Advertisement

Confident Miliband: I'm Ready For The Top Job

Ed Miliband has told me that Labour "didn't build enough homes" when in government - and it is an important reflection on the party's record in office.

Mr Miliband tried to claim for Labour the mantle of being the "party of home ownership" with policy to slash stamp duty for first-time buyers.

The party has consistently attacked the Coalition's housebuilding record (worst since the 1920s for completions).

But I put to the Opposition leader that in fact for housing starts, the worst year came under Gordon Brown's government, in which he was a cabinet minister, after a promise to double house building.

Mr Miliband told me: "We didn't do enough, the last Labour government didn't do enough but this government hasn't either.

"No government for a generation has got to grips with housing but the government I lead will do so".

I asked the Labour leader why voters should trust Labour if the party hasn't learnt the lessons about a trebling of real house prices on its watch.

He told me: "We didn't build enough homes...The fact that house prices got out of reach was a problem and remains a problem under this government.

"At this election the question is who is going to make a difference".

I pointed out to him, after he had said that houses should be "lived in by families, not bought up by speculators" that over 30 Labour MPs were landlords.

Should they stop? "We're not trying to stop anyone being a buy-to-let landlord, we want good landlords," he told me.

:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015

:: Ed Miliband Profile

Mr Miliband also told me that the stamp duty cut plan was a manifesto commitment that we should "hold him to" even though it was not in Labour's manifesto.

Labour also added a sixth pledge on housing, to its already printed pledge card.

In the interview, Mr Miliband also denied claims made by Lord Mandelson's consultancy firm that Labour would be dragged to the left and towards higher public spending by the SNP at Westminster.

He also did not answer a question about the legitimacy of a prime minister coming from the second biggest party in the House of Commons.

But he did answer my question about whether he was comfortable with the idea of having his finger on the nuclear button, and taking security decisions that could cost innocent civilian lives.

"I'm ready to be PM and ready for the responsibilities that entails. I'm not going to enter hypothetical situations, but I'm ready for all the difficult decisions that entails including matters of peace and war. I'm ready for the job," he said.

I put it to him at the end of the interview that the campaigns of both main protagonists were sterile controlled showpiece events populated with party workers, where real people were being avoided.

"That isn't what I do... I'm absolutely getting out there," he said.

And when we caught back up with him at Newcastle station, a delayed train meant an impromptu queue of dozens of locals asking for selfies.

Not Milifandom, not Milimania, but something in the air, albeit on Labour home territory by the Tyne.

He's exuding an awful lot of confidence. He thinks he is going to be PM.