Radio 5 Live callers tell Labour leader he lacks gravitas and will never lead party to election victory
Ed Miliband has sought to shrug off personal criticisms after facing a barracking during a live radio phone-in over his leadership of the Labour party.
Miliband appeared on Radio 5 Live to discuss a speech to the Engineering Employers Federation on Tuesday in which he championed British business and called for a more prominent standard Made in Britain label on all British products.
But his pitch was overshadowed as callers took turns to attack Miliband's own brand, telling him that he lacked gravitas, failed to inspire disillusioned Labour voters and would never lead the party to election victory.
One caller mistakenly called him David, the name of Miliband's older brother, whom he beat in the 2010 party leadership election.
Miliband stood firm as he dismissed poll ratings and said he remained optimistic and confident that Labour could win the next general election under his leadership.
Asked by the 5 Live presenter Victoria Derbyshire whether he was frustrated by the personal attacks, he said: "I'm not affected because you come into this job knowing you'll get lots of commentary, lots of criticism and people saying 'do it this way and do it that way' … that's life. That's what you come into this gig for. Actually what matters to me is the people I meet and the issues I talk about."
Asked about his hopes for the next general election, in 2015, he said: "I'm optimistic and I'm confident, because I think we are talking about the right things, the things that matter to people. But you never take the British people for granted of course. What you say is let's pull forward what we believe as a party and what I believe as a leader. I came into politics because I believe in a more fair, more equal, more just society. We don't have that at the moment. We have got to change that."
Miliband was put under pressure minutes after he went on air to outline the key points of his speech, which laid out support for British manufacturing through state cash and skills training, for instance in engineering.
When he temporarily went off air because of a problem with reception in the radio car, "Charles in Wakefield" called in to tell Derbyshire that Miliband had "no gravitas" and was unelectable.
When Miliband came back, the caller told him: "I don't think people take you seriously … you are not going to be prime minister of this country by any stretch of the imagination. I'll bet my life on that. That is not going to happen. And if Labour are going to win an election it will be with somebody else, with Peter Hain or somebody like that, who's got a wealth of experience of life."
He pointed out that Miliband's Made in Britain pitch sounded remarkably like Gordon Brown's call while he was in power for "British jobs for British workers".
Miliband joked that he would pass on the compliment to Hain, adding: "We'll have to agree to disagree. I'm going to keep doing my job as I see it, which is to talk about the issues that matter. This morning's speech is about a very important issue. It's important to our region – to the region in Yorkshire, where I'm an MP – because I think creating high-quality jobs for the future in manufacturing and engineering are really important."
But his first interaction was a taste of things to come. A Labour voter called David told Miliband that he failed to inspire.
"You fail to get people looking forward to going out and getting the Labour vote out … you're not inspiring anyone. You're making it hard for people to vote Labour," the caller said.
Miliband unsuccessfully sought to deflect the personal attack by teasing out the issue of most concern to the caller. The caller said his biggest issue was Miliband's leadership. "I'm sorry about this and I don't mean to be cruel, but the job that you're doing is so important, that I don't think you can do the job."
Miliband replied: "We obviously have a difference of view about that, David. I go around the country and talk to lots and lots of people about how we can change their lives. That's what I came into politics for, that's what I think the Labour party is about. People make their own judgments about that."
He said personal attacks did not frustrate him. "What frustrates me is what is happening to the country, what is happening to the NHS, young people being out of work. That's what frustrates me. That's what I care about. That's why I'm in politics."
Asked why Labour wasn't doing better in the polls, Miliband insisted "it takes time" for parties to recover from defeat. He said he was concentrating on "doing the right thing" by addressing the most important issues such as fixing the economy so "it doesn't just work for a few people at the top".
Miliband told Derbyshire he very occasionally talked to his predecessors Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Blair's advice to him? "To do it in your own way," Miliband replied.