s now clear what the Government’s strategy is: it’s a divide and rule strategy. They haven’t succeeded in the first two-and-a-half years so they want to point the finger of blame at someone else so it doesn’t get pointed at them. And therefore they are trying to divide and rule.”

On Labour’s management of the economy vs Tory management of the economy

“First of all, there was a global economic crash. The real cause of the crash was regulation of the banks and a whole range of other things and we have taken responsibility for that…It wasn’t investment in schools and hospitals that led to the financial crisis, the financial crisis hit countries around the world. We take our share of responsibility for not having got regulation of the banks right. If the way that our country was to succeed was by cutting as far and fast as we could we would have seen success over the last two-and-a-half years, not a flat-lining economy.”