Ed Muddleband's first 100 days of dither and disarray

Tim Montgomerie

Conservative HQ has published a dossier that attacks Ed Miliband as a ditherer. Releasing the report Sayeeda Warsi commented:

"Ed Miliband's first hundred days have been characterised by dithering and disarray. No wonder people on his own side are already losing patience with his lack of leadership. After winning off back of the union vote, he's offered nothing but opportunism and a blank sheet of paper on policy."

You can download the report in full as Download 100 Days of Dithering and Disarray but here are ten highlights...

1. During the Labour leadership contest he promised to set out an alternative spending review. He has reneged on that promise.
2. Ed Miliband has backed away from Alistair Darling's deficit plan meaning he has a less responsible economic position than Gordon Brown.
3. He promised to attend a TUC rally during the leadership contest but didn't turn up once he was elected.
4. In 100 days Ed Miliband hasn't set out even one clear and costed policy. ‘In terms of policy...we start with a blank page,’ he said.
5. During a radio interview, Ed Miliband was pushed to define his concept of the ‘squeezed middle’. He came up with SIX different definitions. These ranged from ‘people who are working hard’ to ‘people who aren’t on six figure salaries who are in the middle of the income distribution’. He finally argued: ‘“I define them as people around the average income, both below and above the average income”.
6. Ed Miliband promised a "new Labour generation" but 18 of 19 MPs elected to his shadow cabinet were ministers under Gordon Brown. Jack Straw said half-a-dozen of this 19 weren't capable of serving as government ministers.
7. Ed Miliband decided to take his £20,000 pay-off (available to all ex-ministers) even though he went quickly into the £140,000 Leader of the Opposition's job.
8. Ed Miliband did nothing when Ken Livingstone backed an anti-Labour candidate in Tower Hamlets. Again he did nothing when three Labour MPs condoned student violence.
9. Ed Miliband and Alan Johnson are split on big issues including the 50p rate of tax, the graduate tax and civil liberties. No party can succeed when there is such a split at the top of its team.
10. 114 Labour MPs, including Shadow Education Secretary Andy Burnham, oppose Ed Miliband on AV.

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Peter Hoskin blogged this graph which shows how Ed Miliband is a liability for Labour:

On Five Live last night Tory MP Claire Perry predicted that Yvette Cooper will replace Ed Miliband as Labour leader before the end of 2011.