“Labour Set For Certain Defeat At Election,” Miliband Strikes Back

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Ed Miliband has struck back at Unite Leader Len McLuskey’s after he criticised the Labour Leader for accepting the coalition’s public sector pay freezes.

McCluskey said the move was a “victory for discredited Blairism” and warned the Labour leader that he risked putting the party leadership on a collision course with its core supporters.

In sharply worded riposte Ed Miliband said, “Len McCluskey is entitled to his views but he is wrong. I am changing the Labour Party so we can deliver fairness even when there is less money around and that requires tough decisions. It requires a tough decision to put the priority on jobs ahead of public sector pay. It also requires us to say we do believe the government is going too far, too fast with their cuts but we are not going to make specific promises to reverse those cuts unless we are absolutely sure that we know where the money is coming from. That is right, it is responsible and it is the way we are going to proceed.”

Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman said Labour’s hand have been forced by the coalition’s austerity measures: “When we left government the economy was beginning to grow and unemployment was beginning to fall but because they’ve squeezed the life out of the economy with their austerity cuts they are now in a position of having to continue with that public sector pay freeze. But what we don’t agree with is their proposals on regional pay bargaining, we don’t agree with their cuts in tax credit and we think they should make sure they do it as fairly as possible.”