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 On 28th September 2010, Ed Miliband delivered his first major speech as Leader of the Labour Party at the annual Labour Conference in Manchester. Miliband had been elected only three days earlier having defeated his older brother and former Foreign Secretary David Miliband in a narrowly contested election. Supporters are optimistic that Ed may just be the right person to counter the slump in Labour's popularity that led to its losing power for the first time in thirteen years to a Conservative led coalition government.
Ed Miliband's win marks not only a shift in generation with regard to party leadership but also a change in party policies. In fact, Miliband's first task has been to strike a balance between reminding voters of Labour's past successes whilst projecting a vision that is removed from the party's previous failed policies. In his address, Miliband was unafraid to point out New Labour's bad judgment calls on Iraq and the recession. Although pledging to counter the Tory leader's "pessimistic view" of what the country can achieve through spending cuts, Miliband also acknowledged the need to curb spending in order to cut Britain's deficit.
Miliband's position on spending shows signs of a leader who is careful not to commit so early on in the game. But is such a guarded approach a good move? Critics argue that on almost every policy issue, Mr. Miliband would say something vaguely consistent with New Labour before balancing it with a more crowd-pleasingly left-wing take. For example, he said that unions are guardians of the vulnerable but at the same time he condemned ‘irresponsible strikes.'
Despite these misgivings, Miliband has so far met with strong approval from the general public. The YouGov survey for the Sun showed support for Labour had risen to 40%, with the Tories on 39%.
But how will this change in leadership and in policies affect the significant British-South Asian minority? So far Miliband has not taken any direct steps to boost his popularity within the South Asian community in Britain. That being said, Miliband's election campaign manager was Sadiq Khan, an MP of Pakistani descent who is set to gain a senior position in Miliband's shadow cabinet. If that happens, it could only ingratiate Miliband with the South Asian community who will also gain from such an appointment.
The South Asian community's vote may also swing towards Miliband based on his views on the Iraq War. In his speech, Miliband distanced himself from the Blair-Brown era as he vehemently condemned the Iraq War. This move may help regain the support of the Muslims who stopped voting for Labour shortly after the invasion of Iraq was announced.
The 2010 Labour Party Manifesto's foreign policy segment (which Miliband wrote) when addressing the Afghan-Pakistan ‘War on Terror' says that "if Afghanistan fell to the Taleban, Al Qaeda could regroup, and Pakistan's stability and our national security would be threatened." Moreover, when interviewed, Miliband showed support for continuing the British effort in Afghanistan with a focus on finding political solutions as opposed to militaristic ones. These statements however, could mean anything as neither the Manifesto nor Miliband has gone into the specifics of what the Labour government's course of action will be.
Even if Ed Miliband does not keep the promises he has made, the new Leader of the Opposition has injected a much needed spark into the ailing Labour party. Having done what was needed by both nodding to New Labour and burying it, Miliband has set a solid foundation for the ‘new generation' to regroup under the centrist banner. That being said Miliband's Labour Party will have to work extremely hard to regain the five million votes it lost between 1997 and 2007. Only then, can it fulfil Miliband's vision of a united Labour ‘that takes on established thinking, doesn't succumb to it, speaks for the majority and shapes the centre ground of politics. 
The writer has a special interest in international politics and freelances for various publications.
Zan Gilani is a legal analyst and has been covering issues on the political economy for a decade. He specializes in civil and national jurisprudence in the South Asian region.
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