This is from the All That Is Solid blog:

The point of his candidacy is to do two things.

One, to try and shift the terms of political debate. The welcome stress Ed Miliband placed on inequality needs preserving, and the case against austerity cannot be broadcast enough, especially when it has been accepted and passively supported by so many “ordinary” people.

And second, it’s about political education. Call me old fashioned, but I don’t think public political debate is served by obsessions over Andy Burnham’s panda eyes or Liz Kendall’s preternaturally white teeth and whether this endears them to voters.

A massive job has to be done about raising the level of discussion, because a poorly informed public and party memberships do not a healthy democracy make.

It can lead to situations where, for argument’s sake, a party can win elections by scaremongering about never-going-to-happen lash ups between its opponents.

Follow me on Twitter: @MidWalesMike

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