The Labour Party under it's new leader, Ed Miliband, seems to be undergoing something of an identity crisis. Usually, when a new leader takes charge of an organisation they are quick to implement their own ideas, vision and team to define a new era. Ed Miliband, on the other hand, doesn't seem to know what to do. He may have appointed a few new faces (the term is used loosely), but that's about as much as he has achieved. There has been no masterful leadership or a clear change of direction shown by Ed. In fact, there have been no new policies or ideas at all.
The Labour Party's behaviour with regard to university fees, in particular, has been outrageous. Labour are guilty of unbelievable hypocrisy on this subject. This is the same Labour Party that said they had no plans to introduce tuition fees for higher education in 1997, only to implement them a year later. Also, when Labour were re-elected in 2001, their manifesto included a pledge stating that they "will not introduce top-up fees and has legislated against them." Nevertheless, less than two years after pledging not to introduce top-up fees, Labour published a white paper setting out proposals allowing universities to set their own tuition fees up to a cap of £3,000 a year. Labour made these decisions when it had a large majority and the economy was booming, as opposed to the compromises of coalition government and desperate national finances. It is also worth pointing out that Labour currently has no policy on tuition fees other than seemingly fanning the flames of student anger for political gain. Ed Miliband has endorsed a graduate tax and yet his shadow chancellor claims that it would be unworkable.
The only thing the Labour Party has offered of late is opposition to absolutely everything, whilst offering no alternatives, ideas or policies. Once again, it seems the Labour Party is drifting back into complacency and denial.
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