Ed miliband

I didn't expect to be overwhelmed by Ed Miliband's speech to the Progress Annual Conference today, but neither did I expect to be quite so underwhelmed. This was meant to be his Great Exposition of how, as he put it his introductory remarks, Labour "will win the next election". But what we got was a straighforward list of some of the major themes of his leadership so far: the "squeezed middle," the prospects for young people, community breakdown, and so on and so forth. These are all worthwhile areas for debate, but Miliband has dwelt on them before now, and more persuasively — such as in his speech to the Resolution Foundation in February. Repeating them may help make the point, but it doesn't mean that Labour have any solutions.

As the weekend drifts closer, there is a case that Ed Miliband has just enjoyed his best week as Labour leader. Not really from anything he has done — although his PMQs performance had more vigour than usual — but thanks to the backwash from the Ken Clarke calamity. MiliE's spinners could barely have dreamed, even a few days ago, that their man would gain the the fiery approval of The Sun on matters of law and order. But that is effectively what they gained yesterday. "Labour is now tougher on crime," bellowed the paper's leader column, "than our Tory-led government." Even today their editorial laments, "so much for David Cameron's pledge to provide a young, modern government in tune with 2011 Britain.

Ed Miliband came to PMQs hoping to turn the House into a rape crisis centre for the Justice Secretary. Quoting from Ken Clarke’s tricky Radio Five interview earlier he criticised him for distinguishing between ‘serious’ and ‘other categories’ of rape. Would the PM distance himself from his minister? Cameron claimed not to have heard the interview – conveniently enough – and pointed out that the policy is still at the consultation stage. His priority was to correct a system in which all but 6 per cent of reported rapes result in no conviction at all.

Maurice Glasman and Ed Miliband do not think as one. But Miliband's Favourite Thinker™ is an undoubted influence on the Labour party — and, as such, it's worth tuning into his ideas from time to time, if you have a tolerance for such things. Glasman's "Blue Labour" philosophy has already enjoyed heavy exposure this year, and he has an interview in today's Times (£) to explain it even further. If you're not minded to buy, borrow or steal a copy of the Thunderer, then here are a few observations. First, it's striking just how much Glasman dwells on the personal. "If you want to know everything that was wrong about Scottish Labour and Labour," he urges, "then just look at the career of Gordon Brown.

The coalition is just a year old and Coffee House compiled an exhaustive Coalition A to Z to mark the occasion. It’s also a year since the Labour leadership saga opened. Writing in today’s Times (£), Phil Collins argues that party has not made much progress from its position a year ago, which he thoroughly examined for the Spectator last May. Beyond Brown and Blair, Phil Collins, The Spectator, 15 May 2010. So, they were looking in the wrong place all along. For years now the Labour party has been seeking a steely assassin to deal with its unelectable leader. Finally, where James Purnell failed tragically and Geoff Hoon failed farcically, Nick Clegg has succeeded.

Third party support is an important political asset. Nobody trusts politicians any longer (when did they ever?) and so it’s useful to draft in supposedly apolitical backers to support your plans. Yesterday’s PMQs was a case in point, with David Cameron and Ed Miliband competing for support from GPs. As Jim Pickard writes over on the FT blog, having 42 GPs on side is a little less impressive than having support from the Royal College of GPs, which has 42,000 members. So the PM is seen to have emerged from the exchange as the loser. Therein lies a problem for the government. Since the general election, the Tories seem to have become decidedly worse at garnering third party support for their policies. Before the poll they did excellently.

It may not be reflected in the popular vote, but politics is still mostly about the Liberal Democrats this morning. We have Ed Miliband's latest sally for their affections. We have the usual veiled threats and dread innuendo from Vince Cable. And then there's the weird, but piercing, accusation on the cover of the Mail on Sunday: Chris Huhne pressurised others – and, specifically, a constituency aide – to take speeding points on his behalf, as he didn't want to lose his driving licence. The accusation, it is said, is inspired by rumours spread across Westminster – and now by testimony from Huhne's former wife. While, for his part, the Energy Secretary is denying it all. Whomever you believe, the story has flared up at an intriguing time.

The count hasn't quite finished yet, but the Noes already have it – having crossed the threshold for victory only a few minutes ago. The official Electoral Commission website is lagging a bit behind, but it captures just how comfortable this win has been for the defenders of FPTP. So comfortable, in fact, that you imagine we're done with major voting reform for at least a generation. And for the Lib Dems, Ed Miliband and the Yes campaign, the recriminations that were simmering away earlier can now come to a boil. What joy. We will update this post as soon as the final tallies are available. UPDATE: Final results shown in the pie chart above.

While the focus remains fixed on the dramas of Coalitionville, it's worth remembering that today's votes are meaningful for Ed Miliband too. The Labour leader may not be facing the prospect of resignations, nor even outcry, at their various outcomes. But this is, nonetheless, the first major electoral moment of his leadership. He might well be judged on it. In which case, much will depend on the extent to which Labour advances in England have already been priced into the electoral calculus. If the party's footsoldiers regard sweeping gains — of perhaps around 1,000 seats — as some sort of default, then attention may turn instead to the turnaround in favour of the SNP in Scotland, and to the likely defeat for Yes to AV.