Despite having a new leader, the Labour Party is still getting to grips with being in opposition. One benefit of being in opposition is that Labour has the time and the opportunity to reassess what it stands for (an intellectual process that it has not been able to undertake since before the landslide election of 1997) and to decide how it can most effectively convey its message. All this needs to be conducted in a manner that suggests to the electorate that it is a credible government in waiting.
The decision for Ed Miliband and other senior Labour politicians is not merely which ideological road to travel but also which mode of transport to use. This is an especially important issue for the next generation of Labour politicians because part of the reason for Ed Miliband’s victory was that he used language and advocated policy ideas that motivated much of the Labour movement. He was able to publicly voice the successes and virtues of New Labour’s time in government and, at the same time, draw attention to its failures and vices.
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