Miliband: 2011 a ‘year of consequence’
By politics.co.uk staff
Cuts imposed by the coalition government will be felt by “hardworking families across the country” in 2011, Ed Miliband has warned.
Labour’s leader used his first new year’s message as leader of the opposition to highlight the apparently “forbidding and unheeding” Whitehall forces behind the government’s austerity agenda.
He highlighted the trebling of tuition fees and the scrapping of the educational maintenance allowance, which provoked massive student protests in November and December 2010, as examples.
“In 2011, many people will wonder what they can do. Some will ask whether there really is an alternative to this scale of cuts,” he said.
“Still more will shrug their shoulders at casually broken promises and conclude politicians are indeed all the same.
“Labour’s challenge and duty in 2011 is to be people’s voice in tough times and show that these are changes born of political choice by those in power not necessity.
“And we will take the next steps on the journey to win people’s trust that we offer a better, more optimistic future for Britain.”
Mr Miliband said he wanted to change Labour so it becomes a “genuine community force in every part of the country”.
He has initiated reviews of the party’s policy and its funding, but acknowledged that “people also need our voice now”.
Labour will argue for a “proper economic strategy”, “stand up for young people” and “expose the promise of new politics when it is simply about the breaking of promises”.
“Even in these tough times, we must keep the flame of optimism burning,” he finished.
“I sincerely believe that we can build a better future for Britain. That means closing the gap between people’s aspirations and their chances of fulfilling them, being a society where we look after each other and meeting the promise that the next generation does better than the last.
“That is our mission as a party which we will pursue next year and in the years ahead.”
