UK General Election 2015

[kukushkin88]

Why do people see Red Ed as do incompetent? Has he actually done anything that wrong or is it just a mainstream media view that people are regurgitating? I'd like some proof or links please, facts and stuff! So disillusioned with the political system I don't really anticipate voting.

Yep, absolutely this. It´s just become a popular thing to say for people towards the right of the spectrum who want to pretend that they´ve been paying attention. Other than missing out a small part of the speech at the conference, let´s see a link to anything that at first hand suggests Ed Milliband is incompetent.

[Doobs]

Why do people see Red Ed as do incompetent? Has he actually done anything that wrong or is it just a mainstream media view that people are regurgitating? I'd like some proof or links please, facts and stuff! So disillusioned with the political system I don't really anticipate voting.

It is just the way he comes across.  It isn't a new thing either, it looked like a bad idea right on day 1 from where I sat.  They had an elder statesmanlike brother who seemed very competent and his younger brother who sounded like a student politician.  

The whole thing was unfathomable to me.

I've been able to see good in pretty much every Labour leader over the years, and even had a lot of time for Neil Kinnock.  

Even if you get past the way he looks and sounds, he just seems to latch on to things that aren't going to win him votes, and I am really struggling to think of things he has ever said that have reasonated with me.  Sometimes you hear Farage speak, and even if you disagree with all he stands for, you can think that was powerful.  With Ed, almost never.

[Kmac84]

Why do people see Red Ed as do incompetent? Has he actually done anything that wrong or is it just a mainstream media view that people are regurgitating? I'd like some proof or links please, facts and stuff! So disillusioned with the political system I don't really anticipate voting.

Yep, absolutely this. It´s just become a popular thing to say for people towards the right of the spectrum who want to pretend that they´ve been paying attention. Other than missing out a small part of the speech at the conference, let´s see a link to anything that at first hand suggests Ed Milliband is incompetent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITF9DYPtLno

Have you ever seen anyone look so lost?

[Kmac84]

Or this, the guy is an incompetent arsehole. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/02/11/ed-miliband-floods-alok-sharma_n_4766468.html

[nirvana]

It's not so much incompetence as the lack of anything to connect with. Lacks any ability to persuade me of any real conviction or authenticity and operating in a really narrow traditional space of 'we care, they don't' shamateur dramatics.

[AndrewT]

The problem with Ed Miliband is that he became leader by mistake.

Once he was elected Labour quickly realised they'd fucked up big time. Alan Johnson was sounded out as a replacement so Ed could be bundled into a sack and thrown in a river, but he wasn't up for it, so Labour are stuck with him, so have to make the best of it.

If anyone else is Labour leader right now there's no talk of hung parliaments - the debate is how big the Labour majority is.

[nirvana]

The problem with Ed Miliband is that he became leader by mistake.

Once he was elected Labour quickly realised they'd fucked up big time. Alan Johnson was sounded out as a replacement so Ed could be bundled into a sack and thrown in a river, but he wasn't up for it, so Labour are stuck with him, so have to make the best of it.

If anyone else is Labour leader right now there's no talk of hung parliaments - the debate is how big the Labour majority is.

Yep. Pretty reckless disregard for his lack of any meaningful credentials i thought then and more so now.

[kukushkin88]

Good posts on the Milliband situation. I genuinely do think he´ll step up at the TV debates, apparently Cameron and Crosby think he will too.

[redsimon]

If The Tories fail to win in May, will Cameron go down as the 2nd worst Tory leader in history? (IDS must be tied first with Hague?)

Couldn't beat the least popular PM (Gordon Brown) and couldn't beat the least popular Labour leader in Ed M.?

[kukushkin88]

I´m not sure Cameron should shoulder that much of the blame, it seems civilised countries with high standards of education and reasonably high standards of living don´t vote for parties on the right. I accept the gaps between the options are often small but since the early 90´s we have 2 wins for the parties on the right in Britain and America (none in Britain) in 9 elections and in one of those it has subsequently been proven that the incorrect result was returned (GWB the first time). Seems to me our countries have moved on from right wing politics and life has never been better because of it.

