[joeysteele]

I take the totally opposite view, for me this was a Prime Ministerial quality speech that for once from a politician involved no gimmicks, no show and false frills to it.

It was far from too long and anyway he had a lot to deal with, I also have no problem at all with the word friends and also the word together,as I am someone who believes togetherness is a better way to go forward as to things anyway.

He detailed all that was wrong still and had been wrong, with the way the present govt. had hit hardest the least able to be hit.

In my time at Uni and in the work I have done the last year or more now,I have come across the devastation in peoples lives through the bedroom tax.
To hear Ed Miliband say he will scrap this ridiculous policy, which is costing likely more to implement than it is saving, was excellent.

To hear of his plans for the NHS was music to my ears, I care nothing for how he raises funding for the NHS,he could raise taxes for me, as long as the NHS is protected from the creeping privatisation of the Conservative party.

I agree with his mansion tax, I agree with at last the rooting out of tax avoidance too,my goodness,all he had to say extra for me was that he would look at scrapping the TV licence.

It was a speech that he clearly meant every word of, it was clear to me, he believed in all he was saying.
Not a perfect speech but then none ever are, rather subdued at times but serious times call for serious speeches.

There is a criticism he didn't mention the deficit,it is however a given since he is not going to dismiss all this govts. programme as to austerity, that he and his govt. will keep chipping away at the deficit as this govt has done.

Therein lies the telling thing however, in 2010 according to this govt, there would have been no deficit to talk about, they said all their programme and the severe austerity measures had to be done immediately, to cope with any problems in the Eurozone and to ensure the deficit was all but cleared in 2014/15.

Where are we, for 18 months at least now we are told this lot have taken a third off the deficit.
Nowhere near clearing it and they will be asking next year for the same time again to do all the same things.

If I was a Conservative I would keep quiet as to their failure and bad failure as to clearing the deficit.
Even Gordon Brown planned to half the deficit in 4 years, this lot are not likely to achieve that in a whole 5 years.

I loved however the stressing of the support from Labour for the NHS, that is the issue that had me thinking in 2010 and it is for me an even more important issue now and for 2015.
It is not in any way safe with the Conservatives,it is even less safe with UKIP, and the Lib Dems cannot be trusted with it either,so really I have only one place to go if I care for the NHS and it being saved from a more full scale privatisation.

I hope he does win in 2015, I hope and I believe he will, deliver all he listed today in his speech, I agree with the vote going to 16 and 17 year olds and for me it was another thought provoking speech.

I don't care as to Ed Miliband's popularity level,the last poll said 25% saw him as PM material, while although higher again only 37% rated Cameron.
That effectively means, over half of voters don't much like any of the leaders anyway.

I hoped the NHS would feature heavily in 2015,the problems all over the NHS are showing up again as they did up to 1997 when it was left on its knees after 18 years of consecutive Conservative Govt.

This post may be too long too for some, I however make no apology for it.
I also say I applaud Ed Miliband for this in depth speech he made today, it may not have been one of his very best but one thing it really was, was sincere.


If Ed Miliband and Labour win the next election, and I think they will, and hope they will.
I think a whole new opinion of him will be evident as to him as to being PM material.
Unlike this incompetent,procrastinating waste of space who is the current holder of the post.