The British centre-left is dead
 

...at least for the next election cycle.

Ed Miliband, leader of Britain's opposition Labour party, being interviewed about his position on Thursday's public sector strikes:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2...ike-soundbites

The guy is so out of his depth it's a little uncomfortable to watch. Goodness knows what his defeated brother must be thinking.

I'm all for giving less media-friendly people a chance, giving them the time to explore policy positions and set out their position, but this is a joke.

Just get rid of him now, put him out of his and our misery. With the Tory-led coalition taking us down a dark path, the country needs a strong opposition leader now more than ever.

Re: The British centre-left is dead
 

the liberal democrats are the closest thing to anyone i would vote for (i live in the US).

Re: The British centre-left is dead
 

man. that was uncomfortable. funny. but uncomfortable. decks what is the context what the fuck is wrong with this guy? does he just have a string coming out of his back and someone keeps pulling it?

Re: The British centre-left is dead
 

Ed was elected party leader last September thanks largely to the way the party relies on union votes in leadership contests. Had it not been for that union support, his elder brother David would, without question, have won. For years, it had been assumed by most (including David himself, I think) that he (David) was going to be the next Labour leader - in fact we still believed it right up to the very last minute when the result was announced and his brother pipped him to his lifelong ambition.

Initially I was very pleased. Politically I always thought Ed was in about the same place as me on the spectrum - not the warmongering right of the party like David, not the militant left. I tended to share many of his views.

But I'll be damned... something about becoming leader has turned him into Supernerd!

I think inexperience and lack of self-assuredness has a lot to do with it. He was quite off-the-cuff and natural before. Also I think he's probably being poorly advised/managed. Like Gordon Brown before him.

Either way, it's a dismal thing to watch and unless he learns from it, he won't last another 12 months.

Re: The British centre-left is dead
 

(plus, no fault of his own, he sounds *dreadful* - not a good thing in modern politics)

Re: The British centre-left is dead
 

So wait Decks, just because this one guy is (damn), like (DAAAAAMN) ..... that or whatever, the whole party is dead?

Re: The British centre-left is dead
 

@jr

Re: The British centre-left is dead
 

Yeah there is that, unfortunately. The more I watch PMQs, the more "Prime Ministerial" Cameron seems when compared with Ed. In fact I'm ashamed to admit that I'm quite impressed at how PM-ial David Cameron sounds these days.

Still a twat of course. ;)

In retrospect I think I was too hard on Ed re. the above. I can now see just why he would have responded in that repetitive way to a pooled interview which the news organisations would have picked 10 seconds from. And to be fair, it's not his normal interview style.