[KarmaDope]

I´m not sure Cameron should shoulder that much of the blame, it seems civilised countries with high standards of education and reasonably high standards of living don´t vote for parties on the right. I accept the gaps between the options are often small but since the early 90´s we have 2 wins for the parties on the right in Britain and America (none in Britain) in 9 elections and in one of those it has subsequently been proven that the incorrect result was returned (GWB the first time). Seems to me our countries have moved on from right wing politics and life has never been better because of it.

Has it really?

Culture/society certainly hasn't been better. Look at children for example. When I was growing up (I'm 29 before anyone cracks the old fart joke), I spent most of my evenings outside playing with my mates in the street. This was in the Major/early Blair years. I did a lot more physical activity, didnt get into trouble with the police, and generally enjoyed my childhood.

Now I drive down the same street (Mum still lives there) and it's like a ghost town. Kids still live there, but they're inside, on their own, staring at a computer screen. This is partly because of technology, but also because mothers are nannied by the state and are too scared to let their kids out for fear of paedos/getting hit by a car/health and safety crap etc and kids just arent growing up with the ability to communicate with people face to face.

I'm not political. I dont see the need, I live in a safe seat so my vote doesn't count as much as some seats do. That's a fact of life. All my vote does is reduce/extend the majority dependent on which way I decide to vote. But I am affected. I work in the NHS. The amount of money there that is wasted sickens me, and it was Labour that started it, but you try telling the country that the NHS needs to have its budget lowered. Not happening. No political party would dare do that!

[TightEnd]

If The Tories fail to win in May, will Cameron go down as the 2nd worst Tory leader in history? (IDS must be tied first with Hague?)

Couldn't beat the least popular PM (Gordon Brown) and couldn't beat the least popular Labour leader in Ed M.?

think this is too simplistic

the Tories have had a good chunk of their right/looney right vote go into UKIP, probably 10%+ in polls and 2m votes come May
I know some of this will be from labour voters, but its mostly tory

its only the vagaries of first past the post that mean this vote size does not translate into more seats. too

in this environment labour should be storming to an overall majority

the decision to elect Ed M (competent or not, he just does not convince as a potential leader) which was borne out of a union bloc vote to stop the centrist david milliband getting elected must go down as one of the worst political leadership results in recent times

meanwhile david milliband, a genuinely impressive politician as foreign secretary, is exiled in new york while the best labour have to hope for is the horror (to labour) of a snp coalition or the muddle of a lib dem one

i also don't accept that IDS or Hague are the worst ever. On the same principal do we accept that Michael Foot (a very gifted politican) wa the worst ever labour leader?

its too results orientated. All three had to lead their part after heavy election defeats where almost no one would have been electable as the head of their pary, such was the tide that was against them

[DungBeetle]

I´m not sure Cameron should shoulder that much of the blame, it seems civilised countries with high standards of education and reasonably high standards of living don´t vote for parties on the right. I accept the gaps between the options are often small but since the early 90´s we have 2 wins for the parties on the right in Britain and America (none in Britain) in 9 elections and in one of those it has subsequently been proven that the incorrect result was returned (GWB the first time). Seems to me our countries have moved on from right wing politics and life has never been better because of it.

New Labour under Tony Blair weren't right wing!???  Come on.  Blair won landslides because he dragged Labour away from the left.

[AndrewT]

I think, in retrospect, that Hague became leader too soon - in recent years he's had an odd aura of competence and gravitas that he didn't have when leader.

IDS is simply an idiot - Westminster/Civil Service chatter has it that he is possibly the most intellectually subpar major politician in recent memory.

[DungBeetle]

Why do people see Red Ed as do incompetent? Has he actually done anything that wrong or is it just a mainstream media view that people are regurgitating? I'd like some proof or links please, facts and stuff! So disillusioned with the political system I don't really anticipate voting.

Yep, absolutely this. It´s just become a popular thing to say for people towards the right of the spectrum who want to pretend that they´ve been paying attention. Other than missing out a small part of the speech at the conference, let´s see a link to anything that at first hand suggests Ed Milliband is incompetent.

I think he's probably very competent and an extremely smart bloke.   Unfortunately for him, this is different to being seen as a Statesman.  He just doesn't come across as either inspirational or a leader.  This is partly the impact of how the media portray him, but he doesn't help himself sometimes.

If you ask me if Miliband would be a hugely effective member of a cabinet I would say absolutely.  But representing the country in discussion with Putin, Merkel etc.  Not for me.

Perhaps that impression shouldn't matter.  But it does to the electorate.