Labour: the champion of what, exactly? | Simon Jenkins

Ed Miliband's party has to chart a recovery distinct from the hesitancy of the coalition – not simply offer a pale imitation

August politics is always hell. The happy are on holiday. The miserable have free rein to whinge. Ed Miliband returns to work today amid a chorus of charges that Labour has no vision, no strategy, no policies. With the coalition emerging from recession with a predictable upturn in popularity, the old doubts about Miliband's competence are revived.

Getting Labour into shap...