Ed Miliband's first major television interview of the election campaign has been seen as a success, with Labour activists heading into the biggest weekend of campaigning with renewed confidence. The Labour leader faced Jeremy Paxman in a high-profile interview, and while David Cameron was judged the winner in an ICM poll, Miliband's performance was notably stronger than expected, particularly on the question of being 'prime ministerial', where he trailed by only a small margin rather than the usual 20 points.
Former Conservative chairman Chris Patten had warned his party not to underestimate Miliband, saying in January: 'The thing that would worry me most in the campaign is Miliband might come across a lot better than the press said he is.' Patten's advice appears prescient, as Miliband's showing has prompted Labour to hope for an improvement in his personal ratings, which have been poor throughout the campaign.
Focus groups conducted by BritainThinks for the Guardian found that some voters who had low expectations of Miliband were pleasantly surprised. ICM polling also showed that undecided voters preferred Miliband to Cameron by a margin of two to one, albeit on a small sample. Miliband's message to Paxman that he had been 'underestimated' throughout his political career was seen as a clever play on public perception.
Labour is now aiming to capitalise on this momentum, with a target of 100,000 voter contacts and 600,000 leaflets delivered this weekend. The party also announced a proposal to cap profits for private health companies, as part of its campaign launch at the Olympic Park. Miliband's performance has boosted morale among activists, who had feared a difficult reception on the doorstep after a poor TV showing.
