Sun cabbie grills Ed on European elections
THE Sun's cabbie Grant Davis is interviewing the four main party leaders
ahead of next week's euro elections.
In the back of the floating voter and real-life London taxi driver's ride
yesterday - pimped up especially for the campaign - was Labour boss Ed
Miliband.
GRANT: Lately Ed, I am watching you on the telly and you seem to be
talking about anything but Europe. Why won't you discuss Europe, Ed?
ED: I am keen to discuss Europe. I'm being honest with people about my
priorities if I become Prime Minister. The biggest issues the country faces
is the cost of living crisis, the NHS.
GRANT: Working class people like myself are worried about the influx of
immigrants, especially from the EU. We can't stop them coming over because
we are in the EU. How can we stop it, Ed?
ED: It is important Labour talks about immigration. I have changed our
position. Look I just have to be honest with you, I don't think shutting our
borders is going to work. Europe has got to change.
GRANT: But it won't Ed, will it?
ED: This is something I have given great thought on. The way we tackle
the cost of living crisis, we can change it. The undercutting of wages, we
can change it. We are determined to change it but the question is: do you
want to exit or do you want to change it. Let me be honest with you Grant,
when has Britain been successful? When we have been engaged with the rest of
the world.
GRANT: Surely you have got to trust the electorate and say we are
having a referendum? You voted me in, you put your trust in me and I will
give you the trust back, I will let you decide.
ED: Well I understand that argument. Leadership is about what people
want, what is your honest view about what the priorities for the country
are. I have said there will be a referendum if there is any transfer of
power from Britain to the European Union. I am being open with you that is
unlikely to happen.
I can't honestly say to you Grant that our priority for the country is let's
spend two years having a debate about exiting the European Union. I think we
have got too many other pressing problems.
GRANT: What is wrong with the Labour guy like yourself saying, yes, you
know what, I am a Socialist and I am proud to be a Socialist?
ED: It was actually Tony Blair who put on our card Democratic Socialist
Party. And as New Labour. In the end I think it is less about the labels, it
is about who do you speak for.
GRANT: Nigel Farage: I had him in the cab on Monday.
ED: I met him for the first time the other week.
GRANT: Did you like him?
ED: Yes, I got on perfectly well with him. I disagree with him a lot.
GRANT: I bet you did. I mean, they call Nigel Farage 'fruitcake', they
call Cameron, 'Old rich boy', and they call you 'Red Ed'. Is that fair? Are
you Red Ed?
ED: You know my Dad was a bit of a socialist, and he would have loved
the idea of Red Ed - but he would think it was not really very true. People
need shorthand don't they. Look, I am trying to propose sensible solutions.
It is not revolutionary.
GRANT: You want to break up the banks and break up the cartels. Isn't
that revolutionary?
ED: I don't think it is very revolutionary. I think it is pretty common
sense. But look I don't really care in the end what labels people use, I
will just do my own thing, plough my own furrow and say what I think is
right.
GRANT: So you don't want to wave the red flag?
ED: I think it is about moving forwards, not moving backwards. Moving
forward from New Labour, certainly not going back to old Labour.
GRANT: You are not Old Labour, you are not New Labour, what are you?
ED: I like One Nation Labour. Because that is about representing the
whole country and that is what we need.
GRANT: Working people now, no one listens to us. It is just like work
rats.
ED: That is what I try and do.
GRANT: With all the problems we have you would expect Labour to be
galloping away in the polls, but you are neck and neck with the Tories. How
do you explain that, Ed?
ED: The polls go up and down a lot. That reflects the fact that we are
at a time when politics is pretty unpredictable. People are still making up
their minds. I think people are still thinking about where to put their
cross.
GRANT: So you think under the Conservatives we have become more of a
divided nation?
ED: I definitely do. It is actually the rich against everybody else.
And that is a massive issue for us.
GRANT: Now here we are look, Downing Street (the cab passes by on
Whitehall).
Will I be dropping you off?
ED: I was rather hoping you might actually.
GRANT: If you get in Ed, if I vote for you, are you going to put me
taxes up?
ED: I want to cut taxes for working families. I definitely want to try
and cut taxes for working families. We said we want to have the 10p tax. Now
I'm afraid Labour got that abolished when we should not have done. We want
to bring back a 10p tax rate to make life easier for people. We want to go
back to the 50 pence tax rate, and we want a new 10p rate.
GRANT: How do you get on with David Cameron then?
ED: I think it is really important not to hate your opponents. I don't
think that helps you actually. So I get on personally with him perfectly
well, where there are international issues where we can cooperate we do and
we have meetings and we talk about that.
GRANT: Are you more brainer than him?
ED: I said this thing the other day... I am not really saying who is
cleverer, I am saying I know what I believe. What you get with me is
consistency. The Sun and other people may not like some of the things I have
said, but I have been consistent. I know where I stand.
Quickfire questions
GRANT: In Brussels, how much would you pay for a pint of beer in Euros?
ED: In the UK about £3.50. No idea. (Actual price - 5 Euros)
GRANT: How much if you went out and grabbed a ham baguette in Brussels?
ED: A few Euros? I don't know. (Actual price - 3.50 Euros)
Grant's verdict
Ed's a really nice fella, and His heart is in the right place. But for me we
need firm decisions on Europe, not just ifs and buts. He needs to be firmer
on what Labour will do to change the EU.