Labour Leader Ed Miliband has written in an article that the party would “rebuild” the UK’s middle class. Miliband said that middle class families are facing a “crisis of confidence” over falling living standards and added that Britain needed a “strong and vibrant middle class”. The Labour Leader warned of a national “crisis of confidence” with expectations of well-paid jobs, decent pensions, house buying and university education having been “undermined”.
Gary from PSI: In a thoughtful piece the Labour Leader is seeking to extend his party’s support beyond their core vote. Since becoming leader Ed Miliband has been characterised by some as a left-winger committed to “bringing back socialism” and this article seeks to counter this claim by drawing attention to the plight of middle class families. It is also interesting that the article admits that the living standards crisis began before the current Government came to power in May 2010. This is clearly an attempt to assure the electorate that the previous Labour Government did not do enough to tackle the so-called “cost of living crisis”.
Although this article contains no new policy announcements it is expected that there will be more information on Friday when Miliband is expected to give a major speech on the economy.
