Miliband under fire as his appeal begins to wane

Despite the long summer recess in the UK, political leaders here are getting ahead of themselves in a relentless effort to gain popular support and make headway in the opinion polls. However, the ruling Conservatives' summer keeps getting better after a sharp rise in voters' faith in their ability to handle the nation's finances was revealed in a survey late Tuesday. This led to a sense of jubilation within the Conservatives as their party has opened up an enormous poll lead over their stewardship of the economy. According to the survey, 40 per cent believe British Prime Minister David Cameron and his Finance secretary George Osborne are more capable of managing the economy than the main opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband and the shadow Finance secretary Ed Balls. Just 24 percent said that Miliband and Balls have the right answers - giving the Conservatives a 16 per cent lead. Both Cameron and Osborne have seen a sharp rise in their economic credibility, according to the survey Commentators said the poll is a massive blow for Miliband, who is now under fire, as it shows that the Conservatives are still seen to be better equipped to manage the economy, which is at last showing signs of improvement. Recent figures reveal the economy grew by 0.6 percent in the second quarter of 2013. To make things worse for Labour, the "ICM" survey for the Guardian newspaper shows that while the party is ahead overall, it is only just. It showed they lead by just 3 percent, with 35 percent saying they will vote Labour compared with 32 percent for the Conservatives. The Liberal Democrats have increased their share by 1 percent to 14 percent. However, all of these shifts are relatively small, suggesting a certain level of stability in the UK political scene over the last month, the commentators pointed out. They noted that the main beneficiary is the small anti-EU party,UKIP, which has seen its rating rise from 7 to 10 percent. The poll also shows 17 percent of people think their personal financial circumstances have improved in the last year, compared to 43 percent who say it has become worse. A quarter believed their situation would improve in the next year. On the other hand, the Labour leader is said to be planning a major reshuffle of his Shadow Cabinet after a dismal summer in which a succession of senior figures have warned over the party's falling poll ratings. He is facing calls to bring back to the front benches the "Sultan of PR and propaganda", Peter Mandleson to take charge of the party's communications. Mandelson, a former EU trade Commissioner and a successful ex-Labour minister is credited of reviving his party's fortunes in the 1990s because of his skills as a PR guru. In the meantime, Andy Burnham, the Shadow Health Secretary, warned last weekend that Labour must "shout louder" and produce a compelling programme of policies by next Spring to stand any chance of winning power in the general elections due on 7 May 2015. His comments followed attacks on the "confused" nature of Miliband's leadership, while Jim Fitzpatrick, the shadow transport minister, admitted that the narrowing poll lead over the Conservatives was a cause for "concern". The Labour leader returned from a two-week holiday in the south of France yesterday and will be urged to stamp his authority on an increasingly fractious parliamentary party, the commentators added. In a candid interview with the Guardian last weekend, Burnham voiced concern that time is running out to mount a coherent challenge to the coalition which is made up of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. Burnham said Labour under Miliband still had time to present a distinctive economic alternative, but he warned that waiting longer would mean that the window will be closed. For her part, Deborah Mattinson, the former pollster to Labour, said the economy would be "one of the really critical factors and Labour clearly needs to be doing better than it is". There is a sense of urgency for Labour to start getting a clear message across on how they will affect people's lives, she said. But senior Labour sources say that the row over competence and lack of policies will drift away once parliament returns in September. An adviser close to Miliband said that the current questions over his leadership have been "cooked up" by a handful of backbench MPs and journalists "who have nothing to write about in August", which is considered the "silly season" because of the long summer holidays in Europe.