Miliband visits scene of by-election debacle

Ed MILIBAND has made his first visit to Bradford since Labour’s shock by-election defeat in the city two weeks ago.

The party leader scrapped a planned victory visit last month after Respect candidate George Galloway swept to a dramatic win in the formerly safe Labour seat of Bradford West with a majority of more than 10,000.

Mr Miliband yesterday pledged to learn from the humiliating loss, which was triggered when Labour MP Marsha Singh was forced to stand down because of ill-health.

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Speaking to an audience of about 100 people at a community centre in the West Yorkshire city, the Labour leader said: “I am determined to learn the lessons of why we lost here in Bradford.

“I may not agree with everything that is said, but I guarantee you I will listen.

“There are factors local to Bradford, but there are factors which are relevant nationally and internationally, too.”

He added: “There are huge issues of injustice in this country and I passionately believe in the Labour Party being able to change people’s lives for the better. We can only do that if we are rooted in the communities we serve.

“We are not going to put everything right today. But we can at least make a start.”

Speaking earlier on a visit to Derby, Mr Miliband said only four out of ten voters supported the three mainstream political parties in the Bradford West poll.

He said: “The fourth party who says ‘a plague on all your houses’ is an issue we’ve got to confront. Now, how do we confront it? By showing what we all believe, which is that we can make a difference to people’s lives.

“George Galloway is not going to make a difference to the lives of people in Bradford.

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“He’s made a whole series of promises he knows he can’t keep. Someone even told me he’d made promises to people in Bradford that he was going to cut their taxes.

“He’s got no power to cut their taxes.

“The best answer to it is, first, a Labour Party that shows it can make a difference and secondly – and this is important – a Labour Party that is on the doorsteps.”