Ed doesn’t panic – Dave does little else

Many people in the Labour Party have had an (entirely justified) wobble over the past week. I know I have. As much as we might want Ed Miliband to stride into Downing Street in two years time, it’s hard not to feel like that prospect is still some way off yet – especially after last week’s ok (but not good enough) election results.

Miliband needs to start setting out his vision for Britain in concrete terms and move away from convoluted abstractions. There are countless people imploring him to support or oppose this or that policy position at any one time. No doubt Progress Conference tomorrow – at which Miliband is the keynote speaker – will feature more in that vein. Whether more borrowing or less, bold pledges or modest ones, re shaping capitalism or adopting Osborne’s spending plans – a large chunk of the Labour Party just wants Miliband to lead us one way or another. At least that way we’d truly know where we stand.

And yet what’s remarkable about the Labour leader is that none of this seems to unduly trouble or distract him. Good election results, bad polls, criticism and praise – he genuinely seems to treat these imposters just the same. That presumably takes a tremendous amount of self belief – and if Labour wins in 2015, it’ll prove a tremendous asset. Of course if Labour loses then it will doubtless be argued that a little less self belief and a little more reactive style of leadership might have been the order of the day.

Only the voters will get to decide which outcome prevails.

But what we do know is what having a completely reactive, panicky PM looks like. David Cameron’s leadership has been marred by a slide from uber-modernisation to desperate pleaing with his backbenchers. U-turns have invariably taken place for party political reasons rather than sound government reasons – but the latest is perhaps the most farcical.

The Prime Minister could actually vote to amend his own Queen’s Speech.

That is quite possibly the most ridiculous rumour I have ever heard rattling around the corridors of Westminster – and believe me, I’ve heard some corkers – made even worse by the fact that it is so completely believable.

Whilst Ed Miliband stays ice cold (impressively, but also somewhat frustratingly), the Prime Minister is allowing his every move to be dictated by a growing sense of panic. And I’ll take stupendous self belief induced calm over desperate, crowd pleasing panic any day of the week.