The Ed is not for turning

The mood at Progress conference hasn’t been terribly upbeat today. The opening session in particular had a mournful feel, with disappointing County Council election results providing some in the hall with the proof/ammunition to back up their disappointment with the way things are going.

In a way that’s no great surprise. Despite having been a former Vice Chair of Progress, Ed Miliband has been clear that he wants to make a break with New Labour. And yet whilst there’s a clear feeling within Progress than the party needs to adapt to the current political climate, it’s also fairly clear that the Progress vision and the Ed Miliband vision, whilst overlapping at times, are not entirely the same.

And whilst much of today’s conference has been spent discussing what Labour should be doing differently to win, Miliband’s speech made it clear that he thinks Labour is in the right place at this point in the electoral cycle if we want to win in 2015. There is a plan, he appeared to be saying, and it will not be buffeted by events.

The Ed is not for turning. As I’ve written already – he doesn’t panic, and he wonn’t deviate from his course. I happen to think we’re behind where we should be on definition of what a Labour Government would look like, and could do with some headline policies to explain what a One Nation Labour Party is really about – but it’s hard not to respect how completely calm he is, when lesser men might have crumbled. If his plan is the right one, and Labour makes the running over the next two years, he’ll get the praise he deserves, and the keys to No.10.

But if he doesn’t…

Yet the speech today betrayed little concern that Miliband fears the ignominy of failure. I’m genuinely not sure he’s considered the prospect that he might lose the next election – I know I have. That’s what keeps me awake at night. Ed Miliband, meanwhile, is keeping calm and carrying on.

I hope for all our sakes that he’s right.