Mehdi Hasan

Mehdi Hasan’s polemical take on politics, economics and foreign affairs

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The sound of a consensus cracking...

Breaking news! Right-wing pundits now admit that they underestimated Ed Miliband.

By Mehdi Hasan Published 21 May 2012 11:54

Source: Getty Images

What's that I hear? The sound of a consensus cracking?

Since 4.50pm on Satuday 25 September 2010, commentators on the right and on the so-called "centre" of the political spectrum have queued up to dismiss Ed Miliband as a lightweight, a cipher, a left-wing loon, "Red Ed", who would consign Labour to electoral oblivion in 2015 and beyond. They collectively mourned his brother David's narrow defeat.

"By choosing Ed Miliband, Labour has handed David Cameron the next election," read the headline to Matthew D'Ancona's column in the Sunday Telegraph the next day.

"On Saturday, David Cameron won the next general election," declared D'Ancona in his opening line, adding: "Could it really have chosen the wrong Miliband? Yes, it could."

"Will Labour be dead with Red Ed?" read the headline to Martin Ivens's column in the Sunday Times, also on 26 September.

"In No 10 last week some were looking forward to an Ed victory for the least flattering of reasons," wrote Ivens. "'There will be rejoicing in Tory towns all over the country if Ed wins,' a top Conservative strategist told me."

"The party voted for David Miliband but got the Panda instead," read the headline to John Rentoul's column in the Independent on Sunday.

"Ed Miliband, who would have struggled against David Cameron in the House of Commons in any event, is going to be roasted every week," argued Rentoul, an ardent Blairite, adding: "I fear that he fights with both hands tied behind his back."

Now, however, more than a year and a half later, following a shambolic budget from George Osborne and impressive gains for Labour in the local elections, those same commentators (and others) have changed their tune and are queuing up to warn against the new and looming threat posed by the Labour leader.

Here's D'Ancona in yesterday's Sunday Telegraph:

It is time to start thinking seriously about Prime Minister Miliband – to roll those words around your mouth. Whatever response the 42-year-old Labour leader provokes within you – and he has always inspired a broad range of reaction – only a fool would ignore his party’s steady progress in the local elections and commanding lead in the opinion polls (15 points ahead of the Tories in the last two YouGov surveys). The cement of popular opinion has not yet set in Miliband’s favour. But let us be objective: after two months of Coalition “omnishambles”, one has to consider that it might yet do so.

To be fair to D'Ancona, the former Spectator editor also added:

When the younger Miliband defeated his brother for the Labour leadership in September 2010 by a tiny twist of the DNA helix, many – including the present writer – thought he lacked the bearing of a future PM. But it must be conceded that he is learning, and fast.

Here's Martin Ivens in yesterday's Sunday Times:

[O]ne May morning in 2015 we could wake up with Ed Miliband as prime minister — even if there are no cheering crowds to greet the dawn with him as they did Tony Blair. Apathy, despair over a miserable economic outlook and a low turnout could return Labour to office...

The headline of the column?

How Miliband could make it to No 10

Meanwhile, in yesterday's Independent on Sunday, John Rentoul, through gritted teeth, acknowledged how

Cameron has allowed Ed Miliband to re-forge the coalition of the Blairites and Brownites. Peter Mandelson co-authored an article on the economy with Ed Balls, and Andrew Adonis returned to the fold to review Labour's industrial policy.

The political consensus has been well and truly cracked. The pack is on the move. Finally. It's taken a while but they seem to have got there in the end.

"Having spent the past six months studying him for our book, I have one piece of advice for Ed Miliband's conservative critics: don't misunderestimate him," I wrote in a column in the Guardian back in June 2011.

Those were the days when I got knocked by the right for daring to write such pieces. So, Matthew, Martin, John - great to have you onboard!

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Tags: Ed Miliband media Labour

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36 comments

Wed, 2012-07-25 03:41 — wengfeng1989

http://www.michaelkorswholesaler.com/

Wed, 2012-07-25 03:40 — wengfeng1989

charlie burgess that somes it all up really

Sat, 2012-05-26 21:27 — martybee (not verified)

Judging purely on persona the only person I could see as a potential PM??..Major?..no. Blair?.. no Brown? Yes. and look how that turned out. The current incumbent is the worst of the lot.

