So a week really is a long time!

So much to cover, and so much restraint to ensure this post doesn't become a novel. I originally wanted to blog about my day at the New Year Fabian Conference, and my thoughts on my first ever organised political conference. But I obviously want to share my thoughts on a rocky week in Westminster and the implications of the two big departures this week; Alan Johnson and Andy Coulson.

I am glad I went to the conference and enjoyed the day, I thought Ed Miliband's speech was good and the audience was definitely on his side. Everything he said made sense and he certainly does seem comfortable when admitting the previous government's mistakes and where they lost direction. I was drawn to his argument that the Labour party should be the natural voice of the people when it comes to issues like the closing of post offices and I do believe he hit the nail on the head when using this as an example of New Labour's love affair with the free market and how it went too far. This all tied in with Milibands nod to his brothers Movement for Change idea, which could and should be the key to reconnecting Labour with its traditional core vote. Working with and for the community, especially as the cuts take hold. However, there was still a lack of substance in terms of policy and direction; I hate to say it but it reminds me of the absence of policy and detail that characterised Cameron's time in opposition. Ed Miliband is clearly a good guy and has a fine set of ideals but with the current government on the rampage we need to one step ahead and on the attack, armed with credible alternatives.

After Ed's speech I attended a couple of workshops featuring speakers such as Chuka Ummuna (still a huge fan!), John Cruddas, John Denham and a very impressive Jessica Asato discussing AV. The AV session controversially didn't feature any speakers against the idea, which caused rather a lot of twitter-tattle....
My conclusion though having thought the day through was that the whole thing was rather a lot of middle class naval gazing. Lots of very young activists, which has to be a good thing in terms of energy, and lots of well spoken idealists but is this the best way to rebuild the progressive left and oppose such a arrogant, active and fearless government? My thoughts on this are still not fully formed, but my feeling is certainly there is more good to be done working with local community groups and knitting the Labour Party back into the fabric of society. Forget Cameron and Hilton's 'big society' the Labour Party needs to do all is can to champion and indeed protect the heroes of our good society.

I really like Alan Johnson and did appreciate his appointment as shadow chancellor as a great opportunity to battle against Osborne's policy in a clear, grounded way that would appeal to the electorate. No doubt there were technical errors, perhaps explained by the issues that have come to light, but it is a shame to see him leave front line politics and it will certainly be a loss to Labour given it's reliance on career politicians. However, I am honestly delighted to see Ed Balls as Shadow Chancellor. I don't care that nobody likes him and he is despised by Tory voters (they are never going to vote for us anyway!), I just cannot wait to see him head to head with George Osborne, with his zeal, technical understanding and determination I have no doubt Balls will force the Tories into a corner and prove they cannot justify their motives for slashing cuts with no provision for economic growth. Hopefully he will also bury their argument that the entire deficit is due to Labours overspending and their convenient memory loss when it comes to the worldwide recession that threatened to turn to a depression.

A final point, I am glad Andy Coulson has gone...but I get the distinct feeling that the whole affair isn't over yet......

A short round up....

Returning to work is making it tricky to keep the blog as up to date as originally planned, but I am hoping that I can find more time as I settle into the new routine! It is a shame as there have been plenty of issues to discuss over the past few weeks....
The big one is of course child benefit and this is the policy that Ed Miliband decided to tackle during his first PMQ's opposite David Cameron today. My feelings on this are mixed; my own family are affected but we are in the very lucky minority where it is a 'nice to have' as opposed to something we rely on. However, I do feel that the plan was ill thought through and cannot understand why the government did not ensure the single parent families weren't affected or base the calculations on total household income. The crude statistics that tell us a family earning £83kpa will still receive the benefit tells me something is not right. Hearing Justine Greening justify the decision not to means test the benefit because it was 'too expensive' will have done very little to appease those who are now going to lose a key part of their income. The idea that a married person's tax break (c£150pa) would somehow ease the pressure seems laughable, especially after reading that this would cost £1.6bn to implement compared to the £1bn that will be saved by the child benefit cuts. On a slightly more emotional note, it does feel like the end of an era. The idea that family allowance, latterly child benefit was truly universal is somehow romantic and something that I have grown up with. Perhaps naively I did think it would always be there for my own family; as it was for my mothers' generation.

The other big news last week was the appointment of Alan Johnson as Shadow Chancellor. There was mixed reaction to the news; with some commentators suggesting it was a move to appease Blairites or more precisely Miliband, D supporters whilst others thought it was a brave move to ignore the pressure to appoint either Mr or Mrs Balls to the post, despite their clear depth of economic understanding. I believe though that Mr Johnson's appointment was a shrewd move. He is popular with voters, he has an experienced 'man of the people' approach, he is plain speaking and an excellent communicator. Compare this with George Osborne who is seen as an aristocratic, uncharismatic and privileged 'toff' and certainly has not charmed the general public since the election; despite public empathy to the idea of widespread cuts. Economic policy means more to the man on the street at the moment than it has done for a generation. We are far removed from the days where the budget was the only economic announcement that the general public listened to, we are hearing daily updates that affect our wallets and people are sitting up and taking notice. Who better to decipher, communicate and attack these decisionss in the common, press and on the television than Alan Johnson?