Postscript to Ed at the nurses conference,-" Be miserabalist." Silly.

Further to our featuring Ed Miliband's love-in with the nurses at the Royal College of Nursing (that's their union) Conference, we have to return with the news that he also encouraged them to email the Labour Party with all instances of patient care being compromised by "the cuts". One would have expected nothing more of the man. Nevertheless it is disappointing for anyone looking for any prospect of a better, brighter, "can-do" Britain were Labour to return to power.

Had he invited a similar flow of reports about things which might be better after the NHS reforms,one might have partly forgiven him but the Labour and socialist ethos is not to seek the cheerful, upbeat and positive. It doesn't do their cause any good at all. A world of moderate discontent, unhappiness and everything wrong being someone else's fault is where they prefer to live.

For UK Plc, this exhortation to critical miserabalism is unfortunate. The British are good enough at it without Ed's encouragement. His approach also encourages resistance to almost any change of any kind and this is depressing and unfortunate especially amongst government servants. Those working in the private sector have long had to manage and cope with reorganisations and reduced manpower. They know that the message about "cuts" is not that a straight line graph of less people=less output. It's about how to deliver the same,or even better,outputs with less resources.

What this government is attempting is a public sector revolution of costs, productivity and ultimately attitudes possibly even greater than Margaret Thatcher's sorting of the unions. It is fundamental to the future affordability of public services and the diversion of funding from back offices to the front line and on to customers and patients. Despite or because of all the shouting they dare not call it a revolution. That really would fighten the children. It's courageous stuff. Its short term effects and resentment could cost them the 2015 General Election. No matter, they are doing it and in reality just like last time Labour would be secretly grateful and reverse very little, if any, of it.