In his interviews yesterday and today, Ed Miliband was careful to avoid condemning Nigel Farage as a “racist” for his comments on Romanians. He described the remark (suggesting that people should be worried if Romanians moved next door to them) as “a racial slur” but added: “I don’t think of Nigel Farage as a racist himself”. After working hard to dispel the perception that Labour regards anyone concerned about immigration as a “bigot”, it is not hard to see why Miliband is reluctant to attack the Ukip leader in such terms.
Rather than denouncing Farage for his stance on foreigners, Miliband has focused on criticising him as “more Thatcherite than Thatcher”, highlighting his past support for a flat tax, GP charges and the abolition of maternity and paternity leave.
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