Westminster tittle-tattle has become like off-putting mood music that actually obscures reality

Whenever the chatter in the Westminster bubble reaches fever pitch and the commentators begin whipping up their latest round of froth, there’s no better antidote than a surgery in my Pontypridd constituency, a street stall in Cardiff North or door knocking session in Aberconwy.

Try it yourself.  Next time you’re waiting for the bus or in the supermarket queue take a minute to have a chat with the person next to you, ask them about Parliament.

Chances are they’ll not be particularly bothered about the latest up and downs in the opinion polls (even the Ashcroft marginal ones), who said what to who in PMQs or the latest ‘witty’ sketch piece in the Telegraph.  If they were they’d probably know that over the course of this year there have been over 400 major polls and Labour has been ahead in almost every one – oh and those Ashcroft ones have Labour looking even stronger in the key seats.

However, so much of the Westminster tittle-tattle has become like off-putting mood music that actually obscures reality.  That’s not to say for a second that people aren’t interested in politics, quite the opposite.  It’s just that the vast majority of their concerns are firmly rooted in the real world.

At the moment it’s how are we going to pay for Christmas, are my kids going to be able to find a decent job or when are wages going to start rising faster than prices?

The fact that Ed Miliband is leading a party that is actually setting out answers to these questions is the very reason we will win next year’s General Election.

Just last week in the South Yorkshire police commissioner election, we won over half the votes cast, with UKIP trailing way behind.  Contrast that with Tories’ loss of Clacton to UKIP and the difficulties they’re having in Rochester.  To lose one MP is careless, lose two in a month and you’re in crisis.

The reality is the Tories couldn’t seal the deal with the voters at the last election and people still simply do not trust them to run the country.  Little wonder that so many of their friends in the media are starting to take a pop at Ed, in an attempt to deflect from Tory failings.

As a party we will stay united in the face of this criticism and have courage in our convictions.  Our pledges to freeze energy bills, ban exploitative zero hours contracts, reverse the Tories millionaires’ tax cut, increase the minimum wage and provide a jobs guarantee for young people will make a huge difference to the lives of working people.

The next general election will be the most important for a generation.  We will deliver on our obligations to the people that we got into politics to serve by not losing focus or wobbling in the face of media spin.

Owen Smith is Shadow Secretary of State for Wales