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It is hard to find a political observer these days who doesn’t believe that Westminster politics is fragmenting, and that the major two parties are shedding support due to voter disillusionment. Such a view has become entirely commonplace. The parties themselves however show no signs of responding, and the first week of the year in Westminster has been very much one of ‘political business as usual’. Dodgy dossiers, bust-ups about the NHS, the relentless repetition of agreed soundbites, it all feels very 2005. David Cameron has started his attempts to dodge TV debates in a shamelessly self-interested manoeuvre that may be wise tactically, but for precisely that reason poor strategically. A refusal to debate on TV feels like the worst sort of ‘old’ politics, a shameless refusal to get with the mood of open exchange, discussion and scrutiny that this country’s public debate is moving towards, thanks to impact of social media in the last ten years.
But enough negativity. There has been one major ray of light for followers of the political debate this week. Jim Murphy is proving himself – unsurprisingly given his past record – extremely adept at not just seizing the agenda, but doing so in a way that has that ever rarer quality – authenticity. His announcement that mansion tax revenues would be used to fund additional nurses in Scotland was a nice example of headline grabbing politics – and despite the hullabaloo in London, let’s not pretend that taxing millionaires to fund nurses in Scotland is a vote loser for him. But his response to questions about whether his announcement was signed off by Miliband was even more refreshing. Saying “I didn’t ask him, I have no idea. I am sure he probably will” he managed to look both authoritative and entirely honest at the same time.
Murphy has quickly and effectively established himself as a breath of fresh air, not just from his predecessor in Scotland but his wider party in London. He seems honest, he clearly has a sense of humour (see this Twitter follow up to Diane Abbott getting his name wrong) and he projects self-confidence without arrogance. With the appointment of the respected John McTernan as his Chief of Staff, his operation is likely to continue to be sharp.
Whether Murphy’s talents are enough to reverse Labour’s dramatic decline in Scotland is a question for another blog. But for now, we can enjoy the fact that we have a party leader who can communicate to normal people and do so effectively. Cameron, Miliband, Clegg, please do try to take note, or it is going to be a long, long four months on the campaign trail.
This blog was first published on the Westminster Advisers website.