Fri, 2012-05-25 18:29 — john P reid (not verified)

charlie burgess that somes it all up really

Tue, 2012-05-22 22:48 — Rev Graeme Hancocks (not verified)

A big mistake to underestimate EM. He hs a history of slowly building support and coming up and overtaking the obvious candidate. Sarkozy discovered the perils of underestimating your opponent.

Tue, 2012-05-22 18:32 — Matt Thompson (not verified)

Ed got advice from B-Liar. Now he is telling people what they want to hear. The horrors of Nu-Labour all over again. Do people ever learn?

Mon, 2012-05-28 12:45 — Terry Collmann (not verified)

The surest sign of an intellectual nonentity is someone who repeats "B-Liar" and "Nu-Labour" tediously in every comment they make. It wasn't clever 10 years ago and it certainly isn't clever now.

Tue, 2012-05-22 14:30 — A T (not verified)

Thanks for this positive article Medhi! Sorry you're leaving but have fun at HuffPo!

As to some of the comments here, I am way outside the Westminster bubble and I want Ed M as PM! All those lost in negative personality-bashing of Ed are totally missing the point - it's all a big Tory distraction, a way of getting people to ignore the havoc they are wreaking on the public sector and their endemic incompetence.

Tue, 2012-05-22 14:02 — Charles Frith (not verified)

Sycophantic writing

Tue, 2012-05-22 13:53 — SoapboxL (not verified)

I always thought it was a bit strange of the coalition supporters to claim Ed is an unelectable leader considering they have two.

Tue, 2012-05-22 12:59 — Spleenboy (not verified)

Has this article been written by Labour Central Office. I take it any pretence of the free thinking press has finally been laid to rest here: very sad indeed.
The best ideas and thinking are forged through critique, not this horrible sycophantic political tribalism.

Tue, 2012-05-22 12:14 — Pardeep (not verified)

It is a sign of the ongoing demise of politics that an empty vessel such as Dead Ed has to be lauded as a political giant by those on the liberal left. The guy has never held a political conviction in his life, he drifted into the Labour party through family contacts and drifted in the leadership of the party despite no one knowing what he believes in. His only arguament appears to be that Labour under him will do exactly the same stuff the ConDems are doing, but in a different order. Inspiring stuff I'm sure you'll agree. No wonder no one bothers to vote and the only people to get excited by the state of Tweedle Dee/Tweedle Dum politics that now exist are those who work in the media.

Tue, 2012-05-22 11:49 — Kaiser Franz Joseph (not verified)

Well ....

Bye Bye Mehdi.

Apparantly we all get blocked for using the K....r word these days.
Older readers might recall the K word was White Supremacist word for Black people in Apartheid SA, so nice one Mehdi.

Have the NS finally realised what an unpleasant little Islamist you are? I wonder why it took them so long?
Perhaps this is the beginning of the Left realising that Islamism =Islamofascism. Your demise is worth cracking open a beer anyway.

Never can trust anyone who shows such a dislike of our Canine chums.

Tue, 2012-05-22 11:18 — Sam Gisoad (not verified)

Just because the tories are tanking, it hardly makes for a ringing endorsement for Ed Miliband. It means the tories are tanking. Labour would have been better with any other leader, and the tories would be in a far, far worse position. He is probably still their greatest electoral asset.

Literally the only people who think he is a capable leader are Ed himself and Mehdi. Did you actually read those quotes?

"even if there are no cheering crowds to greet the dawn with him as they did Tony Blair. Apathy, despair over a miserable economic outlook and a low turnout could return Labour to office..."

that's "admitting they underestimated Ed"?

And, just checking, but "misunderestimate" as a deliberate nod to Bushisms, yes? Hope so.

Tue, 2012-05-22 11:05 — james 22222 (not verified)

rubbish article. too much in the bubble.

Tue, 2012-05-22 11:02 — cuthbert statesman (not verified)

Could easily be as devious as his brother. Not sure i could vote for his party

Tue, 2012-05-22 08:58 — ep (not verified)

If the Tories weren't worried about Ed Miliband , they and their media cronies would have given him a much easier ride from the word go

Mon, 2012-05-21 20:53 — november (not verified)

too be fair we all mocked Cameron when he became leader, we mocked as posh boy, a idiot and guy with no core believes, A man that could never be prime minster.

