I have always felt a little guilty about the picture I have painted more than once of the young Miliband brothers in their pyjamas listening to their father's tales of how Stalin had diverted the rivers of Central Asia to water the Uzbek cotton fields. Miliband père was on the far left, but he was no tankie.
But today's news in the Observer that Ed Miliband has banned the shadow cabinet from using the word "coalition" to describe the government makes me think I may have been on to something after all. This is a crude and clumsy attempt to deny the truth. It is double plus ungood.
An interesting question is whether Miliband's senior colleagues will take much notice. If they have sufficient strength of mind to be cabinet ministers, they will not take kindly to having their speech policed like this. And most of them did not want Ed as leader but his brother.
4 comments:
I doubt it to be honest. Most members of the Labour party still seem to be confused as to whether we are 'Liberals' or 'Liberal Democrats'. They have a long way to go
It's not the Coalition, its the Government, stupid. (Think about, to demonstrate that you are not as suggested.)
Is this him holding out the hand of peace to Lib Dems? Didn't take long for the spin doctor to get his feet under the desk.
This doesn't sound philisophically any different to our own campaigns department banning use of the phrases "Alternative Vote" or "ATV" in favour of "Fairer Votes". It is just standard spin tactics and newspeak. We all do it.
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