Ed Miliband: I applaud rich and wealthy
ED Miliband will today say he applauds wealthy business people and entrepreneurs, as he seeks to cast off his “Red Ed” tag and appeal to the Blairite wing of the Labour party.
Miliband will pay homage to Lord Mandelson, who famously said New Labour was “intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich”.
“I’m not only relaxed about them getting rich,” Miliband is expected to say. “I applaud it”.
A Labour party source said the sentiments applied to “all entrepreneurs and business people who create jobs and generate wealth”.
That suggests Miliband is shifting his stance on private enterprise, which has until now characterised so-called “big business” as bad while celebrating small and medium sized enterprises.
Aides would not be drawn on whether his sentiments applied to bankers, however.
Miliband will make the comments in a speech designed to revive his flagging fortunes, after a torrid week that suggests his leadership is in serious trouble.
Last week, a cache of leaked documents revealed that Miliband was involved in a plot to oust Tony Blair, shortly after the former Labour leader won a majority in the 2005 election.
The leaks followed a terrible performance by Miliband at Prime Minister’s questions, where he was expected to best Cameron over his botched NHS reforms.
Then, at the weekend, a source close to David Miliband leaked the speech he would have delivered had he beaten his brother in the Labour leadership election last year.
In the speech, the elder Miliband brother said his priority as Labour leader would have been cutting the deficit.
And he would have said the party would have to offer “lean” government and that it could not be in “denial” about the state of the public finances.
That puts him at odds with his younger brother, who has opposed the vast majority of the coalition’s spending cuts and tax rises.
Meanwhile, friends of David Miliband say he is “ready” to mount a second bid for the leadership should the party lose patience with Ed.