Am I the only person who struggles to listen to Ed Milliband?

Carol I can't bear to look at him either - I can only see him as Wallace (& Gromit) and as for those glottal stops.....

He looks and sounds like a muppet. Her says very little with any meaning or significance. He is probably the final nail in the coffin of the Labour Party.

Oh yes! That's who he reminds me of - couldn't quite put my finger on it. I love Wallace and Gromit, but Ed Milliband seems to be struggling with a mouthful of teeth that get in the way of him being articulate.

Line him up with the other two muppets (Cameron and the libdem whose name escapes me...... Cleggy) and you've got a whole show! I don't listen to any of them. Prefer to read political thoughts.

Ed Milliband has got to go I think- cant see the nation taking to him as PM as you say the man doesnt seem to have any real depth.

In an attempt to be trendy he spoke about 'the gig of being Labour leader'. For goodness' sake. Who does he think he's talking to? Young people would see this as talking down and we more senior citizens just think it's silly.

As a lifelong Labour voter, it's interesting to read these comments. I was very much in favour of Ed being leader at first, but both my daughter and I are reaching the same conclusion. The voice is probably the most important thing about a politician; it was James Callaghan's speech at a Labour Party Conference that drew me to the party. I'm afraid Ed has become a scapegoat leader, which is a shame because I think that, of all the party leaders at the moment he is the most genuine. I often wonder how and why politicians join certain parties, Kenneth Clark[e?] has always seemingly been a Labour man in his values.

I also think he is genuine, with plenty of depth. Having said that, I too struggle with his delivery and odd choice of phrases and I fear he is in danger of becoming a scapegoat leader. I think he gets an incredibly bad press; when he is effective at PMQ we don't get to see it and when DC makes a "joke" for the umpteenth time about the brothers, we are shown it over and over again as if it were the last word in sophisticated wit.
I would have preferred David Miliband because I think he has much more gravitas, but sadly I don't think that can happen now.

Neil Kinnock, another 'decent' man, thinks Ed is a goodun:

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/divisions-over-leadership-will-kill-labour-says-kinnock-6289570.html?origin=internalSearch

Yes definitely, but sadly, Wallace and Gromit! Mamie you're right it should have been David.
I'm seriously worried about the boundary changes which, together with an Independant Scotland, will ensure that the colour of the political map becomes and remains a bright blue.

Yes, you've all said what I think - I'm sure he is genuine but he doesn't get it across, and he comes out with such utter 'hip' garbage that makes him look like he's naive and lacking in experience. Why doesn't he do some self-reflection (perhaps he does and doesn't find himself lacking) and put some oomph into his delivery. I'm willing him to improve.

Who says Scotland will be independent? Last I heard, more Scots (I include others living in Scotland who, presumably, will get the vote if that referendum ever happens) didn't want it than did.

In a face to face situation he seems to be a good listener. I was impressed by his ability to take 2 or 3 quite technical questions from the audience and remember them so that he could deal with them in a batch. No mean listening feat.
His voice is partly because he has a problem with his nose/sinuses and he had an operation on this area last summer. He sounds a little less nasal than he did. Ed Balls has a slight stammer.
Let's face it, being conventionally good looking should not be one of the qualifications for leading the country. Cameron and Osborne are no pinups.
As voters we should not let that influence us.
Sadly for Neil Kinnock he would probably have sneaked in if it had not been for the red hair. (and/or the Sun). I believe it was a matter of only a few hundred total votes in various marginals
I agree that Milliband is low profile at the moment and if he has any sense he will keep it that way for a while. The next election is still over 3 years away.

I think it was falling over on the beach that did for Neil Kinnock. Too confident of success. Cried my eyes out the day after the election.

I remember being in a large business meeting in Merthyr on the morning afterwards. You can imagine the atmosphere.

Winston had a terrible stammer as well!

Agree with everyone. He may very well be genuine, intelligent, forceful etc. but it doesn't come across. No sense of intensity of purpose. A bit of a weak image. Oh dear, I feel awful now! I've always supported labour until Tony Blair got his hands on the party. I know he got them into power, full of charisma and strong in character, but in the end I got so I couldn't bear to even hear his voice. Now can't think of anyone who I'd want as Leader of New Labour.

Yes - he is unfortunately not someone who comes across well - I was looking at a photo of him in the paper today and he does look somewhat vacant. I did not realise he had some sinus problem - he may be mouth breathing and that gives an unfortunate dopey look. What a shame for him.

But it would be good to see someone with a bit more charisma - mind you we all thought Tony B had that and look where that took us!

Bagitha... good news! I was thinking more of a 'what if?' situation/ worse case scenario.
Mishap I too thought Tony Blair would change the world, sadly he did when he took us into Iraq, but not for the better.
Time we had another Barbara Castle, lets hear it for a strong woman!

I watched him on the Andrew Marr show this morning and he wasn't listening to anything Marr put to him - that's OK if you've got some fatuous interviewer asking irrelevant questions but these were questions I wanted to hear the answer to, and Milliband talked over Marr the whole time, didn't listen to what was said, and just came out with a load of one-liners that didn't seem genuine. His sinus problem has been operated on now, but he still talks like a teenager and I can't get past this silly delivery. I saw Michael Gove later this morning and, in comparison, he comes across much better - can't stand the man and never thought I would be saying his irritating manner is more acceptable than Milliband's.

In answer to the question - I certainly don't either struggle or listen to him So few politicians have anything of the statesman about them, I find I am more likely to warm to them if they make it to the Lords.

Lately I have heard several moderates, plus one Tory voter, express the view that they are now more likely to vote for independence than they ever were before DC waded in with his arrogance last week. At least he seems to have backed off with his attempt to dictate WHEN the referendum will take place.

What a constitutional brouhaha. The whole of the UK should be consulted about the dissolution of the Union, not just one member. Scotland is not an English colony, but an equal and, once upon a time and perhaps still, willing partner, together with Wales and Northern Ireland. Interestingly, polls show that a much higher percentage of the English would vote in favour of Scottish independence than Scots would.

em Alex Salmond is just as arrogant as the boy Dave as he thinks a referendum should just be for the Scots.

I agree* absenta*, it is a decision to be made by the whole of the UK, it is a major political step and affects us all.