It’s no wonder that Ed Miliband is urging his MPs to show loyalty to him. When they do open their mouths they say things like “We [appear to be] against the welfare reforms because the real answer is to give everybody a job. That is complete nonsense. We’re placing ourselves in a stupid place”.
No-one wants a leader who is heading off into a “stupid place”.
Of course many of us will have no doubt that a stupid leader will be bound to lead his people and party into all manner of stupid places. Both Cameron and Clegg have shown themselves masters of the geography of stupidity. But Miliband is being criticised both privately and publically for setting himself against the reform of welfare and the general feeling of the electorate.
One senior Labour Party member has said that opposition to the reform of Welfare is “complete nonsense”. Even Tony Blair has made public his criticism of the direction of Labour policy, especially in regard to Welfare policy. But to be honest Miliband’s direction is not stupid at all while he believes that all that is required to gain power is to hold on to his 29% of core Labour clients, and encourage just 6% who had supported the Lib Dems to switch horses. With such a limited and cynical programme, essentially seeking power with as little electoral mandate as possible, it is not necessarily stupid at all to keep saying things which are manifestly bad for the country if Miliband achieves his ambition, which is no less than personal power at whatever cost to the nation.
The Labour client base is no longer ordinary private working men and women. Nowadays it gains a significant level of support from those who are receiving benefits of various kinds, or those who are directly dependent on the state for employment. In such circumstances it makes sense, if a politician is only interested in gaining power, to keep that large client base happy with all the right noises.
We are used to the stupidity of politicians. But the case of Ed Miliband, though many will consider him as stupid as any other political leader, surely illustrates the naked ambition of our political class who will happily bankrupt the country if it is required to provide them with a once in a lifetime shot at the power and influence of high office.