BBC’s Daily Politics shows Newsnight how it’s done

After Newsnight’s heavy-handed treatment of Ed Balls on Tuesday night, Polly Toynbee of The Guardian wasn’t the only one asking why the BBC was apparently following a right-wing populist press agenda in giving Labour a hard time over its relations with Big Business.

It was left to the excellent Daily Politics programme at lunchtime yesterday to remind us what good BBC practice is all about.

Immediately Prime Minister’s Questions was over, presenter Andrew Neil leapt on the fact that David Cameron had completely failed to answer Ed Miliband’s “rather arcane” question about the removal of stamp duty on hedge funds – a tax break that has been saving hedge funders £145 million a year.

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As Neil put it, the extraordinary exchange between the two party leaders “was like two ships passing in the night… The PM going on about lots of things that the leader of the opposition hadn’t actually asked”.

And yet Miliband’s question was a legitimate one – because hedge funders had made donations to the Tory party totaling £47 million.

Neil put it to his Tory guest, Penny Mordaunt, MP for Portsmouth North: “The Conservatives are always complaining that Labour is in the unions’ pocket – but is there not something rather unsavoury about a government of Conservatives who get £47 million in donations from hedge funds and then make the tax regime easier for hedges funds? Whose pocket are you [the Tories] in?”

Mordaunt famously managed to get the word “cock” into a Commons speech six times last November – as part of a dare. But try as she might, she couldn’t get past Neil when he asked: “Doesn’t it stink? People watching will think there’s something dodgy about that.”

Little wonder more and more people are saying the Daily Politics is a ‘must watch’ – not because Neil is a sweetie-pie (he never was) but because the man is on top of his subject, doesn’t let his personal politics get in the way of the story and is happy to share the stage with younger political journalists. (The Sunday Politics, again presented by Neil, is particularly strong, with its ‘bright young things’ panel of Janan Ganesh, Nick Watt and one other always good value.)

And if anyone thinks Neil was being soft on Miliband yesterday, today’s programme saw him asking tough questions of veteran Labour MP Geoffrey Robinson, who tried to argue that whatever Miliband might be thinking, shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna and shadow chancellor Ed Balls “are utterly New Labour in their attitude to business”.

“Well, you say that,” Neil responded, “but I don’t remember New Labour ever talking about ‘predatory business’ which Mr Miliband does, I don’t remember New Labour arguing for a top rate of 50p tax which Mr Miliband does, and I don’t remember New Labour picking a fight with Marks & Spencer’s and Boots.”

Quite.

But what fascinated Nick Robinson yesterday - the BBC’s political editor is a regular guest on the show - was that Miliband might have been expected to choose safer ground for PMQs following his public bust-up with Boots boss (and Monaco tax exile) Stefano Pessina. Instead, he chose to “march towards the sound of Cameron’s gunfire”.

Nick Robinson said: “Ed Miliband believes that if the argument is not about business but about bad business – about bad business practices and tax avoidance above all – then he’s on winning turf: ‘Damn right I’m taking on a guy who lives in Monaco and doesn’t pay his taxes’.”

Robinson concluded: “One of the most potent phrases in any election campaign is ‘Who’s side are you on?’ Ed Miliband has always believed this would get him to Number 10 – ‘I’m on the side of the right people’.”

Some are beginning to suggest this might prove to be a turning point for Labour’s fortunes – a chance to pull ahead from the Tories in the opinion polls - and that the Daily Politics spotted it first.

• Countdown to 7 May: check The Week's daily election round-up
• The Mole's take on yesterday's fiery PMQs

One of those happy to see Miliband stand his ground is Prof John Gaffney of Aston University, an expert on the Labour Party and the dynamics of leadership.

He believes this could be a watershed moment if the Labour leader can combine his war on tax avoidance with a more positive message regarding “wealth creation”.

“The electorate have been looking for someone to take a hard line over tax – Miliband is close to stepping into this role,” says Gaffney.

“It’s too late for Labour to get Big Business on board, and indeed it would have been difficult for them to do so; large corporations have traditionally been pro-Conservative and the uneasy partnership the last Labour government built with business has long since broken down.

“But this is not necessarily important – the electorate don’t care what Big Business thinks, especially with recent tax scandals hardening public attitudes.”

Gaffney says Team Miliband are deliberately distancing themselves from the party’s past – not least Peter Mandelson’s memorable 1998 comment that he was “intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich”.

However, Miliband “needs to at least partly reconcile with the Mandelson approach by explaining what is good for the economy and wealth-creation”. Gaffney urges Labour to improve their relationships with start-ups and smaller businesses, arguing that this would prove “incredibly popular” with voters.

“Miliband’s character as leader is still not defined; this is the perfect opportunity for him to step up and make his policies on business and the economy clear.”