We're at risk of a wipeout in the South Ed Miliband is warned as Labour is accused of waging class war in TV broadcast
- Ed Miliband told to 'stop banging on about bedroom tax' or face losing votes in the South
- Labour candidates in target seats staged revolt during meeting with leader
- Miliband accused of reverting to class war after release of party political broadcast
Ed Miliband has been told to 'stop banging on about the bedroom tax' or face losing voters in the South ahead of the election
Ed Miliband must stop ‘banging on about the bedroom tax’ or risk losing the election in the South of England, senior Labour figures have warned.
Candidates from key target seats across the South staged a revolt during a private meeting with Mr Miliband – telling him that Labour will lose unless it adopts a more ‘aspirational’ message.
The warning came as the Labour leader was accused of reverting to class war with the release of a party political broadcast depicting the Conservatives as bullying, out-of-touch toffs who have reduced Nick Clegg to a cowering figure.
The campaign film, a parody of a 1950s B-movie, features actors playing Coalition ministers with caricature posh voices.
However it was quickly criticised as ‘childish’ after its release online last night.
Outside London, the Opposition now has just 10 MPs in the South of England, compared to more than 50 in Tony Blair’s landslide victory in 1997.
Many senior Labour figures believe the party cannot win next year’s election unless it tackles the perception that it only cares about its Northern heartlands.
Mr Miliband invited 20 candidates from target seats in the South to a private meeting in London last month to discuss how the party could improve its performance.
But instead of a general discussion about tactics and party machinery, the event quickly turned into a showdown over Mr Miliband’s divisive Left-wing agenda.
A source at the meeting said candidates were in despair at the leadership’s relentless anti-austerity message and urged him to change tack.
‘People were very clear that we have to start saying less about austerity and more about aspiration,’ the source said. ‘We have got to stop banging on about the bedroom tax and the North-South divide because those messages are not going to win for us in the South.
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Labour's campaign film is a parody of a 1950s B-movie and features actors playing Coalition ministers with caricature posh voices
Labour leader Ed Miliband was accused of reverting to class war with the release of a party political broadcast depicting the Conservatives as bullying, out-of-touch toffs who have reduced Nick Clegg to a cowering figure
‘In fairness to Ed he did listen. I think he does get it, but it’s just too easy for us to fall back into our comfort zone.’
Last week one of Mr Miliband’s closest allies warned publicly that Labour was in danger of losing the election in the South.
Senior Labour MP John Denham, a former aide to Mr Miliband, said Labour was ‘not on the agenda for most southern voters’, adding: ‘We have got to do better because otherwise we will do worse.’
Senior Labour MP John Denham, pictured, a former aide to Ed Miliband, said Labour was 'not on the agenda for most southern voters'
Mr Denham blamed his Labour colleagues, who ‘despite my best efforts ... insist on talking about a North-South divide’.
Mr Miliband yesterday appeared to accept the criticism but insisted that his focus on the cost of living would reap dividends in the South.
He said: ‘Mr Denham speaks a lot of sense about the challenges for Labour right across the South.
‘But we have a very important message for people across the South – the cost of living crisis affects them too, particularly issues like rent levels.’
Another shadow minister told the Daily Mail that the economic recovery meant the party needed to broaden its message on the economy from the cost of living crisis.
He added: ‘If the election was tomorrow I’d be quite confident. But it’s not, so I’m worried.’
Shadow Commons leader Angela Eagle also issued a coded warning to Mr Miliband not to focus solely on the party’s core vote.
She told the Huffington Post website: ‘I’m not a “one more heave” offer person ... We must aspire to win with a big majority.’
Labour also defended its political broadcast – which is entitled The Uncredible Shrinking Man and does not mention any Labour policies – as a light-hearted attempt to make a serious point about the role of the Lib Dems in the Coalition ‘propping up’ the Conservatives.
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