Desperate to edge out the Tories and the Lib Dems next election, Labour leader Ed Miliband has begun to court freelancers and umbrella company contractors.
Miliband, who just gave his keynote address at the Labour Party Conference recently, came out guns blazing for self-employed Brits in an attempt to legitimise his party amongst sole traders. The Labour leader was quick to make all manner of promises to concerned contract workers in order for that all-important vote; he appealed to freelancers by saying that they were being unjustly discriminated against by the current economic landscape – and of course by the Coalition Government.
There’s five million Brits in the UK who work for themselves, Miliband said, and they need equal access to things such as pensions and home loans. Truth be told there are few contractors that actually do have a pension, and fewer still that can gain access to credit when it comes to purchasing a home or other property.
Still, if you ask me this seems a rather transparent ploy on the part of Miliband to drum up support for his moribund party. Call me cynical, but it feels more like the Labour Party is willing to try any port in a storm in order to get a foothold in the next election.
Honestly I don’t understand why Labour seems so desperate. It’s not like the Scottish referendum went forward for independence; with the majority of Scots edging left of center on the political spectrum Labour should have plenty of people willing to vote for them in the next election as long as it doesn’t completely shoot itself in the foot.
Who knows? With a combination of freelancer support, Scots, and other progressive types throughout the UK perhaps there’s more than snowball’s chance in Hell for Miliband coming out on top once the elections roll around. Then again I truly wouldn’t hold my breath; I suppose I’m just too beaten and world-weary to believe that Labour can actually manage to regain some power in Westminster – though if it does turn out well for Labour it would be nice for Miliband to deliver on these freelancer-specific campaign promises of his.
