With just six weeks until a parliamentary election in Britain, Labour Party leader Ed Miliband is trying to overcome media coverage that has portrayed him as socially awkward, out-of-touch with voters and
anti-business.
Miliband yesterday launched his campaign to defeat Prime Minister David Cameron after primetime television interviews in which neither man landed a knockout blow.
With a knife-edge poll looming, Miliband has admitted the May 7 poll will be the “tightest general election for a generation”.
Two opinion polls this week showed Labour and the Conservatives, who head the country’s ruling coalition, tied on 35% of the vote.
But Miliband appears far less popular than the party he leads in opposition, while right-leaning tabloid newspapers dub him Red Ed and liken him to Gromit, a goofy cartoon character from children’s television.
Yet there are signs that Miliband could be starting to bridge the popularity gap through his daily public appearances and speeches.
He earned warm applause, with no jeers or hostile questioning, as he addressed hundreds of delegates from the Federation of Small Businesses in the central English city of Birmingham last week.
In the prime time television grilling on Thursday night, Cameron and Miliband were questioned separately. They did not debate with each other.
Both leaders faced tough interrogations by veteran interviewer Jeremy Paxman - known for his withering glares and quizzical raised eyebrows - which left Cameron looking uncomfortable, while Miliband took a more combative approach.
Asked about claims from critics that he is a “north London geek” lacking the inner steel to represent Britain in the world, Miliband hit back: “Am I tough enough? Hell yes, I’m tough enough.”
Cameron, meanwhile, was questioned about where austerity cuts would fall, his plans to hold a referendum on Britain leaving the European Union and his disclosure this week that he would not stand for a third term if re-elected.
Commentators say Cameron’s Conservatives did not want a head-to-head debate in the belief that a lacklustre performance in TV debates during the 2010 election campaign contributed to their failure to win outright.
The 95-minute programme came hours after parliament held its last day of business before shutting down ahead of the polls, signalling the real start of an election campaign which has been simmering for weeks.
The Conservatives, in a coalition government with the centrist Liberal Democrats for the past five years, are focusing their election campaign on the economy.
Britain has emerged from recession under the coalition but also faced steep austerity cuts in areas such as welfare.
Labour accuses the Conservatives of favouring the wealthy in society and has pledged to do more to help struggling middle and lower income voters.