Ed Milliband finds a voice!

Unfortunately it's a nasty, rasping cackle. Hey, Ed, there's no votes in promising hope and change (Barack Obama was so 2008, and, anyway, what difference has he made?); but there's plenty of people who want to kick the poor, people, real people... OK, they're swing voters.

"Ed actively celebrates genuine wealth creators", said a source, "He welcomes the contribution of those who generate prosperity for society. But there are others who receive huge bonuses for contributing nothing to their company, their shareholders or the wider economy. Similarly, at the other end of the income ladder there are many hardworking people who play by the rules, and it's right they should be rewarded. But there are some who don't. Who dodge their responsibilities. Who cheat. And they shouldn't be rewarded".

Ed wants to lead a party of grafters. He is succumbing to the Tory agenda, which is, night and day, trying to create the impression of deserving and underserving poor. The Tories are trying to take us back to an age of insecurity and dependence, charity, not welfare, a cold and nasty world.

It is also a divide and rule tactic, as well as a deflection. Party men and ministers may rail against underserving bankers, they still compare them to the undeserving poor, despite the fact the welfare bill is dwarfed by the bank bailout. They will do nothing to attack the powerful in our society, they will always pick on the weak and the poor.

But, there's more. The only people who truly define themselves by how much their work are the out-and-out petty bourgeoisie, small businesspeople, who militantly treasure fantasies about being 'wealth creators'. The Labour Party is playing its part in a sad drama, where democracy and equality are slowly poisoned. What about the people who work for public service, the love of art, or just to get by? What about the unemployed, the sick or the elderly? Who will be their party? Who will speak for them?