ANKARA
The highly personalized attacks launched by the Conservative Party against main opposition leader Ed Miliband provoked a strong backlash on Thursday.
In the midst of announcing his party’s policy on the U.K.’s nuclear deterrence system, Defense Secretary Michael Fallon, from the center-right Conservative Party, made some ferociously personal comments about the leader of the center-left main opposition Labour Party.
“Ed Miliband stabbed his own brother in the back to become Labour leader,” he said.
He was referring to the 2010 Labour leadership elections when Ed Miliband stood against his brother David, which provoked controversy in British media at the time.
“Now he is willing to stab the United Kingdom in the back to become prime minister,” Fallon said.
This was in reference to public offers made by Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the left-wing separatist Scottish National Party, to lock the Conservatives out of government by supporting a minority Labour government on an ad-hoc basis. The cost of this agreement would be the abolishment of the country’s nuclear deterrent, which is located in Scotland.
Fallon, coming under heavy criticism on social media, defended his comments on the BBC’s Today program.
“This is an issue of trust, and an issue of leadership ... With Ed Miliband, you cannot be sure what kind of backstairs deal he is likely to do with the SNP if he’s got any prospect of getting into Number 10 Downing Street,” he said. “And the danger now, the risk we face in four weeks’ time, is that we’ll see the same kind of shabby manoeuvre, perhaps with Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP, to get into Downing Street on the back of abandoning our nuclear submarines.”
Fighting talk: ‘I’m resilient’
Miliband responded in a press conference held later on Thursday.
“Michael Fallon is a decent man, but today I think he has demeaned himself and demeaned his office. National security is too important to play politics with. I will never compromise our national security, I will never negotiate away our national security," he said. “And you know what, the Conservative party can throw what they like at me, but I’m going to concentrate on the issues that matter to the British people - how we keep our country safe, how we invest in education, how we tackle tax avoidance, how we make this country work for working people."
“I’ve got to say, I think the British people deserve better than what the Conservative party are offering in this campaign, which is a campaign based on deceit and lies,” he added.
In the question and answer session afterwards, Miliband was unflinching.
Asked if Fallon’s comments about him stabbing his brother in the back had bothered him, he replied defiantly, “No, and I’ll tell you why. Because the Conservative Party can throw what they like at me, they can make all the personal attacks on me that they want to, but I’ve got used to it.”
“And you know what? I’m resilient. And I’m resilient for one reason alone - because I’m fighting for the British people in this campaign. I’m fighting for the kind of country the British people want,” he said.
Having defended himself, Miliband went on the attack, saying British Prime Minister David Cameron "should be ashamed" and “get a grip on this campaign. That’s what leadership is about."
"He’s got no forward vision for the country. And he sends out his minions, like Michael Fallon, to engage in desperate smears,” he said.“I think decent Conservatives right across our country, decent Conservative MPs, decent Conservative party members, decent people right across Britain, will say ‘Come on, we’re better than this kind of politics’.”
‘Politics of the gutter’
"This is desperate stuff from a rattled campaign that spent yesterday defending tax avoidance and is now descending into the politics of the gutter," said shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander on the BBC’s Today program.
Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable, speaking on the BBC’s World at One program, said, “It’s an appalling way to run an election campaign.”
Speaking on the same program, Labour campaign strategist Lucy Powell said, “I am actually embarrassed that the defense secretary of my country has made these comments.”
In an unprecedented show of cross-party unity, both the hard-left Green Party and the hard-right UKIP condemned the attacks.
"This kind of personalized attack is the kind of Punch and Judy politics that is really damaging our political fabric," Green Party leader Natalie Bennett said.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage, speaking in Kent, said, "The attack on Ed Miliband was very, very personal, calling him a backstabber. I just fear that we have an election campaign that is turning into an American, negative, shouting match between two parties, and I don't think the public like it. I certainly don't."
Some Conservative ministers were, however, unrepentant.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said he was "totally in support" of Michael Fallon, adding that the Labour leader had shown he would, "climb over broken glass to get to the leadership of the party."
Social media firestorm
The reaction from political commentators on Twitter was unforgiving, to say the least.
“Charmless Michael Fallon has managed to lower tone of debate and unite all sides of Labour behind Miliband. Bravo,” tweeted Daily Mirror journalist Jason Beatie.
The Observer’s Daniel Boffey’s tweeted, “Defence sec Michael Fallon treated the voters as fools this morning with his piece linking leadership election and trident. Ugly and unwise.”
“Disgusting personal attack on Miliband by Fallon. Fine to raise Trident. Not at all fine to call him a backstabber. Yuck! Shape up, Lynton,” tweeted journalist Mary Ann Sieghart, referring to Lynton Crosby, the Conservatives’ election director.
ITV News’ deputy political editor Chris Ship tweeted, “So is EdMili (sic) weak or strong? Does his ruthlessness over brother mean he got backbone or desperate for power? Will he stand up to SNP or not?”
“Launching into personal attack against other campaigning politician is so American. Not the British Way. Wd (sic, would) an apology make a difference?” asked Sky News presenter Kay Burley on Twitter.
On a far less conciliatory note, former Labour London mayor Ken Livingstone tweeted, “We should stick pompous Michael Fallon on the end of a nuclear missile and fire it off into space. The world would be a happier place.”
The political fall-out was far from contained at the left end of the U.K.’s political spectrum.
“Embarrassing: Way too personal from Michael Fallon against Ed Miliband,” tweeted Tim Montgomerie.
Montgomerie is a prominent Conservative Party activist and founder of the ConservativeHome website, which he edited between 2005 and 2013, before leaving to join the Times as a columnist.
“0% chance Fallon wld (sic, would) have written attack without No10's approval. This is deliberate attempt by Tories to spotlight Labour leader's character,” he said via Twitter.