Well look where are are now. We prime minster Cameron, a posh boy, an idiot, and leader with no core believes.

Thu, 2012-06-21 11:28 — crossbencher (not verified)

couldnt win an election for the tories when labour were in a right mess
under brown

Mon, 2012-05-21 19:42 — AndyPijkujik (not verified)

Just so no one forgets, here it it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4hpfqFt-0Q

Tue, 2012-05-22 22:21 — Endurance (not verified)

I guess you hope people will only watch the first part.

Mon, 2012-05-21 19:18 — hugh markey (not verified)

Politics in the UK is a team game. Cameron tried to remain aloft, above the fray, leaving it to his ministers to take the flak.
Now Cameron has been given a suicide pass by J. Hunt.
Butterfingers!

First Fifteen

Tue, 2012-05-22 13:05 — Spleenboy (not verified)

I believe hospital pass is the phrase you are looking for.

Mon, 2012-05-21 19:09 — Ziggy (not verified)

Ta ta Medhi ta ta.....I take it you took up the offer of the Presidency of the NUS?

Mon, 2012-05-21 18:57 — AndyPijkujik (not verified)

And I see the NS now censor the postings. Poor little Medhi is not allowed to use the term k@ffir, as it is a profanity.

Is that why you are leaving?

Mon, 2012-05-21 18:56 — AndyPijkujik (not verified)

Bye bye Medhi off, not sorry to see you go to scream at the k@ffir and animals at the HuffPo.

What a promotion!

Hahahahahahahahaha.......

Mon, 2012-05-21 18:41 — Ziggy (not verified)

Medhi is it correct you have been potted?

Mon, 2012-05-21 18:13 — Ian Hunter (not verified)

Mehdi - he's not actually won it yet. I hope that he does but I'm worried that you're being a bit premature and may have to eat your words if he blows it between now and the election. Labour's only ahead in the polls because the Tories are screwing it up and not because of any positive feeling towards Ed. Labour can't afford to be complacent - remember Neil Kinnock was ahead for months in the run up to the 1992 election and look what happened. Ed needs to be more assertive in attacking the Tories for what's happening in the economy. Cameron's going through a rough patch just now but it would be risky to underestimate him. Although their policies on the economy aren't working there's still still plenty of time for the Tories to turn it around before the election. And, while he still manages to convince the public that the mess caused by the bankers was Labour's fault they'll have a chance of winning.

Mon, 2012-05-21 17:44 — stevem1940 (not verified)

The worst criticism came from the Blairites in his own party. Traitors all!

Mon, 2012-05-21 17:44 — stevem1940 (not verified)

The worst criticism came from the Blairites in his own party. Traitors all!

Mon, 2012-05-21 17:44 — stevem1940 (not verified)

The worst criticism came from the Blairites in his own party. Traitors all!

Mon, 2012-05-21 16:40 — Herbert (not verified)

I think we all knew that when capitalism decided it needed a dose of Keynes Ed would be discovered to be a 'great statesman'.

Mon, 2012-05-21 16:35 — Charlie Burgess (not verified)

Isn't Medhi Hasan missing the point? The commentators don't think Miliband is any better than he was - it is just that the Tories have had a dip from which he cannot fail to gain.

Mon, 2012-05-21 13:34 — NeilMc (not verified)

I think it's more that the right wing press 'Over-estimated' Cameron. Now we have a choice of leaders who are in minus points in terms of acceptability and confidence.

Just what we need with the economy stagnating, society in breakup, and the EU in meltdown. All we need is some more socialism to finally finish the UK!

Mon, 2012-05-21 13:12 — Disaster (not verified)

I don't care what journalists are saying - the fact that I will be presented with a choice between Ed Milliband or David Cameron at the next election makes me feel sick.

It is fanciful to pretend Ed Milliband is doing well in opinion polls. I, along with, it seems like the rest of the public, still consider him to be dire. BUT he is not as dire as David Cameron. So Ed Milliband might win the next election by not being as terrible as the other bloke, who is inconceivably bad. Why are labour journalists so smug about that?

Milliband has to go - NOBODY outside the Westminster bubble wants him as leader. But Labour became less about its supporters in the Northern Cities and inner London and more about a political clique interested in career gain and arce licking.