Miliband calls for return to "British values"

The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, has given his much-anticipated address to the annual British Labour Party Conference. Party members, stakeholders, NGOs and members of the media queued for hours to gain entrance to the arena. Hundreds were turned away. The speech has been viewed as crucial to convincing the electorate of Miliband’s leadership capabilities. It comes as a poll released by the Independent this morning revealed that only 24 percent of British voters considered Miliband a credible alternative Prime Minister. However, Miliband remained resolute, and spoke with conviction that Labour could win the next election. “This is a dangerous time for Britain, and for Britain’s economy”, Miliband said. “The Government’s austerity plan is failing. The Labour Party lost trust on the economy and under my leadership, we will regain that trust.” Miliband's main focus was on “British values” which he said were in disarray. He said that a series of crises had hit Britain over the last few years, including the summer riots, the banking crisis, the MPs’ expenses scandal and the phone hacking issue “We see the true British character in moments of crisis”, he said. “We saw it during the riots. For every person hat looted, there were hundreds, thousands who said this will not stand and came out to help with the clean up.” He praised Britain’s youth for their role in the clean-up effort, and the police-officers for “putting themselves in harm’s way.” “They are the true values of Britain.” He expressed pride in Labour’s record in government, but distanced himself from its past leaders. “I’m not Tony Blair. I’m not Gordon Brown either” “I’m my own man and I want to do things my own way”, he said to rapturous applause and cheers from the crowd. Tellingly, this was the most popular line of the speech, as the audience revelled in Miliband's apparent desire to make a break from the past. “We need a new bargain. Based on Britain’s values”, he urged. “Britain’s values in our economy, in our society, and in the way our country is run.” He accused the current government of eroding these values, undermining the NHS, stripping people of welfare and favouring the rich. “Only David Cameron could believe that you make ordinary families work harder by making them poorer and you make the rich work harder by making them richer”, he said. “We need a new bargain at the top of society, and in our benefits system too so it rewards the right people with the right values.The speech was low on policies, mentioning only the previously announced £6,000 cap on the higher education fees. There was no mention of Labour’s foreign policy beliefs. Miliband advocated greater support for those struggling in the current economy, support for business and a crack down on the media and welfare cheats. However, he put forward few solid policy commitments, relying instead on the moralistic rhetoric of “right” and “wrong.” Time will tell whether the speech, which appeared to be well-received by the crowd, will make any headway with the electorate. Although at this stage, voters may be concerned by the lack of hard policies advocated by Miliband, whose privilege of values over policy commitments may come across as lofty, superficial and meaningless.